[El NihiL]

TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE PREVIEW by El NihiL

Foreword: Turkish League starts on August 10th next weekend, and this article may provide you some idea about the teams and expectations…I’ve spent more time on this work more than I’d expected, because Turkish Clubs are not very informative on their official sites about the line-ups and transfers. I know there are still some missings and mistakes in the squad and transfer section…The transfer season is not over yet, and some changes are certain in the squads, so I will edit the new additions and mistakes later (I’ll be on holiday as the league starts).. Lastly I’d like Steve (Meatman) for helping on editing the language mistakes and support.

(* means new transfer)


FENERBAHÇE:

Arrived:
Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid), Vederson (Ankaraspor), Colin Kazım Richards (Sheffield United), Gökhan Gönül (Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ), İlhan Parlak (Kayserispor), A. Bilgin (Antalya), Yasin Çakmak (Çaykur Rizespor)
Left:
Ümit Özat (Köln), Serkan Balcı (Trabzonspor), Tuncay Şanlı(Middlesbrough), Rüştü Reçber (Beşiktaş), Mehmet Yozgatlı (Beşiktaş), Recep (Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ), Olcan Adın (Karşıyaka), Kerim Zengin (İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor)

FENERBAHÇE SQUAD
1 Volkan Demirel Goalkeeper 27.10.1981
22 Serdar Kulbilge Goalkeeper 07.07.1980
88 Volkan Babacan Goalkeeper 11.08.1988
89 Fehmi Mert Günok Goalkeeper 01.03.1989
2 Diego Lugano Defence 02.11.1980
3 Roberto Carlos Defence 10.04.1973*
5 Yasin Çakmak Defence 06.01.1985*
17 Can Arat Defence 21.01.1984
24 Deniz Barış Defence 02.07.1977
36 Edu Dracena Defence 18.05.1981
77 Gökhan Gönül Defence 04.01.1985*
4 Stephan Appiah Middle-field 17.03.1981
6 Gökçek Vederson Middle-field 22.07.1982*
7 Kemal Aslan Middle-field 24.10.1981
8 Colin K. Richards Middle-field 26.08.1986*
11 Tümer Metin Middle-field 14.10.1974
15 Marco Aurelio Middle-field 15.12.1977
18 Ali Bilgin Middle-field 17.12.1981*
19 Önder Turacı Defence 14.07.1981
20 Alexsandro de Souza©Middle-field 14.09.1977
21 Selçuk Şahin Middle-field 31.01.1981
25 Uğur Boral Middle-field 14.04.1982
32 Gürhan Gürsoy Middle-field 24.09.1987
9 Meteja Kezman Forward 12.04.1979
23 Semih Şentürk Forward 29.04.1983
38 İlhan Parlak Forward 19.01.1987*
99 Deivid de Souza Forward 22.10.1979

The last year’s champion after losing some key players like Tuncay and Ü. Özat, started the new season again with a new flash transfer…Seems Roberto Carlos’s transfer boosted the fan’s morale very match….But it is not uncommon in Fenerbahçe that kind of big transfers end sadly, like Ortega before…I have some doubts about the contribution of Carlos Fenerbahçe…Yes he may still be one of best left wingers, but adaptation (not only Carlos’s, but teammates and media’s adaptation to him) can be a critical factor…Turkish media likes news about big names popping up in the bars, or arguing his teammates…Anyway Fenerbahçe’s defence last year is said to be problematic (which I don’t agree), and with Carlos coming is expected to be better….The captain and important defender, Ümit Özat transferred to Koln,.. If Carlos plays very offensively because he is a big name, I don’t think that central defenders Lugano and Edu or sometimes Önder (actually right back but can play as central defender as well) can cover him… If Gökhan Gönül, the new transfer plays in the right back then Önder will be central defender.. I rate Fenerbahçe’s defense as one of the bests in the league, but still not enough for Champions League…But the main problem in defence last year was due to middle-field’s structure (especially in the first half of the season)
Midfield seems the weakest point of Fenerbahçe again…They lost Tuncay to Middlesbrough and this is a big lost for the team…M. Yozgatlı is another one they lost which I rate good player…Alex is the new captain and Zico must build a midfield playing solid both defensively and offensively. I was going to write Appiah as the key player below the text, but his transfer rumors (He wanted to g o to Schalke but the club didn’t allow) will probably affect his performance…I don’t personally expect the same performance from him this year. Alex will be biggest hope here again.
Meteja Kezman tough was not as good as expected last year, is the striker that Fenerbahçe will count on in the forward line his year, Deivid de Souza (plays in the right-wing sometimes), Semih and the new transfer İlhan Parlak will fight to be partners, if Zico fields them.

Verdict: One of the main contenders for the 1st place…But might be a real frustration this year, if Appiah and Carlos don’t perform as expected.…
Expected Place: 1st-3nd
Key Players: Alex De Souza

Pre-Season Matches:

Skn Staff24 ST. Pölten – Fenerbahçe (0-2) (July 5)
ASK Trenkwalder Schwadorf – Fenerbahçe (0-1) (July 18)
Vfb Admira Wacker Mödling – Fenerbahçe (1-2) (July 19)
Sparta Prag – Fenerbahçe (1-0) (July 21)

Fenerbahçe- Shakhtar Donetsk (1-1) (July 28)
Fenerbahçe-Kocaelispor (2-2) (August 1)
Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş ( 2-1) (August 5) (Super Cup match, played in Koln)


BEŞİKTAŞ

Arrived:
Edouard Cissé (PSG), Tello (S.Lizbon), Hakan Arıkan (Ankaraspor), Mehmet Yozgatlı (Fenerbahçe) Rüştü (Fenerbahçe), Lamine Diatta (St. Etienne), Atilla Özmen (Altay), Ertuğrul Sağlam (Coach, Kayseripor), Federico Higuain (River Plate)
Left:
Ramazan Kurşunlu (Ankara), Kleberson (Santos), Runje (Lens), Ali Güneş (Freiburg), Fahri Tatan (Çaykur Rizespor), Emre Özkan (Zeytinburnuspor), Kenan Özer (Istanbulspor), Gökhan Güleç (Denizlispor), Can Erdem (Kocaelispor)


BEŞİKTAŞ SQUAD

1 Rüştü Reçber- Goalkeper*
29 Murat Şahin- Goalkeper
35 Atilla Özmen- Goalkeper*
84 Hakan Arıkan- Goalkeper*
87 Korcan Çelikay- Goalkeper
2 Serdar Kurtuluş- Defence
4 Mustafa Doğan- Defence
5 Gökhan Zan- Defence
8 Baki Mercimek- Defence
15 Lamine Diatta - Defence*
19 İbrahim Üzülmez- Defence
33 Koray Şanlı- Defence
58 İbrahim Toraman- Defence
78 İbrahim Kaş- Defence
3 Mehmet Sedef- Middle-field
6 Mehmet Yozgatlı- Middle-field*
7 Burak Yılmaz - Middle-field
10 Matias Emilio Delgado- Middle-field
14 Rodrigo Alvaro Tello- Middle-field*
17 Ricardo Luis P. Rodrigues- Middle-field
18 Edouard Cisse- Middle-field*
20 Aydın Karabulut- Middle-field
21 Serdar Özkan- Middle-field
22 Ali Tandoğan- Middle-field
41 Mustafa Koray Avcı- Middle-field
55 İbrahim Akın- Middle-field
9 Federico Higuain- Forward*
11 Mert Nobre- Forward
13 Deivson Rogerio Da Silva- Forvet
26 Can Erdem- Forward
99 Batuhan Karadeniz- Forward


New trainer, new players and high expectations, like last year, but it will be difficult this time, more difficult…Under Tigana, Beşiktaş performance in the second half of the season was very good if you ask me, and they got so close to the top finish…But lack of experience and maybe quality prevented them…The same thing may happen again, their new, young coach Ertuğrul Sağlam (ex Beşiktaş footballer) have shown a great performance in his career till now, but will he manage to face high expectations? He faced some resistance during his transfer, and sure the voices to quit will quickly start after the first losses….
In defence they had young and fast players, but their passing is not so good, and they transferred some new ones and I’ve doubts that they will fulfil it. But Ertuğrul Sağlam has the quality and talent to create a new solid defence if the patience of the fans and media long enough….
Middle-field is strong enough and they have many replacements and talents there, Tigana couldn’t use them effectively last year, but hope it will be different this time, the problem may be with this area may be the form and fitness of the creative players like Delgado and Ricardinho. Delgado last year struggled with injury problems last year for instance. But seems the new transfer Mehmet Yozgatlı will make contributions to the right wing more than expected. Very fast and passionate one with deadly tackles and good passes.
No a big new name to the forward line and I think, they need some stars there… I wonder how will they advance in the Champions league with Bobo and Nobre…

Verdict: If Ertuğrul Sağlam finds enough time and patience (which I doubt) they can have one of the best seasons of the decade….but a trainer change may turn the things upside down
Expected Place: (1-4)
Key Players: Rüştü Rençber, Matias Delgado

