No happy end for Fener
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 12, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - Fenerbahçe misses out on its last chance to continue its European campaign after a 1-0 loss to Dynamo Kiev. With its fourth defeat in the Champions League this season, Fener fails to find the consolation of a ticket to the UEFA Cup, the final of which will be played at its home ground next year.
One of this season’s biggest parties will be held at its home stadium but Fenerbahçe has lost its last chance of being invited.
After losing all hope of qualifying from its Champions League group, Fenerbahçe failed to continue its story in the UEFA Cup campaign with a 1-0 loss to Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. Now, Dynamo Kiev will be among the 32 teams that will compete for a place in the UEFA Cup final to be played at Fenerbahçe’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on May 20.
While the Ukrainian side claimed a place in the UEFA Cup knockout stages after Roman Eremenko's first half goal sealed a 1-0 victory in the Group G, Fenerbahçe was left empty handed.
Artem Milevskiy, Dynamo's driving force throughout the match, sent Eremenko through with a diagonal cross-field pass 20 minutes into the game, before the Istanbul side's onrushing goalkeeper Volkan Demirel made the midfielder's finish even easier.
As last year’s quarter-finalist, Fenerbahçe fans were hoping that their team would use every opportunity to cling onto the chance of remaining in the European cups but it seemed the Yellow Canaries’ poor performance this year would continue.
Fenerbahçe had one of its worst showings in the Champions League this year, with only two draws in five games. This is only the second time Fenerbahçe has failed to win a game in its six seasons in European football’s top club competition.
Aragones under fire
Coach Luis Aragones is often the scapegoat for the Turkish media, but the Spaniard defended himself, saying it was difficult to be successful in Europe.
"Given the current circumstances, it was hard to be successful in the Champions League," said Aragones. When asked what "the current circumstances" he talked about were, the Spaniard talked about time.
"A coach needs a year or two to build up a good team that will compete with the best and I have been at Fenerbahçe for five or six months only," Aragones told reporters. "It will not be easy, even I need that time."
However, Fenerbahçe’s fall from last year’s heroes to this year’s winless zeroes would inevitably raise questions about a comparison with Aragones and Zico, the former Fener coach.
"Maybe Fenerbahçe did better last year, but that was a different coach and team," said the 70-year-old. "So there is no need to make such comparisons." After the European frustration, Aragones will probably feel more under pressure, but he is ready to take hits.
"Of course the one who manages the team has the most faults, that stands without doubt," he said. "The team who plays better on the pitch wins, not the team looking better on paper."
He added that his team would roll on to the next competitions.
"We are out of the Champions League but there are still two trophies up for grabs," said Aragones, referring to the Turkcell Super League and the Fortis Turkish Cup. Dynamo joined Ukrainian rivals Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv in the UEFA Cup while group winner Porto and runner-up Arsenal continue to the next stage of the Champions League.
Tough game
"It was a tough game because we needed a positive result to qualify for the UEFA Cup and paid more attention to defense. We did have concerns while choosing the lineup before the match due to the numerous injuries," Dynamo coach Yuri Semin said. "Luckily, we managed to cope and now three Ukrainian teams will play in the UEFA Cup."
Also Wednesday, defending champion Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Juventus finished at the top of their Champions League groups, making them seeded teams for the knockout round ahead of next week's draw, while Aalborg, Fiorentina and Zenit grabbed tickets to the UEFA Cup after placing third.
After losing all hope of qualifying from its Champions League group, Fenerbahçe failed to continue its story in the UEFA Cup campaign with a 1-0 loss to Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. Now, Dynamo Kiev will be among the 32 teams that will compete for a place in the UEFA Cup final to be played at Fenerbahçe’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on May 20.
While the Ukrainian side claimed a place in the UEFA Cup knockout stages after Roman Eremenko's first half goal sealed a 1-0 victory in the Group G, Fenerbahçe was left empty handed.
Artem Milevskiy, Dynamo's driving force throughout the match, sent Eremenko through with a diagonal cross-field pass 20 minutes into the game, before the Istanbul side's onrushing goalkeeper Volkan Demirel made the midfielder's finish even easier.
As last year’s quarter-finalist, Fenerbahçe fans were hoping that their team would use every opportunity to cling onto the chance of remaining in the European cups but it seemed the Yellow Canaries’ poor performance this year would continue.
Fenerbahçe had one of its worst showings in the Champions League this year, with only two draws in five games. This is only the second time Fenerbahçe has failed to win a game in its six seasons in European football’s top club competition.
Aragones under fire
Coach Luis Aragones is often the scapegoat for the Turkish media, but the Spaniard defended himself, saying it was difficult to be successful in Europe.
"Given the current circumstances, it was hard to be successful in the Champions League," said Aragones. When asked what "the current circumstances" he talked about were, the Spaniard talked about time.
"A coach needs a year or two to build up a good team that will compete with the best and I have been at Fenerbahçe for five or six months only," Aragones told reporters. "It will not be easy, even I need that time."
However, Fenerbahçe’s fall from last year’s heroes to this year’s winless zeroes would inevitably raise questions about a comparison with Aragones and Zico, the former Fener coach.
"Maybe Fenerbahçe did better last year, but that was a different coach and team," said the 70-year-old. "So there is no need to make such comparisons." After the European frustration, Aragones will probably feel more under pressure, but he is ready to take hits.
"Of course the one who manages the team has the most faults, that stands without doubt," he said. "The team who plays better on the pitch wins, not the team looking better on paper."
He added that his team would roll on to the next competitions.
"We are out of the Champions League but there are still two trophies up for grabs," said Aragones, referring to the Turkcell Super League and the Fortis Turkish Cup. Dynamo joined Ukrainian rivals Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist Kharkiv in the UEFA Cup while group winner Porto and runner-up Arsenal continue to the next stage of the Champions League.
Tough game
"It was a tough game because we needed a positive result to qualify for the UEFA Cup and paid more attention to defense. We did have concerns while choosing the lineup before the match due to the numerous injuries," Dynamo coach Yuri Semin said. "Luckily, we managed to cope and now three Ukrainian teams will play in the UEFA Cup."
Also Wednesday, defending champion Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Juventus finished at the top of their Champions League groups, making them seeded teams for the knockout round ahead of next week's draw, while Aalborg, Fiorentina and Zenit grabbed tickets to the UEFA Cup after placing third.