Hoping to win its first league title in 27 years, Trabzonspor is looking to maintain its stunning form as the second half of the Spor Toto Super League starts this weekend. Hoping to extend its unbeaten streak, the Black Sea Storm entertains Ankaragücü as it comes face to face with former Trabzonspor legend Fatih Tekke
 Trabzonspor's Brazilian striker Jaja celebrates a goal. AA photo |
Turkish Super League frontrunner Trabzonspor is looking to continue its rich vein of form from before the winter break when it entertains Ankaragücü on Saturday.
Trabzonspor was the league’s top performer and was almost unstoppable toward the end of the first half of the season, notching up 10 wins in its last 11 matches.
With a five-point advantage over second-place Bursaspor and a nine-point lead over third- place Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor is being tipped as the top contender for the league title, but coach Şenol Güneş said his side was not focusing on the title challenge yet.
“We are not thinking about long-term plans now,” Güneş said at a press conference on Thursday. “We are taking one match at a time. So we will take on Ankaragücü, then we will focus on Beşiktaş [in the Turkish Cup] and Fenerbahçe.”
Güneş’s side was one of the most active teams during the transfer window, signing Polish twins striker Pawel Brozek and left winger Piotr Brozek from Wisla Krakow, in addition to Turkish attacker Mehmet Çakır.
Relegation-threatened Ankaragücü made several additions to its squad as well, with winger Serdar Özkan from Galatasaray, striker Ergin Keleş from Manisaspor and veteran Czech midfielder Jaroslav Cerny from Slavia Prague joining the capital-city outfit.
Its biggest transfer, however, was the purchase of Fatih Tekke from Beşiktaş. Former Turkish national striker Tekke is one of the best strikers in Trabzonspor’s history and will play against his former side for the first time since he left the Black Sea side for Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg in 2006.
When asked if playing at Trabzonspor’s Avni Aker Stadium after five years would be an emotional encounter for him, the 33-year-old said he was over his love for his former side.
“At this point in my career, it does not make a difference to me if the opposition is Trabzonspor or Beşiktaş,” he said during Wednesday’s press conference. “Now I am an Ankaragücü player and will work hard for Ankaragücü’s success.”
Tekke was a last-minute addition to Beşiktaş squad at the start of the season, but he failed to find chances and his public feud with coach Bernd Schuster brought his short spell with the Black Eagles to an end.
Fenerbahçe visits Medical Park Antalyaspor in another Saturday fixture. The Yellow Canaries will need a good run to close the gap with Trabzonspor and a win at Antalyaspor will be crucial in that matter. It will also be pivotal for coach Aykut Kocaman to keep his job, since the Turkish media widely suggested that the coach may be fired unless he manages to lead his side to victories over Antalyaspor and Trabzonspor, their subsequent league opponent.
A humiliating defeat to League Two side Yeni Malatyaspor last week led to an early exit from the Ziraat Turkish Cup, putting Kocaman under pressure.
Also on Saturday, Manisaspor hosts Kardemir Karabük while Eskişehirspor visits Gençlerbirliği.
Sunday will see Galatasaray stepping into its Türk Telekom Arena to take on Sivasspor for the first time for a competitive match, hoping to leave its woes behind.
Supporters’ boos against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and club chairman Adnan Polat’s harsh reaction, in which he hinted that he would ban any protestors from the stadium, were the two football-related subjects that dominated the week’s agenda.
Things do not look bright on the pitch either as Galatasaray struggled to beat third-tier side Beypazarı Şekerspor 3-1 the Ziraat Turkish Cup and failed to impress in a 0-0 draw against Antalyaspor on Tuesday in the same competition. Another goalless draw against Ajax in last week’s curtain raiser at the Türk Telekom Arena also suggested there is little light at the end of the tunnel for the Lions.
Sitting ninth and 19 points behind Trabzonspor, Galatasaray made a number of desperate transfer moves over the break; purchasing Colin Kazım Richards from archrival Fenerbahçe drew heavy reaction from the fans, while luring striker Bogdan Stancu and Colombian goalkeeper Robinson Zapata from Steaua Bucharest, Argentine midfielder Juan Emmanuel Culio from Cluj, and Yekta Kurtuluş Turkish bottom-dweller Kasımpaşa created little excitement among fans.
Defending champion Bursaspor made one of the biggest transfer moves of the current window, as the Crocs signed Scottish striker Kenny Miller, who scored 49 times in 81 appearances for Rangers in the last two and a half seasons.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Miller said that he wanted to win titles at his new team. “There is no reason why [Rangers] can't win the league and get me a winner's medal – hopefully to go with the one I win here in Turkey."
Miller is in great form this season with 23 goals already to his name and will try to put up similar numbers for Bursaspor, who was suffering from the inconsistency of forwards Sercan Yıldırım and Turgay Bahadır.
Scottish media reported that Miller was offered a 12,000-pound-a-week contract by Rangers despite having for 20,000 pounds until this point. Bursaspor, however, will pay him 50,000 a week, it was said.
Miller, however, said his decision was not money-driven, adding that the level of football in the Turkish Super League played a huge role.
“Whether it was now or the summer, I was definitely leaving. In terms of people saying I'm going for the money I could understand that if I was making a step back or a step down. But this is a strong, strong league,” Miller said.
“There are five or six teams who start every season seriously fancying their chances of winning the league. Because of that, all the players have pressure on their shoulders to perform and win every week,” he said.