Pre-Season Matches:
Beşiktaş-Kasımpaşa (6-1) (July 6)
FC Hall Trol - Beşiktaş (0-5) (July 12)
Hamburg - Beşiktaş (1-1) (July 15)
Duisburg - Beşiktaş (0-1) (July 18)
Dinamo Bukres-Besiktaş (0-0)(July 20)
Beşiktaş-FC Sheriff Tiraspol (1-0) (August 1) * Champions League
Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş ( 2-1) (August 5) (Super Cup match, played in Koln)



GALATASARAY:

Arrived:
Servet Çetin(Sivas), Barış Özbek (Essen), Serkan Çalık (Essen), Linderoth (Kopenhag), Ismaël Bouzid (Kaiserslautern), Orkun Uşak (Erciyes), Lincoln (Schalke), Volkan Yaman (Antalya), Hakan Balta (Manisaspor), Shabani Nonda (Roma)

Left:
Mondragon (Köln), İliç (Salzburg) , İnamoto (Frankfurt), Tolga Seyhan (Trabzonspor), Fevzi Elmas (Antalya), Cihan Haspolatlı (Bursaspor), Hasan Kabze (Rubin Kazan), Stijepan Tomas (Rubin Kazan), Ergün Penbe (Gaziantepspor), Orhan Ak (Ankaraspor), Necati Ateş (Ankaraspor), Ferhat Öztorun (Manisaspor), Emre Aşık (Ankaraspor), Aydın Yılmaz (Manisspor), Anıl Karaer (Manisaspor)

GALATASARAY SQUAD -
1Aykut Erçetin- Goalkeeper
54Orkun Uşak - Goal-keeper*
88 Fırat Kocaoğlu- Goalkeeper
4Rigobert Song- Defence
19İsmael Bouzid- Defence*
22Hakan Balta- Defence*
33 Uğur Uçar- Defence
74Volkan Yaman- Defence*
76Servet Çetin- Defence*
6Tobias Linderoth- Middle-field*
7Okan Buruk- Middle-field
8Barış Özbek- Middle-field*
10Cassio de Souza S. Lincoln-Middle-field*
11Hasan Şaş- Middle-field
14Mehmet Topal- Middle-field
16Marcelo Adrian Carrusca- Middle-field
18Ayhan Akman- Middle-field
55Sabri Sarıoğlu- Middle-field
66Arda Turan- Middle-field
87 Mehmet Güven- Middle-field
9Hakan Şükür ©- Forward
20Shabani Nonda- Forward*
27Özgürcan Özcan- Forward
30 Çağrı Yarkın- Forward
61Serkan Çalık- Forward*
99Ümit Karan- Forward

Karl Heinz Feldkamp replaced Gerets this year and under his name the team is said to sail the new aims…But will a new coach be enough to be successful in the European field? Linderoth from Brondy and Lincoln from Schalke are the main transfers this year..
Galatasaray defence seems the best in the league Bouzid and national Servet Çetin joined the squad to strengthen the defence line which was strong enough last year….If Linderoth shows enough performance in front of Song and Servet (or other replacements) the opponent forwards must work extra to find goals….The main star transfer, Lincoln, boosted the fans morale especially, he is no doubt very talented (I personally like his style) and very good, but I have some worries about his capability to solve the problems that he may face in team…Some new youngsters, or bench players of the last year may shine in the mid-field as well, along with Lincoln Galatasaray’s middle-field seems good enough, and I expect a better middle-field than last year….
Forward line may be weaker point this year, no a big name added, and Karl Heinz Feldkamp announced that he will not work with four players; Necati and Hasan Kabze (both important forwards ), Orhan Ak and Cihan (defence)…Ümit and Hakan Şükür must carry the burden, both are very good players, but I doubt about their consistency…
I don’t know how the young keepers (Orkun or Aykut) will perform after Mondragon left, but they are good enough to fulfil, a bit lack of experience maybe?...
Seems Karl Heinz Feldkamp wants to create his own team, he needs more transfers as he stated, but his main worry is to get rid of the ones that he finds insufficient.

Verdict: An experienced squad with an experienced coach, I expect a better performance from them this year.
Expected Place: (1-3)
Key Players: Hasan Şaş, Song, Lincoln


Pre-Season Matches:
Galatasaray – RSC Anderlecht (1-0) (July 10)
Young Boys-Galatasaray (1-3) (July 12)
FC Köln- Galatasaray (0-0) (July 15)
Fortuna Düsseldorf-Galatasaray (1-1) (July 18)
VFL Bochum – Galatasaray (2-1) (July 21)
Galatasaray – İstanbulspor (0-0) (July 29)
Boluspor- Galatasaray (3-3) (August 1)
Karşıyaka-Galatsaray (0-1)(August 4)


TRABZONSPOR

Arrived:
Serkan Balcı(F.Bahçe), Daouda Jabi(Kayseri Erciyesspor), Adnan Güngör(Samsunspor), Tolga Seyhan (S. Shakhtar Donetsk ), Tayfun Cora (Back from Kayserispor), Ergin Keleş (Back from Sakaryaspor), Tomas Jun (Back from Sparta Prag)

Left:
Milan Stepanov (Porto), Cem Demir (Orduspor), Enis Kahraman (Altay)

TRABZONSPOR SQUAD -
1Jefferson Galvao- Goalkeeper
29Tolga Zengin- Goalkeeper
77Ahmet Şahin- Goalkeeper
4Çağdaş Atan- Defence
13 Ufukhan Bayraktar Defence
14 Kiki Musampa Defence
15 Daouda Jabi- Defence*
18 Tayfun Cora- Defence*
32Mustafa Keçeli- Defence
33Fredrik Risp- Defence
38Erdinç Yavuz- Defence
44Tolga Seyhan- Defence*
85Ferhat Çökmüş- Defence
86 Yusuf Kurtuluş- Defence
5Hüseyin Çimşir©- Middle-field
6Hasan Üçüncü- Middle-field
11İbrahim Yattara- Middle-field
12Ayman Abdelaziz- Middle-field
16Musa Büyük- Middle-field
20Ceyhun Eriş- Middle-field
13Adnan Güngör- Middle-field*
30Serkan Balcı- Middle-field*
61Gökdeniz Karadeniz- Middle-field
99Celaleddin Koçak- Middle-field
7Ergin Keleş- Forward*
8Ömer Rıza- Forward
10Umut Bulut- Forward
21Tomas Jun Forward*
28Ersen Martin- Forward



We’ve seen this story before, it happened when Ziya Doğan was appointed in 2004 before….A good start 2. in the league and had to quit in the second season…Last year Trabzon’s performance was great in the second half after Doğan took charge….But being 4. in the league last year doesn’t mean too much for fans and disappointing results in Intertoto shows not promising signs for the future…Trabzon’s main problem is not the trainer or players, but the expectations and management I think…Anyway Ziya Doğan is known for building solid defences, but seems he will have hard times to do that this year, as the players of this area are either injured or out of form….Goalkeepers are not enough to carry this heavy burden as well….Thier ex-player Tolga Seyhan’s been loaned to solve the problem in defence, but his performance is a question mark as he couldn’t find enough chances to play in the previous year in his team…
No new important transfer means they have to count on the ex-players in the middle-field area…They have Ceyhun and Gökdeniz there both creative and fast offensive ones, and dangerous for the slow defences, Hüseyin plays an important role in the defensive side of the middle-field and some new guys may take part..
Seems Doğan must count on the ex-forwards like Ersen, Umut and Ömer Rıza but you need better ones if you want to be champions…
Verdict: Sure Doğan will create a good, defensive team playing good contra-attack team, but at home matches which they have to attack they may have difficulties…
Expected Place: (3-5)
Key Players: Gökdeniz Karadeniz, Yattara, Hüseyin Çimşir, Ceyhun Eriş

Pre-Season Matches:
Trabzonspor-Georgia U21 (2-0)(August 4)
Trabzonspor-F.C. Otelul Galati (1-2) (July 28) (UEFA İntertoto Cup)
F.C. Otelul Galati-Trabzonspor (2-1) (July 21) (UEFA İntertoto Cup)
FK Vllania-Trabzonspor (4-0) (July 14) (UEFA İntertoto Cup))
Trabzonspor- FK Vllania (6-0) (July 08) (UEFA İntertoto Cup)


KAYSERİSPOR

Arrived:
M. Eren Boyraz (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Savaş Yılmaz(Zeyrinburnuspor), Koray Çölgeçen (Kocaelispor), Dario Cangele (Sakarya), Juan Pablo Avedano (Argentinos Juniors), Durmuş Bayram(Schalke), Ali Çamdalı (B.Leverkusen), Hasan Sönmez (Trabzonspor), Turgay Bahadır (SC Schwanenstadt), Ali Turan (Back from Kayseri Erciyespor), Alioum Saidou (FC Nantes)


Left:
İlhan Parlak (Fenerbahçe), Tayfun Cora (Back to Trabzonspor), Uğur Uçar (Back to Galatasaray), Özgürcan Özcan (Back to Galatasaray), Köksal Yedek (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Bülent Bölükbaşı (Gaziantepspor), Ümit Aydın (İstanbulspor), Erman Sarı (Boluspor), Samuel Johnson, Marcelo Fabian Mendez de Russo, Marcelo Prudencio Eder

