Fener hopes to stay in hunt for top spot

Fenerbahçe welcomes Kocaelispor in the opening game of week 24 in the Turkcell Super League.

After a period of poor results with only one win in its first four games in the new year, Fenerbahçe has finally found its form. After a stunningly ambitious display in the 4-2 victory against league leader Sivasspor two weeks ago, Fenerbahçe beat another solid side of the league with a 2-0 victory over Kayserispor last Sunday.

Coach Luis Aragones said that he could see that rising form coming. "There were games that we lost," Aragones said in a program on the club’s official television channel FB TV. "After the midseason training camp I told my players and the media that we would play better in March and April."

But the Spaniard was not in an I-told-you-so mood when the program’s host reminded him about some comments in the Spanish media that suggested, "Wise Aragones is right again."

"I don’t listen to those comments, I don’t care about them either," said the coach. "They have written about our problems before." The important thing is sustaining that level of form, said the 70-year-old. "We need to be careful, and we should keep our position," he said, adding that there may be slight ups in the teams form and those of individuals. "You can’t finish every game with the result you wish. My players are not machines."

Tonight’s game against Kocaelispor may look like an easy one, as Kocaelispor is second-last in the league. However, the Green and Blacks are not a side to be written off easily, especially when they have Taner Gülleri, the 33-year-old goal-scoring machine.

Man of big games

Gülleri scored in all four of his team’s losses against "the big four," Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor in the first period of the season. However, it was not until he killed Galatasaray with four goals in a 5-2 victory three weeks ago that he made the headlines.

Scoring eight of his 13 goals in big games, Gülleri will be the man to watch at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium tonight. He is the second top scorer of the league after Galatasaray’s Milan Baros, and wants to win the goal scoring title.

"I want to win it, and I need to score more for that," he said. "I want to score one or a few goals against Fenerbahçe. I did in the first game, but we lost 3-2. I hope I score again and that this time we will be the winning side."