Turkish Football Season 2016/17

[--staradam--]

Digiturk retains Turkish Super League TV rights with annual fee of $600M

Turkish digital television platform Digiturk is set to retain its broadcasting rights of the Turkish Super League's for another five years with an annual fee of $600 million, after it overcame rival bids on Monday. The bidding ceremony was held at the Turkish Football Federation's (TFF) Hasan Doğan Training Complex in Istanbul.

Through this contract, the Turkish Super League has retained its position as Europe's sixth biggest league according to TV rights earnings.

Turkcell had only bid for mobile and online broadcasting rights. Before the bidding ceremony, five companies were declared to have completed the specifications for the contract.

In the previous bid held back in 2010, Digiturk had won the contract with an annual fee of $321 million. The contract was later extended by three years in 2014. Digiturk is among the leading Turkish pay TV service providers with nearly 4.5 million subscribers and over 200 channels on its platform.

The Qatar-based beIN Media Group LLC acquired Digiturk, which was controlled by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) since May 2013 due to its previous owner Çukurova Group's debts, in July 2015 for a final amount of $1.4 billion

[bjkman1903]

TV-rights - should be 500M (+VAT) USD per year - that's 2,5B USD in 5 years and it is quite a lot of money.
Not as impressive as in England but still.

[bjkman1903]

Week 11

Table :

29 - Medipol Başakşehir
28 -
27 - Beşiktaş
26 -
25 -
24 -
23 -
22 -
21 - Bursaspor / Fenerbahçe
20 - Galatasaray
19 -
18 -
17 -
16 - Torku Konyaspor
15 - Osmanlıspor
14 - Gençlerbirliği / K. Karabükspor
13 -
12 - Kasımpaşa / Antalyaspor
11 - Alanyaspor / Gaziantepspor / Trabzonspor
10 - Çaykur Rizespor / Akhisar Bld.
9 - Kayserispor
8 -
7 -
6 - Adanaspor


Champions League Group Stage
Champions League NCQ3
Europa League Group Stage (Cup Winner)
Europa League Q3
Europa League Q2
Relegation

Overview -

- Not much surprising results this week, Besiktas, Basaksehir (late winner goal) and Fenerbahçe all won. Only Bursaspor drew at home from the teams on top.
- Galatasaray lost again in their rivals home (Fenerbahçe didn't lose at home v them for 18 years now). What is even more worrying is that they played very bad and they lost 3 of the last 4 games.
- Another defeat for Trabzon, I wonder when thet are starting winning some games. They do not play bad but can't score.
- From now on it will be a tricky period for my team Besiktas as we will play Benfica, then Basaksehir and Fener in the league, right before D.Kiev. These games will confirm if we will continue in CL, play EL, and our chances in the league this year.

[--staradam--]

Beşiktaş lovers preparing to make first silent cheer in match with Benfica

The fans of Turkey's Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club are preparing to set a record by making the first "silent cheer" in their stadium in Istanbul in the next competitive meeting with Portugal's SL Benfica in a Group B match of the UEFA Champions League.

A video that calls the Eagles' supporters and other football lovers to join their silent cheer campaign was released on the team's official Twitter account on Saturday. The video says that the Beşiktaş lovers will start cheering in the first moment of the match by doing sign language, which will be one-minute-long, without making any noise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL6AV2zIXoc

The first sign will say "We are against racism," and the following sign will be about the team's nickname, "Black Eagles." The football team and its fans want to make this silent cheer to draw attention to global increasing racism and to relate to how people with impaired hearing, watch football matches.

