Mevlut Erding at PSG

Turkish website sporx.com reports that Sochaux's French-born strikers has signed a contract with Paris Saint Germain. He is a good player, who also plays for the Turkish national team, and and has fame for his flair, pace, and solemn attitude. Good luck to him at PSG, the national team needs him.

A clip of Erding from youtube:

Galatasaray gets the Kazakh Team Tobol in Europa League Qualifying Round

Galatasaray will play against Kobol on July 16 and 23 in the second round of UEFA Europa League qualifiers.

Here is how UEFA.com evaluated the draw:

Tobol may have been handed the toughest draw in the second qualifying round, where they take on Galatasaray, but FK Slavija Sarajevo did not have an easy ride either, drawing last season's UEFA Champions League group stage battlers Aalborg BK. Meanwhile, two of the most famous clubs in central Europe will meet at the same stage, as Romania's FC Steaua Bucureşti take on Újpest FC from neighbouring Hungary.

Pini Felix Balili Joins Antalyaspor!

Turkish media has reported today that Sivasspor's Israeli forward Pini Balili has signed a one-year contract with the Super League team Antalysapor. Balili was a very good player until he had a surgery last year, after which he lost his place in the team's squad. He was famous for his pace and flair, as well as enthusiasm for the team. He is one of the few foreign players in Turkey that can speak the Turkish language well. Good luck to him in Antalya.

Hugo Broos at Trabzonspor

TRABZON (A.A) - 22.06.2009 - Turkey's Turkcell Super League (first division) team Trabzonspor agreed in terms with Belgian coach Hugo Broos, the club announced on Monday.

"Hugo Broos has become our new coach," Trabzonspor said in a statement posted in its website.

Club's chairman Sadri Sener met with former Club Brugges and Anderlecht coach Broos in Istanbul and sides agreed at the meeting, it said.

Broos, 57, will fly to the northern city of Trabzon on Tuesday to sign the official contract, the statement said.

Broos coached Club Brugge and won two championships in 1992 an 1996. From 2003 to 2005 he coached Anderlecht and later he moved to KRC Genk. He also coached Greek club Panserraikos last year.

Servet Cetin at l'Olympique de Marseille?

The rumor has it that Galatasaray's, Turkish national team's, defender will complete a transfer deal to Olympique Marseille for 7 million euros. He is worth more than that, for sure, because Marseille is transfering a player who is absolutely going to do whatever is necessary to show the best performance for his club. He is a player I respect at Galatasaray, since he is kind of a professional who doesn't miss games for petty excuses. Former Galatasaray Eric Gerets is the person who advised him to Marseille, and, hopefully, he will show the same performance in France.

Luca Toni to Fenerbahce?

If Fenerbahce manages to sign Luca Toni, as it has been reported, it will probably be the most sensational transfer of the season (depending on Galatasaray's signings). I hear that Fenerbahce is offering up to 8 million euros to Bayern Munich, and, to me, it is a good enough figure for a player at that age. If he is signed, Toni will be working with the club's newly appointed German manager Christoph Daum, who will probably adopt a game style that relies on two strikers: Daniel Guiza and Luca Toni.
I don't remember an Italian player in the history of Fenerbahce, so if the deal goes through, it will be an interesting year.

Fale Alarm: Sven Goran Eriksson's transfer toTrabzonspor failed

Trabzonspor has failed to appoint Sven Goran Eriksson as the manager of the club. Their attempt to sign him was is an exciting and surprising decision to me, as Trabsonspor, traditionally, doesn't work with such high profile managers. Trabzon, located in the northern part of the country (by the Black Sea) is a relatively small city and known for their passionate and impatient supporters. Turkish media also reported that the main reason for Eriksson's refusal was due to hie "lady friend"'s reluctance to live in Trabzon.

Thomas Doll at Genclerbirligi!

Turkish Super League club Genclerbirligi has announced that they have appointed German manager Thomas Doll for 09/10 season. The club's president, Ilhan Cavcav, is infamous for his sackings of club's managers and I don't know how long Doll will survive in Ankara club. The team, famous for its B team and youth academy, managed to stay in the league last season after after a long battle. Prior to Doll, the club attempted to appoint Dutch manager Ad De Mos and Laszlo Bölöni, none of whom agreed on the terms.

