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.

Sherwood Park, a city just on the outskirts of Edmonton

I’m not a fan of Sherwood Park.

I always wondered how the people there, live there? Like all you see is the oil refineries.   

When I played outdoor soccer and had games in Sherwood Park, I was never happy as it is just too far out there and the scenery is not nice.  

I’m hoping residents of Sherwood Park can comment on their reason for living in close proximity to the refineries. 

Does it not smell? You would think that it does.  

Also, what about the scenery, not the greatest view, when driving to work and back, everyday.  

People that live out there, must know something, I don’t. 

Thank you,

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

The Fair Draw

The Fair Draw

The first leg of the game between Chelsea FC and Galatasaray AS, ended with a well played 'draw' at Istanbul, Turkey.  

The second leg between the two teams will be played at Stamford Bridge Stadium of London, on March 16, 2014. 

          Stamford Bridge Stadium, London

I wrote a blog a few days back titled: 

'The Chess Match Begins'

The link is attached below, please find it on this site, click on this site.

Back to today's blog:

Chelsea looked like they wanted the 'win' after scoring an early goal to make it 1 - 0, and afterwards created many quality chances to make it 2 - 0 or even 3 - 0, however, this did not happen.  The defensive vulnerability of Galatasaray was evident, and at 33th minute, Roberto Mancini, Gala's coach made a substitution for a 'defensive midfield', which changed the flow of the game, in their favor.  

The substitution for Galatasaray began many improved 'spell of attacks' on Chelsea's net, which finally gave the host a well deserved goal, to make it 1 - 1.  

          Roberto Mancini, with Jose Mourinho in the background

If 'luck' was in Gala's favor, I do believe that they deserved another goal for a 'win' in Istanbul. 

Chelsea FC has the advantage since they scored a crucial away goal, and therefore a 0 - 0 result in London will have them make it to the 'Last 8' of the UEFA Champions League.   

          Burak Yilmaz & Eden Hazard

This will be another 'well fought' tactical game, and in my opinion there will be a couple of goals scored, even though Jose Mourinho will try to have a Chelsea FC play defensively.  

Prediction by my 'heart' says: 2-1 for Galatasaray. 

Prediction by my 'mind' says: 2-1 for Chelsea. 

May it be an exciting game.  

Thank you for reading,

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. 

Teams of Mesut Ozil

Teams of Mesut Ozil

Today, I would like to share the information and pictures of the teams that  Mesut Ozil has played for as a professional soccer player. 

Here they are, from most recent:

     Arsenal FC of England

     Real Madrid of Spain

    Germany National Team (no picture)

     Werder Bremen of Germany

     Schalke 04 of Germany 

Rumour has it that Barcelona FC is interested in transferring this 'smooth playmaker' over the 2014 summer transfer window.  We will see if another kit will be added to our collection vaults.

Sincerely, 

Madrid's in Lisbon

Madrid's in Lisbon

Today, is the UEFA European Champions League Final, between Athletico Madrid versus Real Madrid.  Amazing to see two teams from the same city make it all the way to the finals.  This final will be played in the neighbour country of Portugal's capital city of Lisbon.  

     Athletico Madrid

I'm very much impressed at the journey of these two teams, to make to the 'bitter end'. 

     Real Madrid

May it be a good game, and let the better team win today.  

I'm waiting for the game to begin, and wanted to post this blog.  

Here's comes kickoff.  

World Cup Final of 2014

World Cup Final of 2014

The final of the prestigious World Cup Final will be played on July 13th, 2014.  

The teams that made it to the final are Germany  and Argentina. 

   Germany

This will be a fantastic final against two very good team. 

   Argentina

Hopefully you will make time to watch this game.  

Sincerely, 

Game Over for Cesare Prandelli

Game Over for Cesare Prandelli 

Galatasaray Football Club has sacked Mr Cesare Prandelli following a series of poor results that culminated in the teams early exit from UEFA's Champions League.

I wish Mr Prandelli success in his future endeavours.  

Here We Go Again

Here We Go Again

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

😥

Mesut Ozil Donates

Mesut Ozil Donates

Mesut Ozil, who was born in Germany, from Turkish parents has completed an incredible gesture.  The Arsenal player shows that he has compression and is keeping current with the events in the Middleaest.  

The German National Team football player, who won the World Cup title this year (2016), has donated his $500,000 World Cup winnings share to projects in Palestine.  

Mr Ozil, who is a practising Muslim, has decided to donate his bonus for a good cause of helping the 'children of Gaza’.  

May this good gesture be returned back to you in volumes of success in your future endeavours Mesut. 

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben

World Cup Semi Finals

World Cup Semi Finals

The semi-finals of the prestigious World Cup have the following match-ups:

Brazil vs Germany 

&

Argentina vs Holland 

These will be exciting games. 

   Brazil

   Germany

   Argentina

   Holland

Hopefully you will make time to watch these games.  

Sincerely, 

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

🤓