Real Madrid in the 1980s

Living in Turkey, in the mid 1980s, we use to get the European games live. Best teams back then or the ones that made it thru the elimination rounds were Real Madrid, Juventus, PSV Eindhoven, and Goteberg. 

You might remember, the English teams were banned from European soccer due to the Liverpool incident were the fans attacked the Italian visitors and the wall collapsed to kill a lot of them. 

I’ll have to find who the Italian team was, I think it was Juventus or AC Milan. 

Anyway, back then it was nice watching the games, it was always on Wednesday nights. My favourite team was Real Madrid.  

Also, back then there was only one channel, so you knew everyone in Istanbul were watching the same thing on TV. 

If you put your head outside your window, you would hear the echo coming from all the sounds of the TVs on. I remember that. It was cool. 

Life was more simple.

Galatasaray Elendi

Galatasaray Elendi

Gonul verdigimiz Galatasaray Uefa kupasindan elendi.   Elendigi takim ilk defa Avrupa kupalarina katilan Isvicre ulkesinden Ostersunds FC idi.  Hayatimizda belki ilk defa duydugumuz bir amator takimina elenmeye basardi Galatasaray ve ben cok uzgun oldugumu belirtmek isterim, yani kelimeler ifade etmez.  

Birde bu sene cok sayida futbolcu transfer eden bu yonetimden sikayetciyim, bu kadar borc varken niye bu kadar transfer yapildi? Bir veya iki tane transfer yeterdi ve farkettigseniz hic gormemistim bu kadar yasli oyunculara oyle yuksek ucretler verildigi bir baska onceki yil. 

Sizi bilmem ama ben topculardan, odenen yuksek ucretlerden, teknik directorden, cirkin yeni formadan ve bilhassa yonetimden sogudum.   

Gonul verdigim Galatasaray'dan baya sogutuldum ve o eski cocukluk yillarindaki masum ve sonsuz sevgi herhalde mazide kalicak.  

Ben hakikatten bu isten sikildim, siz nasil hissediyordunuz?

Saygilarimla,

Ben

Teknik Directoru Mustafa R Akcay

Teknik Directoru Mustafa R Akcay

Teknik director Mustafa Resit Akcay, kariyeri boyunca Avrupa arenasına sadece iki sezonda cıkabildi, ama bu iki sezonda cok basarili oldu, nedenmi?  Iki sezonda Avrupa UEFA liginde gruplardan cikmaya basardi, bu bence iyi bir basari.  Ilk defa Trabzonspor basindeyken bunu yapti, ve yil 2013-14 idi, ama malesef Juventus (Italyan takimi) takimina son 32 turda elendi (canlari sag olsun).

Mustafa R Akcay

2016-2017 sezonunda yine gruplardan cikmayi basardi, bu sefer Osmanlispor teknik direktoru olarak, ve bu sefer Olympiakos (Yunan takimi) takimina elendi (yine canlari sag olsun).

Toplam olarak 26 Avrupa macina cikan Mr. Akcay, bunlardan sadece 4 macini kaybetti, ve karnesi soyle:
Galibiyet: 18
Beraberlik: 4
Yenilgi: 4

Trabzonspor ve Osmanlispor olarak Turkiye’ye kazandırdıkları puanlarla onemli bir basarıya imza attılar, hem Mr Akcay, hem topcular ve hemde bu iki onemli kuluplerimiz tesekur borcluyuz. 

Saygilar,

Ben

14 in a Row for Trabzonspor

14 in a Row for Trabzonspor

Trabzonspor is a soccer club from Turkey and is currently on a '14 game unbeaten' streak in European competition.  

 

The club finished on top of the 'J Group' in this seasons UEFA Europa Cup League, to make it to the last 32 teams in the competition.  

The last 'loss' in European competition for Trabzonspor was on February 23, 2012, 675 days ago, when they lost to PSV Eindhoven of Holland, 4 - 1. 

 

In the 14 game streak, the club has 9 wins and 5 ties; which is a definite success for a club from Turkey.  

 

The club is trying to surpass the record held by Galatasaray of Istanbul, Turkey, who hold the record of '15 games unbeaten streak' in Europe.  

The next game is on February 20, 2014, against a very difficult team of Juventus, from Turin, Italy. 