KAYSERİSPOR SQUAD -

1 Hasan Sönmez- Goalkeeper*
13Ali Üçkulak- Goalkeeper
27Dimitar Ivankov- Goalkeeper
2Durmuş Bayram- Defence*
4Juan Pablo Avendano- Defence*
5 Ali Turan - Defence*
12 Delio Cesar Toledo- Defence
22Turgay Bahadır- Defence*
25Aydın Toscalı- Defence
51Koray Çölgeçen- Defence*
8 Ragıp Başdağ- Middle-field
11Kemal Okyay- Middle-field
18Ali Çamdalı- Middle-field*
38Kamber Arslan- Middle-field
61Savaş Yılmaz- Middle-field*
66Mehmet Topuz- © Middle-field
77Emrah Kaya- Middle-field
81Fatih Ceylan- Middle-field
20Alioum Saidou Midle-field*
7 Leonardo Andres Iglesias- Forward
9 Gökhan Ünal- Forward
15 Erdal Güneş- Forward
19Franco Dario Cangele- Forward*
26Mehmet Eren Boyraz- Forward*


Starting the league with a new trainer, Tolunay Kafkas, ex-Trabzonspor player, who has been new in training career. He worked in Pascing from Austria for 2.5 years as player and trainer assistant and in national team…He is being criticised for being inexperienced for the job, but seems that he trusts his team much… They transferred a fast , strong defender; Avendan and seems Durmuş from Schalke will be another starting eleven player for the right wing…Ragıp and Memhet Topuz are very good players in the mid-field, and new transfers to that area are young promising ones; still I think they need a good, creative transfer there…
Cangele was one of the different, and outstanding forwards of the last season, and after his team relegated he’s transferred to Kayseri this year…He may be a good partner to Gökhan Ünal, but seems Tolunay Kafkas tends to play one-forward (at least in some matches) if the harmony of both is not enough…The biggest problem for the team this year is to keep the best players, Mehmet Topuz and Gökhan Ünal…Big clubs offered big deals, but club refused all, and many speculations on the media we have seen…I don’t know how those two players will be affected from the events and how will they perform…
Verdict: I don’t think that Kafkas’ performance will be as ex-coach, and we’ll see he is enough to resist the pressure…Players like Gökhan Ünal and Mehmet Topuz’s performance will be determinant for the team.
Expected Place: (6-10)
Key Players: İvankov, Mehmet Topuz, Gökhan Ünal

Pre-Season Matches:
Diyarbakırspor-Kayserispor (3-0) (July 29) [Kayserispor actually won 3-0, the official score was Diyarbakır 3 Kayseripor 0 due to wrong substition]
İstanbul B.B – Kayserispor (0-0) (July 27)
Kayserispor-Denizlispor (1-1 [9-8Pen]) (July 19)
Kayseripor-Rizespor (1-2 ) (July 16)
Kayseripor-İstanbulspor (3-0) (July 13)



GENÇLERBİRLİĞİ

Arrived:
Nicola Petkoviç, (Vojvodina), Olgay Coşkun (Karşıyaka), Nick Carle (Newcastle Jets), Marko Zoriç (Banat Zrenjanin), Mustafa Çiçek (Samsunspor), Tolga Doğantez (Çaykur Rize), Burhan Eşer (Diyarbakırspor), Carlos Floresta Kahe (Borussia Monchengladbach), Umut Gündoğan (Anderlecht), Sedat Yeşilkaya (Back from Ankaragücü),
Left:
Draman Haminu (Lokomotif Moskova), Adem Dursun (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Fatih Akyel (Kasımpaşaspor), Everton Cosmo Da Silva “Tozo” (Gençlerbirliği Oftaş), Hakan Aslantaş (Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor), Murat Kalkan (Genclerbirligi Oftaşspor)

GENÇLERBİRLİĞİ SQUAD -
1 Recep Öztürk- Goalkeeper
21 Ulaş Güler- Goalkeeper
99 Gökhan Tokgöz- Goalkeeper
5 Traore Lamine- Defence
6 Erkan Özbey©- Defence
34 Eren Aydın- Defence
35 Tuna Üzümcü- Defence
2 Marko Zoric- Defence*
4 Tolga Doğantez- Defence*
55 Nicola Petkovic- Defence*
44 Erhan Güven- Defence
7 Mehmet Nas- Middle-field
17 Ferhat Kiraz- Middle-field
19 Nick Carle- Middle-field*
38 Engin Baytar- Middle-field
61 Kerem Şeras- Middle-field
23 Mustafa Çiçek - Middle-field*
20 Sedat Yeşilkaya- Middle-field*
11 Burhan Eşer- Middle-field*
48 Uğur Keskin- Middle-field
53 Umut Gündoğan- Middle-field*
9 Okan Öztürk- Forward
10 Mehmet Çakır - Forward
14 Promise Isaac- Forward
8 Carlos Floresta Kahe Forward*

Started the preparation period with ex-coach Ersun Yenal but he quit soon declaring that transfers are carried not by him…And a promising new trainer from Belgium’s second league team, Hamme brought to…Fuat Çapa’s team needs time, it seems he is capable of doing good things if he can find the enough time and chance. They made good transfers to the defence line and seems the new defence with Zoric-Traore and Petkovic will not have difficulty to find its rhythm. The middle-field has many alternates there, and wings are even better; Fans have high expectations from Carle from Australia in the mid-field, but his performance was mediocre in the pre-season matches. Forward line is the weaker part of the team…They can only count on Okan Öztürk, because there rest are either unproven youngsters or problematic. Isaac who is a good partner is now out of the squad due to his problems, and his situation is uncertain…I think Fuat Çapa will demand a new name for the forward, or he’ll have to build a team playing 4-2-3-1.

Verdict: Well, if the coach finds enough chance, I expect a better team this year…But Gençlerbirliği president İlhan Cavcav is known for interfering every thing and turning the upside down…If they can find the alternates in the forward line, we can see a team playing good, spectacular football this year.
Expected Place: (5-10)
Key Players: Traore, Okan Öztürk, Mehmet Çakır


Pre-Season Matches:
Gençlerbirliği-Ankarspor (2-1) (August 1) [TSYD Cup]
Gençlerbirliği - Y.Kırşehir (2-0) (July 30)
Plymouth-Gençlerbirliği (1-1) (July 24)
FC Köln –Gençlerbirliği (0-0) (July 22)
Arsenal – Gençlerbiliği (3-0) (July 19)
Mleda Boleslav-Gençlerbirliği (2-1) (July 17)



SİVASSPOR

Arrived:
M. Ali Kurtuluş (D.Bakır), Burhan Akgün (K.Çekmece), Musa Aydın (Sakarya), Mamuda Dialo (Lokeren), Sezer Badur(Karşıyaka), Sezgin Bektaş (İstanbulspor), Ilgar Gurbanov (FK Hazar Lankaran), Abdurrahman Dereli (Ankaragücü), Sedat Bayrak (Ankaragücü), Aytaç Ak (Ankaragücü), Muhammet Ali Kurtuluş (Diyarbakırspor), Devran Ayhan (Ankaragücü), Kanfory Sylla (Ethintos Asperas), Volkan Ünlü (Çaykur Rizespor), Bernard Okorovanta (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

Left:
Gündüz Gürol Azer (Diyarbakırspor), Servet Çetin (Galatasaray), Musa Kuş (Denizlispor), Serdar Topraktepe (Kocaelispor), İsmail Sağlam (Malatyaspor), Cem Can (Ankaragücü), İbrahim Aydemir (Samsunspor), Gürhan Gürsoy (Back to Fenerbahçe), Ertuğrul Arslan (Antalyaspor), Fran Sergio Bastos (Kasımpaşaspor), Hakkı Hocaoğlu (Kocaelispor), Simon Colosimo (FC Perth Glory), Burhan Akgün (Mardinspor), Cem Karaca (İstanbulspor), Fatih Tutar (Karagümrükspor ), Harun Avgın, Hasan Yurt, Mehmet Yazıcı,

SİVASSPOR SQUAD
1Michael Petkoviç- Goalkeeper
35Akın Vardar- Goalkeeeper
56 Bekir Sevgi- Goalkeeeper
67Volkan Ünlü- Goalkeeeper*
3Sedat Bayrak- Defence*
5Murat Sözgelmez- Defence
88Burak Yuvacı- Defence
23Aytaç Ak- Defence*
25Mamadou Diallo- Defence*
58Hayrettin Yerlikaya- Defence
61Abdurrahman Dereli- Defence*
7Musa Aydın- Middle-field*
18Ilgar Gurbanov- Middle-field*
20Muhammet Ali Kurtuluş©-Middle-field*
26 Sezer Badur- Middle-field*
33İlhan Ummak- Middle-field
42Yasir Elmaci- Middle-field
72 Devran Ayhan- Middle-field*
16Kanfory Sylla Middle-field*
74Bernard Okorovanta Middle-field*
9Mehmet Yıldız- Forward
11Gökhan Bozkaya- Forward
14 Sezgin Bektaş- Forward
17Pini Balili- Forward
19İvan Petrov Cvetkov- Forward


Showed much better performance after Bülent Uygun took charge of the team last year, but I can’t see outstanding transfers this year to make it better…Their defence was not so good last year and in addition they lost Servet there, Diallo and some promising players transferred but seems the defence is the major task for B. Uygun…Some new names to the middle-field and I think those new ones will determine the teams fate this year…The new transfers, Burhan and Gurbanov’s performance was good at the pre-season matches.. They managed to keep fast and effective contra-attack forwards in the line up and seems this will be the strongest part of the team…But I think they will have difficulties to find goals in home matches, and need a good striker instead of fast forwards..

