Fener wants quiet end to an up and down year
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 19, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - It is not often a football team experiences the extremes of success and failure in the same year, but that was the story of Fenerbahçe in 2008. It will now look for the consolation of at least ending the year on a high.
The first few months of 2008 were so blissful for Fenerbahçe that it was probably wishing things could have gone on like that forever. Now, however, after everything has fallen apart so spectacularly, it probably wishes the year, along with all its bad memories, would be cast into history as quickly as possible.
Earlier this year, Fenerbahçe must have been feeling it would easily win the Turkcell Super League, to take making it its fourth title in five years. With only three weeks left in the 08/07 season, just a draw at Galatasaray would be enough to grab a huge advantage atop the league, but after being beaten 1-0 by its archrival, Fenerbahçe lost the title. And so went its successful rhythm. Frustration at losing the league to an opposition whose coach left the team in the last five weeks of the season was huge at Fenerbahçe, and was materialized by Chairperson Aziz Yıldırım’s publicized woes the team "should have easily won the league even only walking on the pitch." It would also cost coach Zico his job.Â
After a successful period in Japan, the Brazilian won the league title with Fenerbahçe in his first coaching experience in Europe in the 2006/2007 season, and led the team to the third round of the UEFA Cup, which was an achievement for a team who had usually been a pushover in Europe.
However, that was only the beginning for Zico. The following year, he commanded the Yellow Canaries to their best-ever season in Europe. Fenerbahçe won three home games in its Champions League group, including an unforgettable 1-0 victory over Inter Milan and eventually became the only second Turkish team to have advanced from its group, to be drawn against then UEFA Cup holder Sevilla in the following round.
Beating the Spanish side on penalties after a dazzling aggregate of 5-5, Fenerbahçe went on to advance to the quarterfinals in European football’s most prestigious club competition. The next opponent was Chelsea and despite the promising 2-1 victory in the first leg, Fenerbahçe was beaten 2-0 by the Blues in London and its Euro glory ended in the last eight.Â
Winds of change
Despite the unprecedented European success achieved during Zico’s helm, the aforementioned league failure forced winds of change at the club. Chair Yıldırım did not extend Zico’s contract, citing some conflicts over terms of a new deal.
There were high hopes but it was almost all downhill after Zico’s departure. Coach Luis Aragones was brought in to coach Fenerbahçe, only days after leading Spain to a long-sought European Championship. Fellow Spaniard Daniel Güiza was signed to bring his goal scoring talent Ğ that saw him top scorer in La Liga last season Ğ to Istanbul.
However, the change did not do much good for Fenerbahçe. After losing defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio to Real Betis, the team lost its combative edge. But the change was not solely down to one hardworking player. It was about abandoning a working system for no particular reason and trying to rebuild with a new coach, who was working with an immense talent pool filled with players from Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Aragones knew that the job was tough and frequently asked for more time, but he was probably not aware of Fenerbahçe’s characteristics, which demand instant success. At the end of the day, this was a club that could part ways with a coach that led it to unprecedented heights in Europe.
Ironically, the reason the club dropped Zico and failed in the league, is more present now. This season started awfully for Fenerbahçe, who slipped as low as 12th with successive defeats in the league. Although it managed to climb higher with a string of wins, the level of performance is still far from being satisfying. Now Aragones’ Fenerbahçe will be happy to end the year 2008 higher than the fourth spot in the league, if one of the top three teams slump on the last weekend, but it has to beat Konyaspor tonight for that.
But what was more striking was the chute from Europe. Only months after enjoying a rare season where it would qualify for the last rounds in early 2008, Fener sank without a trace and was eliminated from the Champions League without a single win in the latest campaign. After being knocked out of the European competition, winning the Turkish title remains as the only acceptable seasonal target for Fenerbahçe.
As a rare example of living the extremes of success and failure at both ends of a year, Fenerbahçe at least wants the consolation of ending 2008 on a high.
Tonight’s Konyaspor-Fenerbahçe game kicks off at 8:00 p.m.
Earlier this year, Fenerbahçe must have been feeling it would easily win the Turkcell Super League, to take making it its fourth title in five years. With only three weeks left in the 08/07 season, just a draw at Galatasaray would be enough to grab a huge advantage atop the league, but after being beaten 1-0 by its archrival, Fenerbahçe lost the title. And so went its successful rhythm. Frustration at losing the league to an opposition whose coach left the team in the last five weeks of the season was huge at Fenerbahçe, and was materialized by Chairperson Aziz Yıldırım’s publicized woes the team "should have easily won the league even only walking on the pitch." It would also cost coach Zico his job.Â
After a successful period in Japan, the Brazilian won the league title with Fenerbahçe in his first coaching experience in Europe in the 2006/2007 season, and led the team to the third round of the UEFA Cup, which was an achievement for a team who had usually been a pushover in Europe.
However, that was only the beginning for Zico. The following year, he commanded the Yellow Canaries to their best-ever season in Europe. Fenerbahçe won three home games in its Champions League group, including an unforgettable 1-0 victory over Inter Milan and eventually became the only second Turkish team to have advanced from its group, to be drawn against then UEFA Cup holder Sevilla in the following round.
Beating the Spanish side on penalties after a dazzling aggregate of 5-5, Fenerbahçe went on to advance to the quarterfinals in European football’s most prestigious club competition. The next opponent was Chelsea and despite the promising 2-1 victory in the first leg, Fenerbahçe was beaten 2-0 by the Blues in London and its Euro glory ended in the last eight.Â
Winds of change
Despite the unprecedented European success achieved during Zico’s helm, the aforementioned league failure forced winds of change at the club. Chair Yıldırım did not extend Zico’s contract, citing some conflicts over terms of a new deal.
There were high hopes but it was almost all downhill after Zico’s departure. Coach Luis Aragones was brought in to coach Fenerbahçe, only days after leading Spain to a long-sought European Championship. Fellow Spaniard Daniel Güiza was signed to bring his goal scoring talent Ğ that saw him top scorer in La Liga last season Ğ to Istanbul.
However, the change did not do much good for Fenerbahçe. After losing defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio to Real Betis, the team lost its combative edge. But the change was not solely down to one hardworking player. It was about abandoning a working system for no particular reason and trying to rebuild with a new coach, who was working with an immense talent pool filled with players from Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Aragones knew that the job was tough and frequently asked for more time, but he was probably not aware of Fenerbahçe’s characteristics, which demand instant success. At the end of the day, this was a club that could part ways with a coach that led it to unprecedented heights in Europe.
Ironically, the reason the club dropped Zico and failed in the league, is more present now. This season started awfully for Fenerbahçe, who slipped as low as 12th with successive defeats in the league. Although it managed to climb higher with a string of wins, the level of performance is still far from being satisfying. Now Aragones’ Fenerbahçe will be happy to end the year 2008 higher than the fourth spot in the league, if one of the top three teams slump on the last weekend, but it has to beat Konyaspor tonight for that.
But what was more striking was the chute from Europe. Only months after enjoying a rare season where it would qualify for the last rounds in early 2008, Fener sank without a trace and was eliminated from the Champions League without a single win in the latest campaign. After being knocked out of the European competition, winning the Turkish title remains as the only acceptable seasonal target for Fenerbahçe.
As a rare example of living the extremes of success and failure at both ends of a year, Fenerbahçe at least wants the consolation of ending 2008 on a high.
Tonight’s Konyaspor-Fenerbahçe game kicks off at 8:00 p.m.