Below, are the last 14 games for Tranzonspor:

Trabzonspor - Videoton, 0-0

Videoton - Trabzonspor, 0-0 (On penalty kicks won 4 - 2)

Trabzonspor - Derry City, 4-2

Derry City - Trabzonspor, 0-3

Dinamo Minsk - Trabzonspor, 0-1

Trabzonspor - Dinamo Minsk, 0-0

Kukesi - Trabzonspor, 0-2

Trabzonspor - Kukesi, 3-1

Apollon Limassol - Trabzonspor, 1-2

Lazio - Trabzonspor, 3-3

Trabzonspor - Legia Varsova, 2-0

Legia Varsova - Trabzonspor, 0-2

Trabzonspor - Apollon Limassol, 4-2

Lazio - Trabzonspor, 0-0

I wish Trabzonspor continued success in Europe, and do wish they succeed in eliminating Juventus from the competition to make it to the 'last 16' of the 'UEFA Europa Cup League', and break the record, mentioned above.  

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben here 

The Chess Match Begins

The Chess Match Begins

On February 26, 2014, the UEFA Champions League game between Chelsea FC vs Galatasaray AS will be played at 'Turk Telekom Ali Samiyen Stadium', in Istanbul, Turkey. 

This is the knock-out phase of the competition, and the next game between the two clubs will be on March 18, 2014, in London, England. 

          Mourinho 

The winner will be in the 'last 8', semi-finals of this tournament.  

However, before dreaming about titles, Chelsea's Coach Jose Mourinho, will need to win the 'Chess Match', with Galatasaray's Coach of Roberto Mancini.   

          Mancini

Mr Mourinho had the following to say, about this tie:

“I think this is a tie that will go to the end. It will go right to the end.”

I do agree with Mr Mourinho; this will be a tricky couple of games, and it will go right to the wire.

Thank you, 

Ben

Galatasaray'dan Guzel Bir Aciklama

Galatasaray'dan Guzel Bir Aciklama

Galatasaray Sampiyonlar Lig'inden  elenilmesinin ardından, resmi sitesinden bir acıklama yayınladı.

          GS Otebusu

Yapılan acıklama asagida, aynen yazdim:

'''Bu yıl ki Sampiyonlar Ligi maceramıza Stamford Bridge’teki son doksan dakikayla veda ettik.  Hedefi her zaman kazanmak ve daha ileriye gitmek olan Galatasaray icin, (zor bir gruptan cıkma basarısını gostermis olsa da) gelinen sonucun kabul edilemez oldugunu biliyoruz.  Tum Galatasaray'lıları; bu sonuctan cok, takımın ortaya koydugu direncsiz ve mucadelesiz futbolun hayal kırıklıgına ugrattiginin hepimiz farkındayız.  

Basta Londra’da, doksan dakika boyunca takımlarını destekleyenler olmak uzere, ekranları basında macı izleyen tum taraftarlarımız, elestirilerinde sonuna kadar haklıdır.  Bu elestirilerden herkes gereken dersi çıkaracaktır elbette…

Ancak hayat devam ediyor.  

Galatasaray, kurucusu Ali Sami Yen’in koydugu hedef dogrultusunda,"Yabancı olan takımları yenip adını dunyaya duyurmak" icin, gelecek yıl da devler ligi macerasına kaldıgı yerden devam etmek zorundadır.

Bugun cesitli kademelerde Galatasaray’a hizmet edenlerden hicbirimiz, yarın yerlerimizde olmayabiliriz.  Ama, Galatasaray arması gelecek yıl da mutlaka orada olmalıdır.  Orası Galatasaray’ın arenasıdır.

Bunun icin yalnızca dokuz haftamız var.  Bu dokuz haftada, 

- hocanın oyundan aldıgı oyuncular kızmayacak, kırılmayacak.

- Bu nedenle elestiriye ugrayan hoca kızmayacak, kırılmayacak.

- Yonetim kendisine gelen elestirilere kızmayacak, kırılmayacak.

- Taraftar da takımına kusup, kırılmayacak.

Kısır tartısmaların arasında unutulmamalı ki, Galatasaray'ın her yıl Avrupa'da yarısma hakkına sahip olması bile, Turk futbolu ve taraftarlarımız icin baslı basına gurur kaynagıdır.

Ozetle;

Butun zorluklara ve engellemelere ragmen pes etmedik, etmeyeceğiz!  Bundan boyle, Galatasaray armasına yakısir bicimde savasmaları icin oyuncularımızın yanında olacagız.  Ligin sonuna kadar sahamızı kapattırmamak icin hep birlikte gereken ozeni gosterecegiz.  Her sonuca acık olan futbolda, dorduncu yıldız Kaf Dagı’nın ardında degildir.  Tek tek isimleri sayıldıgında rakiplerinin hayal bile edemeyecegi bir kadroya sahip olan Galatasaray, taraftarıyla kenetlendiginde Turkiye’nin en buyuk gucu oldugunu bir kez daha ispatlayacaktır.

Yine unutulmamalı ki; "Savası kaybetmek bir seyi, cesareti kaybetmekse her seyi kaybetmektir."'''

Ben sahsen bu aciklamayi cok begendim,  siz ne dusunuyorsunuz?

Saygilarla, 

Ben

🤓

Galatasaray ve Agir Borc

Galatasaray ve Agir Borc

Galatasaray Spor Kulubu'nun net borcu aciklandi ve sizlere bugun bu bilgiyi paylasmak istiyorum. 

Lutfi Kırdar Uluslararası Kongre ve Sergi Sarayı'nde gerceklestirilen Galatasaray Kulubu Genel kurulu'nda faaliyet ve denetim raporları verildi. 

2013 yılı sonu itibarıyla, odenecekler sunlar:

597,262,859 lira, borc,

1,152,401,719 lira  yukumlulukler olarak aciklanmistir,

555,138,860 lira konsolide net borc. 

Bu 'borclar' fazla gorunuyor ve Baskanimizdan ve Kulup uyelerimizden istedigimiz, bu borclari kapatmalarini.  Boyle fazla borcu hemen kapatmak zaman alicaktir, onun icin, biran once bu borclara dusurulmesino ve buyuk paralar yatirilmasini istiyoruz.

Bu konu hakkinda, ilerki bir tarihte daha detayli bir inceleme yapacagim.  Simdilik bu kadar yazacagim. 

Saygilarimla. 

What Happened to Gala?

What Happenned to Gala?

My opinion is this.   

The game on October 1st, 2014, Arsenal vs Galatasaray, ended with a win for the English club, with 4-1 result.  

           the first goal by Arsenal 

Briefly, the problem is that the coach of Gala, Mr Prandelli is fooling around too much with the lineup. 

He played a 3 - 5 - 2 formation against Arsenal.   And he only played this formation once before.  Yes, you read that right, once before.  

Don't try new shit against these strong clubs, it works in Turkey, but will not work against European clubs.    

         Penalty for Gala

Play it safe, a 4 - 4 - 2 or 4 - 5 - 1 formation is best for Gala.  This is how (we) Gala, played for 40 years. It's in our culture.   

Fuck I hate that, a coach fooling around too much with the lineup, before a very important soccer game.  

Mr Prandelli will not last long now as the coach of Gala.  

We have a lot of good young coaches that deserve a chance but we as fans are not patient, we need to learn this, however not now, as here is the scenario unfolding at Gala, presently.  

Soon as the president of Gala resigns his position, effective October 25, 2014, the incoming new president will fire Mr Prandelli.  This is good, but bad aswell in that we are wasting to much money, since we will need to pay his salary for the entire season.  

          the only goal by Gala is from Burak Yilmaz

We should have never have fired Mr Terim or Mr Mancini, the previous two coaches for Gala. 

The future for Gala is not looking very bright, today. 

Tomorrow, needs to come fast. 

Thank you,

Ben

🤓

Will Anderlecht of 1977 Show Up

Will Anderlecht of 1977 Show Up

Galatasaray soccer team is based out of Istanbul, Turkey.   They finished in second place, in last years domestic competition, behind the champions Fenerbahce.  

          Preview

Anderlecht soccer team is based out of Brussels, Belgium.  The team finished champions in the Belgium domestic division last year.  

Today is the first game of 2014 - 15 UEFA Champions League for both clubs.  

The game will be played at 'Turk Telekom Arena' in Istanbul, home of Gala.  

How is Anderlecht's record against Turkish opponents in Turkey? 

I found that it is a decent record of:

Won 2,

Draw 1, &

Lost 2. 

Both teams have last met almost 40 years ago, in the 1976 - 1977 'European Cup Winners Cup' competition.  After two games, Anderlecht triumphed to a 10 - 2 trashing of Gala, after winning each game with the identical result of 5 - 1.

It is with enthusiastic anticipation, I will be following this game.  Let the better team win. 