Verdict: I agree that Bülent Uygun is one of the most promising trainers in the league, still I don’t think they will stay at the same place like last year….Seems a dangerous team in some away matches with some surprising results, but has difficulties to beat the rivals that they have to.
Expected Place: (10-11)
Key Players: Mehmet Yıldız, Pini Balili

Pre-Season Matches:
Sivasspor-Vestel Manisa (3-1) (July 10)
Sivasspor- Ç. Rize (2-2) (July 11)
De Graafschap-Sivasspor (3-3) (July 18)
Heerenveen-Sivasspor (3-3) (July 21)
Vitesse Arnheim- Sivasspor(1-0) (July 25)
Sivasspor-Ankaragücü (1-1; 5-5 penalties) (August 3)

ANKARASPOR BB

Arrived:
Tevfik Köse (B. Leverkusen), Tayfun Türkmen(Konyaspor) , Tita (back from Ankaragücü), Umut Sözen (Altay), Haluk Tanrıseven (Sarıyer), Edmar Gees De Souza “Mateus” (Bursaspor), Erhan Albayrak (Çaykur Rizespor), Ferdi Elmas (Çaykur Rizespor), Stefan Seneck (Nitra), Orhan Ak (Galatasaray), Emre Aşık (Galatasaray), Necati Ateş (Galatasaray)
Evren Özyiğit (Muğlasppor)
Left:
Vederson (Fenerbahçe), Hakan Arıkan (Beşiktaş), Adam Petrouš (Liberec), Volkan Arslan (Gaziantepspor), İllies Sitku (FC Fehervar) , Murat Hacıoğlu (Konyaspor), Emre Aktaş (Malatyaspor), Dragoslav Jevrić (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Silvino Joao De Carvalho –Jaba- (Ankaragücü), Anıl Abanoz (Tokatspor), Ardijan Djokaj (Freiburg), Serdar Güneş (Karşıyaka)

ANKARASPOR SQUAD-
1Ramazan Kurşunlu- Goalkeeper
12Erhan Kuşkapan- Goalkeeper
22Haluk Tanrıseven- Goalkeeper*
48 Evren Özyiğit- Goalkeeper*
34Stefan Seneck- Goalkeeper*
5Ramazan Tunç- Defence
11Murat Akyüz- Defence
16Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu- Defence
30Radoslav Batak- Defence
32Hamilton Henio Ferre Calheiros- Defence
37Uğur Demirkol- Defence
38Fırat Akkoyun- Defence
3 Erhan Albayrak- Defence*
6Orhan Ak- Defence*
21Emre Aşık- Defence*
4Muhammet Hanifi Yoldaş- Middle-field
7Anıl Taşdemir- Middle-field
9Murat Tosun- Middle-field
17Serol Demirhan- Middle-field
19Bilal Kısa- Middle-field
20 Özer Hurmacı- Middle-field
50 Hürriyet Gücer ©- Middle-field
66Adem Koçak- Middle-field
53Ferdi Elmas Middle-field*
90Umut Sözen- Middle-field*
8Sidney Cristiano Dos Santos (Tita)- Forward*
10 Mehmet Yılmaz- Forward
18 Tevfik Köse- Forward*
33Tayfun Türkmen- Forward*
99Edson Edmar Dias De Souza “Mateus”- Forward*
35Necati Ateş- Forward*

Ankaraspor sent some important players like goalkeeper Hakan, and Vederson and seems Aykut Kocaman tends to carry on with some young talents. The defence will be solid as Aykut Kocaman knows how to make it, but I doubt that young talents can cover Wederson’s job there…The middle-field seems good at defensive but offensively still not competent…Forward Mehmet Yılmaz, who had to suffer a long term injury last season, seemed to recover and hit good form in the pre-season matches, and will be the main man there…But the problem with the team is that (as seen in the TSYD cup match against Gençlerbirliği) they care about to possess the ball too much, playing horizontal instead vertical and that bring out a boring, ineffective football. They were “draw kings” last year and seems not much will change this year.

Verdict: Counting on the young players may cause Aykut Kocaman many upsets and tough he was one of may favourite trainers, Ankaragücü may a difficult season this year if he doesn’t chance or improve the play of the team…
Expected Place: (8-12)
Key Players: Hürriyet, Mehmet Yılmaz

Pre-Season Matches:
AEK-Ankaraspor (1-1) (July 19)
Gaziantepspor-Ankarspor (0-1) (July 26)
Sivasspor- Ankaraspor (3-2) (July 29)
Gençlerbirliği-Ankaraspor (2-1) (August 02)


KONYASPOR

Arrived:
Burak Özsaraç (Vestel Manisaspor), Muhammed Akıncı (Silkeborg), Can Parlayan (Değirmenderespor), Jose Manuel Gomes Da Silva (Maritimo), Veysel Cihan (Gaziantepspor), Murat Hacıoğlu (Ankaraspor), Washington Luiz Da Silva (Palmerias)

Left:
Tayfun Türkmen (Ankaraspor), Uğur Yanıkdemir (Kartalspor), Ozan Özkan (Karşıyaka), Erman Ergin (Sakaryaspor), Volkan Çekiç (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Ugur Yanıkdemir (Kartalspor), Eder Ceccon

KONYASPOR SQUAD
1 Özden Öngün- Goalkeeper
20 Eray Birniçan- Goalkeepers
61 Oğuzhan Bahadır- Goalkeepers
3 Burak Özsaraç- Defence*
4 Ömer Gündostu- Defence
5 El Saka- © Defence
6 Erkan Sekman- Defence
11 Kaue Caetano Da Silva- Defence
12 Jose Manuel Gomes Da Silva- Defence*

35 Koray İçten- Defence
7Mertol Karatay (Joao Batista)- Middle-field
13Mustafa Er- Middle-field
14 M. Abdullah Solıman G.- Middle-field
15Sedat Ağçay- Middle-field
19Erman Özgür- Middle-field
42 Muhammed Akıncı- Middle-field*
99 Neca (Alexandre D.F.Fernandes)-Middle-field
9 Washington Luiz Da Silva- Forward*
18Eren Şen- Forward
37Gökhan Çakır- Forward
44Cedric Cyrll Sabin- Forward
50Veysel Cihan- Forward*
53 Murat Hacıoğlu- Forward*
86 Can Parlayan- Forward*
88 Ahmet Devret- Forward

Konyaspor finished the last season 9th, but I think this year will be tougher than last year. Stronger teams this year, and seems they have to face some financial problems...Not enough transfers and harmony between the new ones and old ones seems need time to fix. The president is complaining about financial problems and lack of support, and debt to players from last year can be a real burden for the club. Burak Özsaraç is said to perform well in the pre-season matches but we’ll see…
The pre-season games were not promising and showed that Veysel is not a solution for the forward line…They transferred some names there and seems that they are not adequate for the position…They are still looking an efficient striker there and I think this is not the only problem they have to deal with...I rate both goalkeepers Özden and Oğuzhan Bahadır as mediocre players and defence line’s burden is on El Saka’s shoulders but in case of injuries the team may suffer a lot.
The new transfers Jose Manuel Gomes Da Silva and Batista will serve in the middle field but Da Silva is not ready and Batista’s performance has never been the same after the long time injuries he dealt.
Deca will be the biggest hope in the forward line and the partner’s performance (Veysel, Muhammed maybe or the one to be transferred) is still a worry. But question is who will carry the passes to the forward line?
The team opening day match with Esteghlal was a total disappointment for the fans…They lost 2-0 with a bad play….
The fixture seems another difficulty that the team has to face….9 away matches in the first half of the season and they have to face with big teams at home (4 of 8 home matches against teams Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor)
Verdict: I think Nurullah Sağlam is not a trainer that can be successful in that conditions, and a bad start in the first half of the season may cause a replacement in the trainer choice and cause stress in the team and fans. Konyaspor’s home performance last year was good, if they can’t repeat it this year, I suppose the team will struggle to survive this year.