“If things go well in the next 17 games I could be sitting with a medal and Champions League football to look forward to. Those are the things I look at,” Miller said.
Miller could make his debut against Konyaspor on Sunday.
Kasımpaşa will also welcome Gaziantepspor to Istanbul on Sunday.
Trabzonspor was the league’s top performer and was almost unstoppable toward the end of the first half of the season, notching up 10 wins in its last 11 matches.
With a five-point advantage over second-place Bursaspor and a nine-point lead over third- place Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor is being tipped as the top contender for the league title, but coach Şenol Güneş said his side was not focusing on the title challenge yet.
“We are not thinking about long-term plans now,” Güneş said at a press conference on Thursday. “We are taking one match at a time. So we will take on Ankaragücü, then we will focus on Beşiktaş [in the Turkish Cup] and Fenerbahçe.”
Güneş’s side was one of the most active teams during the transfer window, signing Polish twins striker Pawel Brozek and left winger Piotr Brozek from Wisla Krakow, in addition to Turkish attacker Mehmet Çakır.
Relegation-threatened Ankaragücü made several additions to its squad as well, with winger Serdar Özkan from Galatasaray, striker Ergin Keleş from Manisaspor and veteran Czech midfielder Jaroslav Cerny from Slavia Prague joining the capital-city outfit.
Its biggest transfer, however, was the purchase of Fatih Tekke from Beşiktaş. Former Turkish national striker Tekke is one of the best strikers in Trabzonspor’s history and will play against his former side for the first time since he left the Black Sea side for Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg in 2006.
When asked if playing at Trabzonspor’s Avni Aker Stadium after five years would be an emotional encounter for him, the 33-year-old said he was over his love for his former side.
“At this point in my career, it does not make a difference to me if the opposition is Trabzonspor or Beşiktaş,” he said during Wednesday’s press conference. “Now I am an Ankaragücü player and will work hard for Ankaragücü’s success.”
Tekke was a last-minute addition to Beşiktaş squad at the start of the season, but he failed to find chances and his public feud with coach Bernd Schuster brought his short spell with the Black Eagles to an end.
Fenerbahçe visits Medical Park Antalyaspor in another Saturday fixture. The Yellow Canaries will need a good run to close the gap with Trabzonspor and a win at Antalyaspor will be crucial in that matter. It will also be pivotal for coach Aykut Kocaman to keep his job, since the Turkish media widely suggested that the coach may be fired unless he manages to lead his side to victories over Antalyaspor and Trabzonspor, their subsequent league opponent.
A humiliating defeat to League Two side Yeni Malatyaspor last week led to an early exit from the Ziraat Turkish Cup, putting Kocaman under pressure.
Also on Saturday, Manisaspor hosts Kardemir Karabük while Eskişehirspor visits Gençlerbirliği.
Sunday will see Galatasaray stepping into its Türk Telekom Arena to take on Sivasspor for the first time for a competitive match, hoping to leave its woes behind.
Supporters’ boos against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and club chairman Adnan Polat’s harsh reaction, in which he hinted that he would ban any protestors from the stadium, were the two football-related subjects that dominated the week’s agenda.
Things do not look bright on the pitch either as Galatasaray struggled to beat third-tier side Beypazarı Şekerspor 3-1 the Ziraat Turkish Cup and failed to impress in a 0-0 draw against Antalyaspor on Tuesday in the same competition. Another goalless draw against Ajax in last week’s curtain raiser at the Türk Telekom Arena also suggested there is little light at the end of the tunnel for the Lions.
Sitting ninth and 19 points behind Trabzonspor, Galatasaray made a number of desperate transfer moves over the break; purchasing Colin Kazım Richards from archrival Fenerbahçe drew heavy reaction from the fans, while luring striker Bogdan Stancu and Colombian goalkeeper Robinson Zapata from Steaua Bucharest, Argentine midfielder Juan Emmanuel Culio from Cluj, and Yekta Kurtuluş Turkish bottom-dweller Kasımpaşa created little excitement among fans.
Defending champion Bursaspor made one of the biggest transfer moves of the current window, as the Crocs signed Scottish striker Kenny Miller, who scored 49 times in 81 appearances for Rangers in the last two and a half seasons.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Miller said that he wanted to win titles at his new team. “There is no reason why [Rangers] can't win the league and get me a winner's medal – hopefully to go with the one I win here in Turkey."
Miller is in great form this season with 23 goals already to his name and will try to put up similar numbers for Bursaspor, who was suffering from the inconsistency of forwards Sercan Yıldırım and Turgay Bahadır.
Scottish media reported that Miller was offered a 12,000-pound-a-week contract by Rangers despite having for 20,000 pounds until this point. Bursaspor, however, will pay him 50,000 a week, it was said.
Miller, however, said his decision was not money-driven, adding that the level of football in the Turkish Super League played a huge role.
“Whether it was now or the summer, I was definitely leaving. In terms of people saying I'm going for the money I could understand that if I was making a step back or a step down. But this is a strong, strong league,” Miller said.
“There are five or six teams who start every season seriously fancying their chances of winning the league. Because of that, all the players have pressure on their shoulders to perform and win every week,” he said.
“If things go well in the next 17 games I could be sitting with a medal and Champions League football to look forward to. Those are the things I look at,” Miller said.
Miller could make his debut against Konyaspor on Sunday.
Kasımpaşa will also welcome Gaziantepspor to Istanbul on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment