Lions short of options in game with Hamburg
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 12, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Two weeks after a heroic performance against Bordeaux, Galatasaray is on the UEFA Cup stage again, but against an arguably better side, and with obvious squad problems, especially on the defensive line. With only a few defenders fit for the game, shorthanded Galatasaray will try to get a good result against Hamburg tonight
Galatasaray is playing one of its most important games of the season tonight but is not exactly doing so under the best of circumstances.
The Lions travel to play German side Hamburg in the first leg of the last round of the UEFA Cup before the quaterfinals, but do so with a squad severely depleted through injuries, suspensions and an unlikely sale.
Galatasaray is forced to put out a different line up against Hamburg, especially in the defensive line.
Full backs Servet Çetin and Emre Güngör are injured, and so are defensive midfielders Tobias Linderoth and Mehmet Topal, leaving coach Bülent Korkmaz few options at the back. Of course, defender Fernando Meira’s confirmed sale defender to the Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg hardly helped the cause.
Since his arrival from Stuttgart at the beginning of the season, Meira has failed to produce the goods on the pitch consistently, and made a crucial mistake that will remain burned into Galatasaray fans’ memory when he missed a ball in the opening seconds of the Bordeaux game two weeks ago.
The Portuguese’s mistake gave the French side the fastest goal in the competition’s history, but Galatasaray eventually recovered to win the game 4-3, advancing to the next round in the cup and the opportunity to take on Hamburg.
That night, Galatasaray’s victory helped erase the memory of Meira’s mistake quicker, but still, he might have been of use with the Lions facing a crucial UEFA Cup tie.
As a club with well-documented financial woes, selling a 30-year-old defender to Zenit for a fee of six million euros is understandable but the timing is far from ideal. Ê
Korkmaz is likely to use left back Hakan Balta as a full back alongside Emre A?õk, the only decent player left for this position, or 18-year-old Semih Kaya, who would be a real gamble.
Although being seen as a player with some potential, Semih has never started a game, and his only game play experience at Galatasaray was in the last two minutes of a Fortis Turkish Cup game against Malatyaspor, if that counts as experience.
However, Bülent Korkmaz may still use the young man if he feels that Semih is capable of producing something good for the team. At the end of the day, Korkmaz himself made his Galatasaray debut in a European game: Back in the 1988-1989 campaign when he came on as a substitute against Rapid Wien in the first round of the Champion Clubs’ Cup. He even made a mistake that led to the game ending 2-1 in favor of the Austrians, but Galatasaray eventually advanced to the next round. Ê
Aside from its defensive woes, Galatasaray will play without striker Milan Baros, too, as he picked two yellow cards in previous games. The Lions may miss the Czech striker’s counter attack abilities in a game which they are likely to be defending for most of the 90 minutes.
However, it may be of comfort to Galatasaray that Baros, who is team’s top scorer in the competition with four goals, has not scored in the last five UEFA Cup games.
Hamburg out of form
Another hope may be that Hamburg has not been at its best recently. The Germans suffered two humiliating losses in the last two weeks of the league. After a 3-1 home defeat against tough Wolfsburg, things turned even worse when it was beaten 4-1 by relegation-battling Mönchengladbach last weekend.
However, Hamburg is still a competent team with players such as Croatian striker Ivica Olic, who will leave the team for giant Bayern Munich at the end of the season, Brazilian midfielder Thiago Neves, Germany’s Piotr Trochowski and Czech David Jarolim.
Furthermore, it must be said that Dutch coach Martin Jol’s team is virtually unbeaten at home, despite the frustration against Wolfsburg. Hamburg has been beaten only twice at the Volksparkstadion in 18 games this year. And unlike Lions’ previous opponent, Bordeaux, its title chance is dimming in the league, so the Germans’ priority may be the UEFA Cup.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 7 p.m.
The Lions travel to play German side Hamburg in the first leg of the last round of the UEFA Cup before the quaterfinals, but do so with a squad severely depleted through injuries, suspensions and an unlikely sale.
Galatasaray is forced to put out a different line up against Hamburg, especially in the defensive line.
Full backs Servet Çetin and Emre Güngör are injured, and so are defensive midfielders Tobias Linderoth and Mehmet Topal, leaving coach Bülent Korkmaz few options at the back. Of course, defender Fernando Meira’s confirmed sale defender to the Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg hardly helped the cause.
Since his arrival from Stuttgart at the beginning of the season, Meira has failed to produce the goods on the pitch consistently, and made a crucial mistake that will remain burned into Galatasaray fans’ memory when he missed a ball in the opening seconds of the Bordeaux game two weeks ago.
The Portuguese’s mistake gave the French side the fastest goal in the competition’s history, but Galatasaray eventually recovered to win the game 4-3, advancing to the next round in the cup and the opportunity to take on Hamburg.
That night, Galatasaray’s victory helped erase the memory of Meira’s mistake quicker, but still, he might have been of use with the Lions facing a crucial UEFA Cup tie.
As a club with well-documented financial woes, selling a 30-year-old defender to Zenit for a fee of six million euros is understandable but the timing is far from ideal. Ê
Korkmaz is likely to use left back Hakan Balta as a full back alongside Emre A?õk, the only decent player left for this position, or 18-year-old Semih Kaya, who would be a real gamble.
Although being seen as a player with some potential, Semih has never started a game, and his only game play experience at Galatasaray was in the last two minutes of a Fortis Turkish Cup game against Malatyaspor, if that counts as experience.
However, Bülent Korkmaz may still use the young man if he feels that Semih is capable of producing something good for the team. At the end of the day, Korkmaz himself made his Galatasaray debut in a European game: Back in the 1988-1989 campaign when he came on as a substitute against Rapid Wien in the first round of the Champion Clubs’ Cup. He even made a mistake that led to the game ending 2-1 in favor of the Austrians, but Galatasaray eventually advanced to the next round. Ê
Aside from its defensive woes, Galatasaray will play without striker Milan Baros, too, as he picked two yellow cards in previous games. The Lions may miss the Czech striker’s counter attack abilities in a game which they are likely to be defending for most of the 90 minutes.
However, it may be of comfort to Galatasaray that Baros, who is team’s top scorer in the competition with four goals, has not scored in the last five UEFA Cup games.
Hamburg out of form
Another hope may be that Hamburg has not been at its best recently. The Germans suffered two humiliating losses in the last two weeks of the league. After a 3-1 home defeat against tough Wolfsburg, things turned even worse when it was beaten 4-1 by relegation-battling Mönchengladbach last weekend.
However, Hamburg is still a competent team with players such as Croatian striker Ivica Olic, who will leave the team for giant Bayern Munich at the end of the season, Brazilian midfielder Thiago Neves, Germany’s Piotr Trochowski and Czech David Jarolim.
Furthermore, it must be said that Dutch coach Martin Jol’s team is virtually unbeaten at home, despite the frustration against Wolfsburg. Hamburg has been beaten only twice at the Volksparkstadion in 18 games this year. And unlike Lions’ previous opponent, Bordeaux, its title chance is dimming in the league, so the Germans’ priority may be the UEFA Cup.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 7 p.m.