Expected Place: (14-17)
Key Players: Neca, El Saka

Pre-Season Matches:
Konyaspor-İskenderun D.Ç.Spor (2-0) (July 10)
Hamburg-Konyaspor (0-2) (July 18)
Haarlem- Konyaspor (1-2) (July 20)
Hapoel Kfar Saba- Konyaspor (0-0) (July 22)
CSKA Sofya- Konyaspor (2-0) (July 24)
Bursaspor-Konyaspor (2-1) (July 26)
Konyaspor- Esteghlal (0-2) (July 28)
Konyaspor- Kasımpaşal (0-1) (August 3)
Konyaspor- Ankaragücül (3-4) (August 4)


BURSASPOR
Arrived:
Mustafa Sarp (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Koray Öztürk (Bursa Merinosspor), Herve G. Tum (Strasbourg), Renny VıcenteVega (Carabobo), Collins Mbesuma (Portsmouth), Cihan Haspolatlı (Galatasaray), Ömer Kaplan (Back from Altay), Jason Lee Vandelannoite (FC Brügge), Mohamed Cissé (Royal FC Antwerpen), Volkan Şen (Bursa Merinosspor)
Left:
Ömer Çatkıç (Gaziantepspor), Can Cumhur Bozacı (Çaykur Rizespor), Cornel Danut Frasineanu (Uta Arad), Burak Akdiş(Sakaryaspor), Hasan Yiğit (Denizlispor), Edmar Gees De Souza “Mateus” (Ankaraspor), Zafer Demiray (Malatyaspor), Ramazan Erarslan (İnegölspor), Serdar Aziz (Bursa Merinosspor)

BURSASPOR SQUAD
1Yavuz Eraydın- Goalkeeper
23Renny Vıcente Vega- Goalkeeper*
33 Yavuz Özkan- Goalkeeper
2Ömer Aysan Barış- Defence
3İsmail Güldüren- Defence
4Ömer Erdoğan- Defence
5Jason Lee Vandelannoite- Defence*
6Bekir Ozan Has- Defence
16Egemen Korkmaz ©- Defence
22Cihan Haspolatlı- Defence*
28Yenal Tuncer- Defence
52Mehmet Yılmaz- Defence
87 Koray Öztürk- Defence*
7Orhan Alemdar- Middle-field
8Veli Acar- Middle-field
9Daniel Gabriel Pancu- Middle-field
15Mustafa Sarp- Middle-field*
17Eren Albayrak Middle-field
18Velice Sumulikoski- Middle-field
21Fatih Serkan Kurtuluş- Middle-field
47Volkan Kürşat Bekiroğlu-Middle-field
50 Mohamed Cissé- Middle-field
58İbrahim Dağaşan- Middle-field
20 Volkan Şen- Middle-field*
11Sinan Kaloğlu- Forward
12Collins Mbesuma- Forward*
14 Sercan Yıldırım- Forward
19Ömer Kaplan- Forward
24Eser Yağmur- Forward
34Herve Germain Tum- Forward*


Bursaspor started the new season with some radical changes; The events between new president is Ali Karasu and Levent Kızıl during and after congress affect the atmosphere still in the city. Bülent Korkmaz showed great performance in the Kayseri Erciyesspor last year though the team relegated, and liked by Bursaspor fans it seems. His squad is not so bad but not the expected transfers made, and seems he has to count on the ones he has like last year….Sure we’ll have a solid defence like he did last year, and he has good players like Pancu and Volkan in the mid-field….The new goalkeeper’s performance is important cos the team had some problems with ex-goalkeeper, Ömer Çatkıç, last year. I don’t have much info about new goalkeeper, Vega, so we’ll see in the league. I am not so sure that Herve Tum from Strasbourg will adopt Turkey and his new team, but one thing I’m sure that all available forwards in the team seems mediocre.

Verdict: A more difficult season for the team on horizon it seems, but Bülent Korkmaz is the most important transfer of the team this year and the teams performance depends him, I guess we’ll see a team with many draws.

Expected Place: (10-15)

Key Players: Egemen Korkmaz

Pre-Season Matches:

Bursaspor-Gaziantepspor (0-3) (August 5)
Bursaspor - İstanbul B.Bel. (1-0) (August 4)
Ado Den Haag-Bursaspor (0-0) (July 30)
Cska Sofya-Bursaspor (1-1) (July 28)
Bursaspor - Konyaspor (2-1) (July 26)
Bursaspor - FC Kfarsaba (0-2) (July 24)
Bursaspor - İstanbulspor (2-0) (July 19)
Bursaspor - Giresunspor (2-2) (July 15)
Bursaspor -Denizlispor (0-2) (July 13)


GAZİANTEPSPOR

Arrived:
Armand Deumi (Thun), Ömer Çatkıç (Bursaspor), Thomas Sedlak (Ruzomberok), Volkan Arslan (Ankaraspor), Uğur Yıldırım (Heerenveen), Özgür Bayer (K.Erciyesspor), Ali Cansun (Antalyaspor), Ergün Penbe (Galatasaray), Ali Bayraktar (Back from Eskişehirspor), Barış Durmaz (Back from Samsunspor), Ozan Tahtaişleyen (Back from Uşaksspor), Bülent Bölükbaşı (Kayserispor),

Left:
Stelian Krita (Ankaragücü), Veysel Cihan (Konyaspor), Kenan Hasagic (İstanbul BŞB.),
Göksel Akıncı (Kasımpaşa), Mahmut Bezgin (Gaskispor), Engin Öztonga (Eskişehirspor), Mahmut Hanefi (Orduspor), Uğur Demirok (İstanbulspor), Orhan Taşdelen (İnegölspor), Faruk Bayar (Kasımpaşaspor)

GAZİANTEPSPOR SQUAD -
1Ömer Çatkıç- Goalkeeper*
17Oğuz Dağlaroğlu- Goalkeeper
35Muhammet Şentürk- Goalkeeper
3Mehmet Çoğum- Defence
4Bekir İrtegün- Defence
6Kadjo Julien Afanou- Defence
12Armand Deumi Tchami- Defence*
27Mehmet Polat ©- Defence
30Özgür Bayer- Defence*
53Ozan Tahtaişleyen- Defence*
52Fatih Şen- Defence
67 Ergün Penbe- Defence*
5Murat Ceylan- Middle-field
7Uğur Yıldırım- Middle-field*
8Cristian Zurita- Middle-field
11Metin Tuğlu- Middle-field
15Bülent Bölükbaşı- Middle-field*
18 İ. Ferdi Çoşkun- Middle-field
21Erdal Kılıçarslan- Middle-field
22Tomas Sedlak- Middle-field*
23Ekrem Dağ- Middle-field
36Özgür Volkan Yıldırım- Middle-field
45Barış Durmaz- Middle-field*
57Volkan Arslan- Middle-field*
63 Osman Şimşek- Middle-field
9Antonio De Nigris- Forward
19Kaba Diawara- Forward
29 Ali Cansun- Forward*
17 Ali Bayraktar- Forward*
89Zafer Kargoğlu- Forward
72 Ahmet Arı- Forward

The team started the new season with a new trainer, Mesut Bakkal, known for creating teams that’s offensive and exiting, and with many transfers after the disappointing season last year…The fans miss the Gaziantepspor known as a strong club in Turkey especially after the last season in which they watch a team with struggling a lot and some trainer changes. The events and Afanou’s getting out of squad after the prep-match against İstanbul BB and unreadiness of the team does not give hopes to them….
They brought back their ex-keeper which is weird decision I think, cos’ he has been out of form in the last year and many people have doubts about his performance…Mehmet Polat seems to play an important part in the defensive side of the team, but Mesut Bakkal, the trainer, should work hard to fix the defensive mistakes and he is known not good at that part of the play. Volkan and Uğur Yıldırım on the right are the new bloods to the team in the middle-field but I don’t think they will be good enough to raise the teams performance…Diawara is said to be sent, so Nigris and new transfer Ali Cansun will be the master-cards of the team in the forward line….Personally I rate Diawara as a good player, and his staying in the team will be a positive factor for the team I think.

Verdict: We may see a new Gaziantepspor this year with many goals in the matches but I have questions marks that they may climb the upper parts of the table…They seem a mediocre team with mediocre transfers, the club will probably stay out of the relegation battle, but will not be as good as expected…

Expected Place: (8-13)

Key Players: Mehmet Polat,


Pre-Season Matches:

Bursaspor-Gaziantepspor (0-3) (August 5)
İstanbul B.B-Gaziantepspor (1-1) (August 3)
Roeselare- Gaziantepspor (0-1) (July 28)
Gaziantepspor – Ankaraspor (0-1) (July 25)
Kyrıatsomona –Gaziantepspor (1-1) (July 22)
Top Oss- Gaziantepspor (1-1) (July 19)
Magdebur- Gaziantepspor (0-3) (July 18)


ANKARAGÜCÜ

Arrived: Yunus Balaban (Allemania Aachen), Stelian Krita (Gaziantepspor), Ahmet Dursun (Antalyaspor), Zafer Özgültekin (Eskişehirspor), İlkem Özkaynak (Kayseri Erciyesspor), İbrahim Ege (Denizlispor), Habib Mohammed (King Faisal Babes), Cem Can (Sivasspor), Elyasa Süme (Diyarbakırspor), İbrahim Said (Ç.Rizespor), Augustine Ahinful (Okwahu Stores United Nkawkaw), Murat Erdoğan (Sakaryaspor), Jiri Masek (FC Wacker Innsbruck), Silvino Joao De Carvalho –Jaba- (Ankaraspor), Şevki Koç (İstanbulspor), Alfonso Mateus (Vaduz)

