Hamburg puts an end to Lions’ UEFA dreams
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 21, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Playing the UEFA Cup final at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, the home of its fiercest rival Fenerbahçe, was a sweet dream for Galatasaray, but the Lions have been sorely woken by Hamburg. Despite taking a 2-0 lead Thursday night, the Istanbul side could not resist the classic German attitude, which went on to win the game 3-2
It s no secret that watching a Turkish team against the Europeans is an experience that can be only compared to a roller coaster ride. One minute you are as high as the clouds and the next you are buried to the pitch. And it was exactly what happened to Galatasaray on Thursday night.
Failing to preserve a two-goal lead, Galatasaray was beaten 3-2 by Hamburg at its Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul, and missed out on a chance to win the UEFA Cup for the second time.
A 1-1 draw in the away game against Hamburg was an advantage to make it to the quarterfinals in the UEFA Cup, but Galatasaray was too shorthanded to think about its advantage. Injuries, suspensions and a ridiculously untimely sale of Fernando Meira forced Bülent Korkmaz to create new ways to form a defensive line. In the starting eleven, two center backs were Hakan Balta and Harry Kewell. The former was originally a left back and the latter’s world-famous abilities are unmistakably in attacking not in defense.
But still, Galatasaray never looked that desperate in the game. After successfully defending the Hamburg pressure in the opening 15 minutes, Galatasaray maintained the balance, and later in the half, won a penalty when Milan Baros was fouled in the box in the 42nd minute. The kick was taken by Harry Kewell, probably a gesture to honor the Australian, who was giving his best even playing in an unfamiliar position. After the start of the second half, Galatasaray s advantage became even bigger, as Milan Baros capped a beautifully-constructed move in the 49th minute. When Arda Turan, Lincoln and Baros all linked in magnificent passing traffic, Galatasaray fans were feeling comfortable their team had all but finished it.
However, as lethal as it is on offense, Galatasaray was too vulnerable at the back, and its Achilles heel was shot twice in three minutes. Paolo Guerrero's quickfire double just before the hour canceled out Galatasaray s lead. When Ivica Olic scored the winner, Galatasaray s dreams of playing the UEFA Cup final at the home of archrivals Fenerbahçe, the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, were shattered.
"I admit that we are relaxed a little once 2-0 up, that could be felt, " said coach Bülent Korkmaz after the game. Despite the fact that his side was depleted, Korkmaz refused to cite this as the cause of defeat.
"You should not think of things like that," said Korkmaz. "If you have 11 men on the pitch, everybody will try to do their best for the win."
’Team collapsed’
Chairman Adnan Polat voiced his grief after the game.
"I am very sad to lose like this," he said. "We would love to play the final at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and lift the UEFA Cup again. We were ready for it, believed that we could make it to the final but lost badly."
"I think the team felt that things were done after 2-0, they lost their concentration and collapsed with two consecutive goals."
The chairman added that Galatasaray needed to concentrate on Sunday’s Turkcell Super League game against Eskişehirspor now.
"There is nothing to do now," he said. "We will do everything to prepare our players for the next league game." As the chairman said, Galatasaray will need to come back from this defeat, as Eskişehirspor can manage surprising upsets at times. The two teams first meeting this season ended in a 4-2 defeat for Galatasaray.
However, this weekend s big game will be the Sivasspor-Beşiktaş game, which will stage a clash between the league s top two teams.
Sivasspor, which has only managed to win once in its last four games, is relying on its home-pitch advantage. The Central Anatolian side is yet to be beaten in the 12 league games it played in Sivas this year, and those matches include wins over other title contenders Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
For Beşiktaş, it is its stunning form in the new year that could make the difference. With six wins and two draws in eight games played in 2009, Beşiktaş is the best performer in the second period of the league. Sivas is on 49 points and one point ahead of Beşiktaş, and the winner of the game will be in the top spot this weekend.
Failing to preserve a two-goal lead, Galatasaray was beaten 3-2 by Hamburg at its Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul, and missed out on a chance to win the UEFA Cup for the second time.
A 1-1 draw in the away game against Hamburg was an advantage to make it to the quarterfinals in the UEFA Cup, but Galatasaray was too shorthanded to think about its advantage. Injuries, suspensions and a ridiculously untimely sale of Fernando Meira forced Bülent Korkmaz to create new ways to form a defensive line. In the starting eleven, two center backs were Hakan Balta and Harry Kewell. The former was originally a left back and the latter’s world-famous abilities are unmistakably in attacking not in defense.
But still, Galatasaray never looked that desperate in the game. After successfully defending the Hamburg pressure in the opening 15 minutes, Galatasaray maintained the balance, and later in the half, won a penalty when Milan Baros was fouled in the box in the 42nd minute. The kick was taken by Harry Kewell, probably a gesture to honor the Australian, who was giving his best even playing in an unfamiliar position. After the start of the second half, Galatasaray s advantage became even bigger, as Milan Baros capped a beautifully-constructed move in the 49th minute. When Arda Turan, Lincoln and Baros all linked in magnificent passing traffic, Galatasaray fans were feeling comfortable their team had all but finished it.
However, as lethal as it is on offense, Galatasaray was too vulnerable at the back, and its Achilles heel was shot twice in three minutes. Paolo Guerrero's quickfire double just before the hour canceled out Galatasaray s lead. When Ivica Olic scored the winner, Galatasaray s dreams of playing the UEFA Cup final at the home of archrivals Fenerbahçe, the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, were shattered.
"I admit that we are relaxed a little once 2-0 up, that could be felt, " said coach Bülent Korkmaz after the game. Despite the fact that his side was depleted, Korkmaz refused to cite this as the cause of defeat.
"You should not think of things like that," said Korkmaz. "If you have 11 men on the pitch, everybody will try to do their best for the win."
’Team collapsed’
Chairman Adnan Polat voiced his grief after the game.
"I am very sad to lose like this," he said. "We would love to play the final at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and lift the UEFA Cup again. We were ready for it, believed that we could make it to the final but lost badly."
"I think the team felt that things were done after 2-0, they lost their concentration and collapsed with two consecutive goals."
The chairman added that Galatasaray needed to concentrate on Sunday’s Turkcell Super League game against Eskişehirspor now.
"There is nothing to do now," he said. "We will do everything to prepare our players for the next league game." As the chairman said, Galatasaray will need to come back from this defeat, as Eskişehirspor can manage surprising upsets at times. The two teams first meeting this season ended in a 4-2 defeat for Galatasaray.
However, this weekend s big game will be the Sivasspor-Beşiktaş game, which will stage a clash between the league s top two teams.
Sivasspor, which has only managed to win once in its last four games, is relying on its home-pitch advantage. The Central Anatolian side is yet to be beaten in the 12 league games it played in Sivas this year, and those matches include wins over other title contenders Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
For Beşiktaş, it is its stunning form in the new year that could make the difference. With six wins and two draws in eight games played in 2009, Beşiktaş is the best performer in the second period of the league. Sivas is on 49 points and one point ahead of Beşiktaş, and the winner of the game will be in the top spot this weekend.