I wish Doll good luck!

Frank Rijkaard at Galatasaray!

No Bernard Schuster, no Juande Ramos, no Ersun Yanal! Turkish Superleague giants Galatasaray have announced today that they have appointed the former Barca coach Rijkaard. To my knowledge, Rijkaard is the first dutch manager appointed to the duty at Galatasaray. I wish him good luck! Also, the club has announced that Johan Neeskens will be his assistant director.

Australians in Turkey and the Harry Kewell Prize!

In recent years, Turkish Superleague teams have signed numerous players from Australia. Especially, Genclerbirligi (located in the country's capital Ankara) has signed threes Australian youngsters, who have been doing quite well in the league: Bruce Djite (from Adelaide United, James Troisi (Newcastle United), and Mile Jedinak (Central Coast Mariners). Djite and Troisi, I think, will draw the attention of bigger Istanbul teams in the future. Genclerbirligi president Ilhan Cavcav is known for his excellent vision to find young talents all over the world and sell them with good transfer figures. I think he hit the jackpot again.

In addition to this, of course, there is Harry Kewell of Galatasaray. The Genclerbirligi website states that all the three above-mentioned players have been shortlisted to win the award which will be announced June 11.

Tuncay to Liverpool?

Trukish media has reported today that the Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez is interested in signing Tuncay Sanli from M'Boro. Tuncay has played particularly well this season at Boro, who was relegated to the First Division, and I think he can be a good boost to the Liverpool bench. I can envision him being at least as effective as Yosi Benayoun under the Liverpool jersey.

Friendly Match: Turkey 2 - Azerbaijan 0

Kayser Kadir Has Stadium was full of Turkish supporters cheering for the national team. Turkey, whose players were obviously tired after a long season, did their best and secured a 2-0 win. I didn't know that Berti Vogts was Azerbaijan's coach. It looks like that he will need some time to really shape up the team. Here are the goals:



Here is the squad list:

Turkey: Volkan Demierl, Ceyhun Gulselam (min. 58 Yusuf Simsek), Mehmet Topal, Gokhan Gonul, Nihat Kahveci(min. 46 Halil Altintop), Semih Senturk (min. 70 Sabri Sarioglu), Nuri , Tuncay Sanli (min. 63 Sercan Yildirim), Colin Kazim Richards (min. 46 Arda), Ibrahim Uzulmez (min. 78 Caner Erkin), Eren Gungor.

Azerbaijan: Valiyev, Malikov, Shukurov (min. 46 Chertogonov), Nabiyev (min. 46 Bakhshiev), Abasov, Gomes (min. 46 Javadov), Sadigov, Huseynov (min. 56 Pereira), Maharramov, Akhtyamov (min. 83 Subasic), Levin

2008-2009 Superleague Champions: Besiktas!

Mustafa Denizli's Besiktas did it this year. After a six-year wait, the club won both the league and Turkish cup.

Here is the final League Standing:

Süper Lig - 2008/2009
Pos. Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
1 Beşiktaş 34 21 8 5 60 30 71
2 Sivasspor 34 19 9 6 54 28 66
3 Trabzonspor 34 19 8 7 54 34 65
4 Fenerbahçe 34 18 7 9 60 36 61
5 Galatasaray 34 18 7 9 57 39 61
6 Bursaspor 34 16 10 8 47 36 58
7 Kayserispor 34 13 11 10 38 26 50
8 Gaziantepspor 34 12 11 11 46 48 47
9 İstanbul BB 34 12 6 16 37 46 42
10 Ankaraspor 34 11 8 15 36 42 41
11 Eskişehirspor 34 10 10 14 45 49 40
12 Antalyaspor 34 10 10 14 34 42 40
13 Ankaragücü 34 11 6 17 36 47 39
14 Konyaspor 34 10 8 16 35 46 38
15 Gençlerbirliği 34 10 8 16 38 50 38
16 Denizlispor 34 11 5 18 39 52 38
17 Kocaelispor 34 8 5 21 47 73 29
18 Hacettepe 34 5 7 22 24 63 22