Left: Tita (Ankaraspor), Devran Ayhan (Sivasspor), Murat Ocak (İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi), Sedat Yeşilkaya (Gençlerbirliği), Aytekin Viduşlu (Antalyaspor), Sedat Bayrak (Sivasspor), Abdurrahman Dereli (Sivasspor), Cenk Cengiz (İzmirspor), Ergin Pektaş (İzmirspor), Aytekin Viduşlu (Antalyaspor), Ali Ölmez (Türk Telekomspor), Alex Yordanov

ANKARAGÜCÜ SQUAD-

1Serkan Kırıntılı- Goalkeeper
22Zafer Özgültekin- Goalkeeper*
41Can Emre Yücel- Goalkeeper
2Emre Güngör ©- Defence
3Elyasa Süme- Defence*
13Habib Mohammed- Defence*
19Sarper Kıskaç- Defence
39İlkem Özkaynak- Defence*
40Cem Can- Defence*
44İbrahim Said- Defence*
66 Mateus Alonso Honorio- Defence*
8Andre Ferreira Da Silva- Middle-field
11Stelian Krita- Middle-field*
17Tevfik Altundağ- Middle-field
18Murat Duruer- Middle-field
20Mert Erdoğan- Middle-field
21Onur Acar- Middle-field
25 İbrahim Ege- Middle-field*
33Murat Erdoğan- Middle-field*
38Burak Karaduman- Middle-field
42Yasin Çelik- Middle-field
58Abdülkadir Kayalı- Middle-field
67Yunus Balaban- Middle-field*
40Şevki Koç- Middle-field*
7Ahmet Dursun- Forward*
9Gustave Bebe- Forward
10Mustafa Özkan- Forward
15Augustine Ahinful- Forward*
23Jiri Masek- Forward*
99Silvino Carvalho (Jaba)- Forward*

Ankaragücü had a tough season last year, and Hikmet Karaman hardly managed to keep the team above relegation zone…But the president, as the club is a one man’s club, appointed a new one this year. Peter Briegel’s training career in Turkey is not very bright but I am quite confident that we’ll see a defensive team. The team made some known transfers but I wonder if the names like Ahmet Dursun, or Fatih Akyel who has climbed the mountain of fame before try hard to show themselves. I rate the middle-field of the team as mediocre and Briegel was complaining about the forwards in the pre-season matches for missing two many chances, weird that they have quite known names in the squad like Bebe, Augustine and Mustafa Özkan. It should be noted that the captain Hakan Kutlu will serve as a player-manager assistant in the club. [But the captain later decided to serve only as a manager, ending up his football career]

Verdict: I think we’ll see a mediocre team playing ultra-defensive in away matches particularly…If the forwards show extra-performance the team climb in the ladder, but too far…Maybe they may struggle in the relegation zone in the first half, but I don’t expect president to let his go down if the things go wrong.

Expected Place: (10-13)
Key Players: Krita, Augustine, Bebe


Pre-Season Matches:

Konyaspor - Ankaragücü (2-3) (August 4)
Sivasspor- Ankaragücü (1-1) (August 3)
Ankaragücü –Antalyasporu (3-1) (July 31)
Olympiakos – Ankaragücü (2-0) (July 25)
Panionios – Ankaragücü (0-1) (July 22)
Axams- Ankaragücü (2-2) (July 19)
Ankaragücü-KC Şekerspor (2-1) (July 11)


VESTEL MANİSASPOR

Arrived:
Josef Dvornik (Ruzomberok), Sinan Özkan (Back from Samsunspor), Aydın Yılmaz (Galatasaray), Ferhat Öztorun (Galatasaray), Anıl Karaer (Galatasaray PAF), Yalçın Ayhan (Sakaryaspor),
Left:
Fevzi Tuncay (Malatyaspor), Burak Özsaraç (Konyaspor), Kenan Aslanoğlu (Adana Demirspor), Reinaldo De Souza (Botofago), Erhan Yılmaz (Boluspor), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Serkan Akın (İstanbulspor), Ahmet Aras (İstanbulspor), Enes Erciyas (Yeni Kırşehirspor), Erman Bulucu, Tuncay Süren, Hakan Açıkalın

VESTEL MANİSASPOR SQUAD-
1Bülent Ataman- Goalkeeper
12Egemen Gençalp- Goalkeeper
14Ufuk Ceylan- Goalkeeper
2Josef Dvornik- Defence*
4Ümit Bozkurt- Defence
5Stephane Borbiconi- Defence
6Şener Aşkaroğlu- Defence
15Oumar Kalabane- Defence
23Ersan Adem Gülüm- Defence
24Yalçın Ayhan- Defence*
30 Serhat Yağlı- Defence
33 Anıl Karaer- Defence*
34Ferhat Öztorun- Defence*
3Yiğit İsmail Gökoğlan- Middle-field
7Lukas Zelenka- Middle-field
8Sezer Öztürk- Middle-field
10Uğur İnceman©- Middle-field
11Güven Varol- Middle-field
16Nizamettin Çalışkan- Middle-field
17Oğuz Sabankay- Middle-field
18Selçuk İnan- Middle-field
19Metin Akan- Middle-field
29Sercan Eroğlu Middle-field
20Okan Koç- Middle-field
35Aydın Yılmaz- Middle-field*
9Rafael Marques Mariano- Forward
13Filip Holosko- Forward
21Sinan Özkan- Forward*
26Mehmet Akif Kengel- Forward
28Murat Gürbüzerol- Forward

One of the surprising teams of the last year, Vestel Manisaspor started the pre-season with some problems, mainly based on financial ones. The supporting company, Vestel was said to withdraw from financial support but at the end, they decided to go on. But club budget is not as big as this year, and the only transfer until now is Dvornik. The trainer who was appointed after the big downfall last year, Giray Bulak says that he must count on the squad he has, and new young talents must take the chances. Only one forward is expected to transfer, and some players before the season are supposed to send to the other teams. The team was not so bad at the pre-matches and we’ve seen some unknown names to shine, like Akif. Dvornik seems is a good choice in the defence line. In the middle-field area Giray Bulak must adopt some hardworking players, but I think Zelanka’s creativity, form and mentality will decide the team’s performance, or maybe its fate. They’ll transfer a new player to the forward but I think they need a good goalkeeper…Both Fevzi (sent to Malatyaspor) and Bülent has always been ready to do individual mistakes…

Verdict: Giray Bulak is one of the experienced trainers of the league and he has capability to do the unexpected, but this time he needs the angel of luck a lot. They may have surprising results from big teams but may be a disappointing season for the fans.

Expected Place: (12-16)
Key Players: Lukas Zelenka, Filip Holosko


Pre-Season Matches:

V.Manisaspor-Marmarisspor (1-0) (July 17)
V.Manisaspor-Denizlispor (0-0) (July 24)
V.Manisaspor-Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ Spor (1-1) (July 26)
V.Manisaspor- İstanbulspor (2-1) (July 28)
V.Manisaspor- Altay (4-1) (August 3)


DENİZLİSPOR

Arrived:
Caner Celep (Boluspor), Güray Vural (Selimiyespor), Zafer Demir (Sakaryaspor), Musa Kuş (Sivasspor), Allyson Araujo Santos (Çaykur Rizespor), Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Gomes (Tigres Do Brasil), Çağlar Birinci (Back from Denizli Belediyespor), Bulut Basmaz (Back from Elazığspor), Gökhan Güleç (Beşiktaş), Hasan Yiğit (Bursaspor), İsmail Konuk (Back from İstanbulspor), Engin Memişler (Back from Denizli Belediyespor)
Left:
Adriano Nascimento (İstanbul BŞB), Erman Güraçar (Kocaelispor), Ahmet Çağıran (Karşıyaka), Süleyman Küçük (Altay), İbrahim Ege (MKE Ankaragücü), Karel Kroupa (FK Teplice),

DENİZLİSPOR SQUAD
16 Souleymanou Hamidou- Goalkeeper
17 Cenk Gönen- Goalkeeper
23 Bulut Basmaz- Goalkeeper*
34Gökhan Özkara Goalkeeper
2 Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Gomes-Defence*
3 Allyson Araujo Santos- Defence*
7 Roman Kratochvil- Defence
20 Bülent Ertuğrul Defence
21 İbrahim Çelik- Defence
24 Çağlar Birinci Defence*
28 Hasan Yigit Defence*
32 İsmail Konuk Defence*
35 Burak Akyıldız Defence
4 Tomas Abraham- Middle-field
5 Yusuf Şimşek- Middle-field
6 Julio Cesar Moreira- Middle-field
8 Serhat Gülpınar- Middle-field
11 Fatih Egedik Middle-field
14 Caner Celep Middle-field*
19 Murat Karakoç Middle-field
22 Güray Vural Middle-field*
33Gökhan Bedir Middle-field
36 İsmail Baydil Middle-field
42 Zafer Demir Middle-field*
45 Fatih Yiğen Middle-field
58Musa Kuş Middle-field*
64 Süleyman Görgün- Middle-field
77 Muhittin Tekin- Midde-field
9 İlkay Demir Forward
10 Selahattin Kınalı Forward
24 Çağlar Birinci Forward
27Gökhan Güleç Forward*
99Engin Memişler Forward*



A team with a new administration and financial problems, as usual in Turkish league this year…Denizlispor transferred two Brazilian defenders, whose performances and backgrounds are unknown. The only solid player in the defence seems Kratochvil, and his performance will be critical. Musa Kuş may be an important contribution to the team. Still Yusuf is the key player there, actually he is the key player for the team, he directs all the attacks the others last year seemed there just to help…The forward line was the weakest point of the team last year (half of the goals scored by a defence player, Roman Kratochvil (7 goals) together with offensive middle-fielder Yusuf (6 goals). I can’t see an outstanding name in the forward line to change this statistics, and if Selahattin is expected to carry this task, god may help the fans.  The performance in the pre-season matches was not satisfying.