Thank you, 

Ben 

🤓

Rest In Peace Suleyman Seba

Rest In Peace Suleyman Seba

Allah Rahmet Eylesin,

Topragi Bol Olsun, 

Ruhu Sad Olsun, ve

Allah Gunahlarini Af Eylesin. 

Saygilarimla 

Ben

😥

Boateng Brothers

Boateng Brothers

Jerome Boateng plays for the club team of Bayern Munich of Germany, plus has been chosen to play for the national team of Germany. 

          the brothers in full concentration 

The other brother of Prince Boateng plays for the club Schalke of Germany, plus is good enough player to be chosen to play for the national team of Ghana. 

Both brothers were born in Germany to the same Ghanaian father, however different mothers. 

          the brothers 

One brother chose Germany, while the other has chosen Ghana.  

To date, the brothers have faced each other twice on the national pitch. 

Interesting story, and I thought to share this today. 

Thank you,

Ben

🤓

2014 World Cup Tournament

2014 World Cup Tournament 

          Jesus is messi'n around

I really like this drawing, well done...

Sincerely,

Ben

🤓

Coach Sergen & Gaziantepspor

Coach Sergen & Gaziantepspor

Today, I would like to flow-up on a previous blog I wrote, titled 'Sergen the Coach'.  If you have not read this yet, please do, as it is an informative blog on the coach of Mr Sergen Yalcin. 

Mr Sergen Yalcin, has declared on January 3rd that he will continue to coach Gaziantepspor Soccer Team.  The team has 4 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss under him.  

Prior to becoming the coach, 'Gaziantep' was in last place of the 18 team standing of the 'Super Lig' of Turkish Futbol Federation (TFF).  Now the team is in a respectable '12', many points above the bottom 3 that would be regulated to a bottom division, at the end of the season. 

Therefore, I wish 'Coach Sergen' longevity and success in the future.  

Also, I would like to congratulate 'Gaziantepspor' for 'working-out' the 'money issues' with the coaching staff and players, to keep this brilliant young Coach, at the helm.  

Sincerely.  

Sergen the Coach

Sergen the Coach 

I wanted to write about a coach named Sergen Yalcin today. 

Why you ask?

I like to keep current in the game of soccer/football, and look for interesting stories within this sport.  

Here is an a good story, you will not have heard/read on many news channels. 

Sergen Yalcin become the coach of Gaziantepspor Soccer Team, 45 days ago. 

The soccer team fired the previous coach, due to unsuccessful results and ended in the bottom of an 18 team league titled, 'Super League' of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). 

Since taking over the club as a coach, Sergen Yalcin has won all 4 games in charge for Gaziantepspor.  This is very surprising, as all games were against difficult clubs.  

After 4 weeks, the team went from being 'last' in the table to now in 10th place.  

Here is where the story gets interesting.  

Mr Sergen Yalcin has stated this week that he will quiet his job as a coach after 2 weeks, which will be after the end of 2 games, since the players are not getting their salaries regularly.

After 2 weeks, there will be a 1 month vacation in the 'Super League' of TFF.  

My advise to the management of Gaziantepspor Football Team are:

- solve the financial problem within the club, 

- pay your employees salaries on time, 

- respect each other,

- act professionally,

- try to keep your current coach Sergen Yalcin, and 

- try to sign him for a minimum of 2 year contract. 

I do believe there is success in the future for this club, if the above 'points' are implemented.  

Thank you for reading. 

Preview, Galatasaray vs Real Madrid in November 2013

Preview, Galatasaray vs Real Madrid in November 2013

This game will be the 5'th for both teams, who are in Group 'B' of the UEFA Champions League.  Real Madrid is in first place with 10 points, and has guaranteed to make it to the coveted 'last 16' of this competition.  Galatasaray have 4 points, and is in second place, and requires a 'good game' to boost their confidence, and try to 'steal' a win, with a likelier result of a 'tie'.

          Real Madrid emblem

Coach Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid has confirmed today that the star player of Cristiano Ronaldo will miss this game due to an injury of a 'thigh problem'.  The news of Cristiano Ronaldo not playing in this game is good news for 'Gala'.  With him in the line-up, I would have given Gala 'no chance' of securing a point(s).  Without him, and other 'key' players not dressing-up for this game, I do believe it will be more of an 'even' competition.  

         Galatasaray emblem

The game will be played at Estadio Santiago Stadium in Madrid, on Wednesday November 27, 2013.  Make time to watch this game, as I believe it will be an exciting game.

Thank you for reading, 

Ben