Verdict: The team’s performance depends on one or two players too much and Güvenç Kurtar should encourage others and passionate young ones to be more creative on the field. I haven’t had much real chance to watch the matches of Denizlispor, but Kurtar likes 4 men to set a flat defence, but in mediocre teams it is hard to put into practice that. But interesting that after he took charge, the team didn’t receive too many goals. We’ll see this year.

Expected Place: 16-17
Key Players: Yusuf Şimşek, Roman Kratochvil


Pre-Season Matches:

Denizlispor- Giresunspor (0-0) (July 17)
Vestel Manisaspor –Denizlispor (0-0) (July 24)
Denizlispor- Giresunspor (3-2) (July 26)
Denizlispor- Gençlerbirligi Oftaşspor(3-2) (July 31)
Denizlispor-Rizespor (0-0) (August 1) (interrupt due to heavy fog)
Denizlispor- Yeni Turgutluspor (1-1) (August 5)


ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR


Arrived:
David González Giraldo (Deportivo Cali), Emre Toraman (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Şadi Çolak (Orduspor), Can Cumhur Bozacı (Bursaspor), Gökhan Kök (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Metin Aktaş (Diyarbakırspor), Turgay Gölbaşı (Hessen Kassel), Bahadır Sekizkardeş (Aydınspor), Leandro Rodriguez (Ituana), Nascimento Ribeiro (Ituana), İgor Gal (Hajduk Split), Ergün Teber (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Kürşat Duymuş (Kayseri Erciyesspor), Fahri Tatan (Beşiktaş), Suat Usta (Sakaryaspor), Kayseri Erciyesspor),

Left:
Zdravko Zdravkov (End of Career), Bashir El Tabei (Zamalek), Tolga Doğantez (Gençlerbirliği), Eyyüp Hasan Uğur (Antalyaspor), Seydihan Başlantı (Boluspor), Razundara Tjikuzu (İstanbul B.ş.Bel), İbrahim Said (Ankaragücü), Yasin Çakmak (Fenerbahçe) ,Erhan Albayrak (Ankaraspor), Allyson Araujo Santos (Denizlispor) ,Gökhan Kaba (İstanbul BŞB) , Hasan Uğur (Antalyaspor), Eray Açıkgöz (Sakaryaspor), Ferdi Elmas (Ankaraspor), Ergin Yücetaş (Boluspor), Cem Baki (Altay), Volkan Ünlü (Sivasspor), Murat Uluç (Boluspor), Enis Ulusan (İstanbulspor), Aydın Kuzu (Altınordu), Dia Cire, Yavuz Onuk


ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR

1David Gonzales Giraldo- Goalkeeper*
21Metin Aktaş - Goalkeeper*
22Serkan Şen - Goalkeeper
2Suat Usta Defence*
4 Bahadır Sekizkardeş- Defence*
5Emre Toraman- Defence*
13Ahmet Görkem Görk- Defence
17G. Andres Victoria Rave- Defence
19Gökhan Kök- Defence*
23 Turgay Gölbaşı- Defence*
24Igor Gal- Defence*
34Emrah Eren- Defence
49 Kürşat Duymuş Defence*
61Serhat Akyüz- Defence
63Ergün Teber- Defence*
88Mergül Çapoğlu- Defence
3Fahri Tatan- Middle-field
6 Sezer Akbulut- Middle-field
10Altan Aksoy ©- Middle-field
16Oktay Gümüş- Middle-field
53Can Cumhur Bozacı- Middle-field*
83Leandro Rodriguez- Middle-field*
89Mesut Yılmaz- Middle-field
86Bernard Okorovanta Middle-field*
7Anderson R. Dos Santos- Forward
8Zafer Biryol- Forward
9Şadi Çolak- Forward*
11Nascimento Ribeiro- Forward*
42Mame Moussa Gueye- Forward*

Many changes in the club this year…Firstly a new club president is chosen, and a new trainer, Samet Aybaba, an experienced and disciplined man, appointed…More than 22 players was sent and many new ones were bought. They bought two Brazilians to the defence whose performance in the pre-season matches were adequate, and some young talents are available in the squad to replace the injured or inform ones in that area. But Yasin Çakmak’s unplanned transfer to Fenerbahçe caused a new transfer need there, so they are looking a new, experienced player there…Aybaba is trying to create a dynamic, active middle-field and he has to work more for that, but Altan will be the key factor and his biggest master-car in the game plan. The team has good forwards like Zafer, Anderson from last year, Ribeiro transferred...Zafer Biryol is expected to send, but he’s joined the camp, and seems will be in the squad this year. Two new goalkeepers joined the club, David Gonzales Giraldo, as the first keeper, proved in the pre-season that the team won’t have any problem as long as he’s not injured, but Metin Aktaş is not a good reserve I think…

Verdict: Because Aybaba is forming a new team, some up and downs may be seen in the first half of the season, but things will be better as the time goes by. I expect a better performance from the team compared to last season, and Rizespor’s home performance ( nearly % 60 won was last year) will probably be a threatening factor for the guests…It will be a hard for the big teams to play there.

PS: I was editing the text and learned that Rizespor’ trainer Aybaba resigned after second League match against Gençlerbirliği which ended 2-0… The team’s performance was not satisfactory after two matches and Aybaba’s resignment after the fan’s protest in the match against Gençlerbirliği makes me think that they may finish the season below my expectations….Anyway it is very common in this league that trainers leave or are sent soon when the teams are in downtrend…

Expected Place: 5-10
Key Players: David Gonzales Giraldo

Pre-Season Matches:

Ç.Rizespor-Sivasspor (2-2) (July 12)
Ç.Rizespor- İstanbulspor (0-1) (July 15)
Ç.Rizespor- Kayserispor (2-1) (July 17)
Ç.Rizespor- Giresunspor (3-0) (July 19)
Ç.Rizespor- Diyarbakırspor (1-0) (July 27)
Ç.Rizespor- İstanbulspor B.B(1-0) (July 28)
Ç.Rizespor- Denizlispor (0-0) (August 1)
Ç.Rizespor- G. Oftaşspor (1-2) (August 2)
Ç.Rizespor- Ankaraspor (2-2) (August 4)




G.BİRLİĞİ OFTAŞ

Arrived:
Savaş Esen (Alibeyköyspor), Cevher Toktaş (Bursa Merinosspor), Volkan Özcan (Aliağa Belediyespor), Recep Biler (Fenerbahçe), İbrahim Şahin (Akçaabat Sebatspor), Kadir Bekmezci (Geel), Olgay Coşkun (Karşıyaka), Hakan Aslantaş (Gençlerbirliği), Everton Cosmo Da Silva “Tozo” (Gençlerbirliği), Aleksandar Jevtic (Borac), Ufuk Arslan (Karşıyaka), Mile Sterjovski (FC Basel), Sandro da Silva Mendonca (Parana)
Left:
Hüseyin Cengiz (Kırşehirspor),Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe), Bülent Kahraman (Elazığspor), Seçkin Getbay (Fethiyespor), Ahmet Cem Gençtürk (Elazığspor), Ümit Tütünci (Orduspor),
Doğa Kaya (Eskişehirspor), Kemal Akbaba (Samsunspor), Onur Garip (Back to Gençlerbirliği), Cemal Taşlı, Selahattin Selçuk Özkan, Mehmet Özkan,

G.BİRLİĞİ OFTAŞ SQUAD-

1Ferhat Odabaşı- Goalkeeper
14 Recep Biler- Goalkeeper*
21Şener Özcan- Goalkeeper
3Murat Selvi- Defence
4 Remzi Giray Kaçar- Defence
5İlhan Eker- © Defence
22Serkan Atak- Defence
23Olgay Coşkun- Defence*
30Volkan Nadir Yılmaz - Defence
44Cevher Toktaş- Defence*
67Orhan Şam- Defence
7Çağatay Tekin- Middle-field
9Mile Sterjovski- Middle-field*
10Eren Özen- Middle-field
11 Kemal Yıldırım- Middle-field
15Kenan Çamoğlu- Middle-field
16Hakan Aslantaş- Middle-field*
18 Everton Cosmo Da Silva “Tozo”- Middle-field*
20Kadir Bekmezci- Middle-field*
34 Bülent Kocabey- Middle-field
35Volkan Özcan- Middle-field*
68Ufuk Eş- Middle-field
77Ufuk Arslan- Middle-field*
86 Uğur Doğru- Middle-field
99Sandro Da Silva Mendonca- Middle-field*
8Savaş Esen- Forward*
17Aleksandar Jevtic- Forward*
26İbrahim Şahin- Forward*
69Murat Kalkan- Forward


Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor made an unexpected move last year under Metin Diyadin, and after his leaving, new trainer Osman Özdemir managed to keep the team on top and the team surprised everyone promoting directly to the Super League… Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor actually can be considered as the second team of Gençlerbirliği and the outstanding talents play there to promote (or used to promote) Gençlerbirliği….But this year the situation is different. But the voices against this situation (two teams, Gençlerbirliği and Gençlerbirliği Oftaş being in the same league) start to raise, but legally it is hard to do against…Anyway the club kept most of the young squad from last year and transferred some players who are said to be talented…Aleksandar Jevtic is the only player from abroad, but it should be noted that the team showed good performance in the pre-season matches beating some of the Super Leagues, and seems some new names [Savaş Esen is the player to watch ] will attract attention of the big teams….

Verdict: I expect from Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor to make a good start to the league, but as the time goes, the inexperienced squad may not resist the pressure upon…As it is considered the B team of Gençlerbirliği they play with no spectators, so no a home advantage they have. But it is advised not to bet against them at the first weeks, cos’ they are more ready than the other teams.
Expected Place: (14-18)
Key Players: Serkan Atak

Pre-Season Matches:
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor-E. Şekerspor (2-1) (July 19)
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor- İstanbulspor (2-0) (July 24)
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor- Vestel Manisaspor(1-1) (July 26)
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor- Giresunspor (1-1) (July 28)
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor- Denizlispor (0-5) (July 31)
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor- Çaykur Rizespor (2-1) (August 2)
Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor- Gençlerbirliği (3-2) (August 4)



İSTANBUL BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESPOR

Arrived:
Murat Ocak (Ankaragücü), Kerim Zengin (Fenerbahçe), Kenan Hasagic (Gaziantepspor), Sancak Kaplan (Altay), Razundara Tjikuzu (Çaykur Rizespor), İlyas Kahraman (Antalyaspor), Adriano Nascimento (Denizlispor), Sergio Daniel Orteman (Boca Juniors), Gökhan Kaba (Çaykur Rizespor), Marcus Vinicius Cesario (Corintias), Evren Kürkçü (Samsunspor), Erman Kılıç (Elazığspor), Caner Altın (Samsunspor)

Left:
Serkan Boyar (Adıyamanspor), Ufuk Ateş (Antalyaspor), Yiğitcan Erdoğan (Orduspor), Bekir Gür (Darıca Gençlerbirliği), Mesut Morgül (Bucaspor), A.Kemal Yükseker (Elazığspor), Gökhan Süzen (Alibeyköyspor), Volkan Glatt (Kartalspor), Mülayim Erdem (Orduspor), Cafercan Aksu (Orduspor), Erkan Ferin (Eskişehirspor), İbrahim Parlayan (Boluspor), Fikret Karadeniz(Boluspor), Metin Hartamacı (Alibeyköyspor), Eser Yayla,

İSTANBUL BÜYÜKŞEHİR BELEDİYESPOR SQUAD
1Kenan Hasagic- Goalkeeper*
34Haluk Güngör- Goalkeeper
99Mehmet Ali Tunç- Goalkeeper
3Metin Depe- Defence
4Murat Ocak- Defence*
5Sancak Kaplan- Defence *
14Evren Kürkçü- Defence*
17Ekrem Ekşioğlu- Defence
21Mahmut Tekdemir- Defence
25 Marcus Vinicius Cesario- Defence
44Mert Korkmaz- Defence
53Rızvan Şahin- Defence
55Volkan Koçaloğlu- Defence
59 İlhan Erdinç- Defence
6Efe İnanç- Middle-field
7Tayfun Seven- Middle-field
8 Razundara Tjikuzu- Middle-field*
10 İlyas Kahraman- Middle-field*
16 Sergio Daniel Orteman- Middle-field*
20 Erman Kılıç- Middle-field*
24İlhan Şahin- Middle-field
33Kerim Zengin- Middle-field*
74Ünal Alpugan- © Middle-field
77Recep Uçar- Middle-field
9Gökhan Kaba- Forward*
11Sertan Eser- Forward
19Adriano Nascimento Padilha- Forward*
35Uğur Işıkal- Forward
61Ali Güzeldal- Forward
0 Caner Altın- Forward*

New promoted İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor has not made significant transfers to the defence line; they had a solid defence last year mainly based on old, experienced players. These year they have to count on manly those ones again, Mert Korkmaz (35) , Bekir Gür, Ekrem and some new names will serve here….Metin Depe will be the main man at the back, and his performance will be determinant for the team…
They made some transfers to the middle-field, and the players like Efe, Erman and Kerim all have fighting spirits there…But problem is that middle-field seems to based on short players that may be a weak point for the team. Adriano is a good choice and experienced fast, counter attack forward Sertan will be another weapon of the team; but still may not be enough for Super league.

Verdict: Need more transfers and more quality in the line-up; No enough alternates in the squad.
Expected Place: (14-17)

Key Players: Metin Depe, Adriano Nascimento Padilha

Pre-Season Matches:
İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor- Pendikspor (0-1) (July 21)
İstanbul B.B – Kayserispor (0-0) (July 27)
Ç.Rizespor- İstanbulspor B.B (1-0) (July 28)
Gaziantepspor- İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor (1-1) (August 3)
Bursaspor- İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor (1-0) (August 4)


KASIMPAŞASPOR

Arrived: Khalid Sinouh (AZ Alkmaar), Barbaros Barut (Essen), Ali Yetkin (Greuther Fürth), Maumavdov Colibaly (Istres), Sabri Turgut (Sidespor), Andre Moritz (Fluminense), Hugo Leonardo Pereira (Vasco de Gama) , Sabri Turgut (Sidespor), Göksel Akıncı (Gaziantepspor), Elly Cissé (Senegal), Jonathan Tehoue (FC Brussels), J.Berthel Askov (Silkeborg), Fatih Akyel (Ankaragücü), Fran Sergio Bastos (Sivasspor), Faruk Bayar (Gaziantepspor), Yekta Kurtuluş (İzmirspor)
Left:
Ferit Alper Salgın (Adanademirspor), Sacit Serkan Erok (Adana Demirspor), Kemal Toprak (Giresunspor), Aydın Tabak (Giresunspor), Sezai Demircan (Giresunspor) Gökmen Ağbulak (Tarsus İdman Yurdu), Özgür Solak (Alibeyköyspor), Sabri Turgut (Mardinspor), Ali Şen Kandil (Boluspor), İbrahim Kemendi (İstanbulspor)

KASIMPAŞASPOR SQUAD
22Khalid Sinouh- Goalkeeper*
68Tolga Özgen- Goalkeeper
12Kani Çevik- Goalkeeper
0Ziya Aydın- Goalkeeper
2Özgür Öçal- Defence
3 Maumavdov Colibaly- Defence*
4Cihat Aslan©- Defence
5Gökhan Caba- Defence
11Elly Cissé- Defence*
7Ömer Hacı Salihoğlu- Defence
14Fatih Akyel Defence
19Serdar Akdoğan- Defence
26Faruk Bayar- Defence*
30Fran Sergio Bastos- Defence*
33 Jens Berthly Askou Den Defence*
34Sabri Turgut- Defence*
54Alpaslan Kartal- Defence
6Yasin Sülün- Middle-field
8Ünal Sarı- Middle-field
10A.Francisco Moritz- Middle-field*
16Ender Alkan- Middle-field
20Ruşen Duranoğlu- Middle-field
21Faruk Atalay- Middle-field
23Barbaros Bahadır Barut- Middle-field*
27Mustafa Marangoz- Middle-field
28Merthan Açıl- Middle-field
35Yekta Kurtuluş- Middle-field*
77Göksel Akıncı- Middle-field*
0 Hugo Leonardo Pereira- Middle-field*
18Jonathan Tehoue- Forward*
19Serdar Akdoğan- Forward
61Erhan Küçük- Forward
0Harun Karadaş- Forward

It was long time ago since Kasımpaşa fans watched their team in the Super League. Back to Super League means a lot for them, and Kasımpaşaspor fansa re one of the hottest in the country. Guess there will be a lot pressure on the away teams and players. Not enough information I’ve about the team’s performance and play in the pre-season matches, but seems many mediocre transfers, and a hopeful trainer we have here.
Verdict: With the home advantage, if they can use it properly, they can stay in the league is my impression
Expected Place: (13-17)

Pre-Season Matches:
Beşiktaş- Kasımpaşa (6-0) (July 6)
Kasımpaşa-Antalyaspor (1-1) (July 27)
Konyaspor- Kasımpaşa (0-1) (August 3)
Kasımpaşa-Konyaspor (0-0) (August 4)

That’S IT