[bjkman1903]

Week 12

Table :

30 - Medipol Başakşehir
29 -
28 - Beşiktaş
27 -
26 -
25 -
24 - Fenerbahçe
23 - Galatasaray
22 -
21 - Bursaspor
20 -
19 -
18 -
17 - Torku Konyaspor / K. Karabükspor
16 - Osmanlıspor
15 - Antalyaspor / Gençlerbirliği
14 - Alanyaspor
13 - Akhisar Bld.
12 - Trabzonspor / Kasımpaşa
11 - Gaziantepspor
10 - Çaykur Rizespor
09 - Kayserispor
08 -
07 -
06 - Adanaspor


Champions League Group Stage
Champions League NCQ3
Europa League Group Stage (Cup Winner)
Europa League Q3
Europa League Q2
Relegation

Overview -

- The match between two undefeated teams did end by a draw : Besiktas 1-1 Istanbul Basaksehir. Probably a fair result, Besiktas was too tired after that crazy come back v Benfica.
- Both Fener and Galatasaray won, thus closing the gap between the top teams. Impressive Fener as it's their 6h consecutive win, and they are getting stronger every week. Next week they will host Besiktas and might get even closer to the second place.
- Trabzon disappointing again, not being able to score and defeat a 10-men Gençlerbirligi opponent
- Istanbul Basaksehir - now around 20 league games without defeat. They beat Fener and Galatasaray, and did draw away v Besiktas this year. Can they become Turkey's Leceister City?
- I expect the current top 4 teams to represent Turkey in europe next year

[--staradam--]

Twin blasts in Turkey's Vodafone Arena and Macka Park, Beşiktaş JK lose two club members to terror attack.

The attacks left 38 people dead and 155 wounded. 14 of the wounded are currently under intensive care.

Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club have lost the stadium’s Private Security Manager Vefa Karakurdu (43) and the Beşiktaş JK store employee Tunç Uncu (29).

A day later, the terror attacks were claimed by PKK's suicide team, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK).

TAK said that two of their members died in the attacks, but they did not specify if they were suicide attackers, adding that they will release the information of the attackers in upcoming days. Intelligence sources indicated that the suicide bomber was from a PYD-controlled area in Northern Syria. The PYD is the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist group. Both the PYD and the YPG are the offshoot of the PKK terrorist organization operating in Syria.

[bjkman1903]

Week 14

Table :

32 - Medipol Başakşehir / Beşiktaş
31 -
30 -
29 - Galatasaray
28 -
27 -
26 -
25 - Fenerbahçe
24 - Bursaspor
23 - Konyaspor
22 - Osmanlıspor
21 -
20 -
19 - Antalyaspor / Gençlerbirliği
18 - Trabzonspor
17 - Alanyaspor / K. Karabükspor
16 - Akhisar Bld.
15 - Kasımpaşa
14 -
13 -
12 -
11 - Gaziantepspor
10 - Çaykur Rizespor
09 - Kayserispor
08 -
07 -
06 - Adanaspor


Champions League Group Stage
Champions League NCQ3
Europa League Group Stage (Cup Winner)
Europa League Q3
Europa League Q2
Relegation

Overview -

- Besiktas got an important win after that heavy defeat in Kiev - same for Galatasaray they beat Gaziantep at home (probably the worst team at the moment, they just got their 5th defeat in a row)
- Fener lost at Antalya and the gap between them and the top became a little bit higher
- 3rd draw in a row for Istanbul Basaksehir but they are still leader due to a better goal average than Besiktas
- 2 games left in the league before the winter break

[bjkman1903]

Week 15

Table :

35 - Istanbul Başakşehir
34 -
33 -
32 - Beşiktaş
31 -
30 - Galatasaray
29 -
28 - Fenerbahçe
27 - Bursaspor
26 -
25 -
24 - Konyaspor
23 - Osmanlıspor
22 -
21 -
20 -
19 - Antalyaspor / Gençlerbirliği
18 - Alanyaspor / K. Karabükspor / Kasımpaşa / Trabzonspor
17 - Akhisar Bld.
16 -
15 -
14 -
13 - Çaykur Rizespor
12 -
11 - Gaziantepspor
10 -
09 - Kayserispor / Adanaspor

Champions League Group Stage
Champions League NCQ3
Europa League Group Stage (Cup Winner)
Europa League Q3
Europa League Q2
Relegation

[bjkman1903]

Week 15 - Overview

• Galatasaray got away with a point from Ankara against Osmanlispor (they were losing 2-1 at 86') - difficult pitch, difficult away game so we might consider this point as a good result. However they do not impress so far this season except for a few games. But despite everything they are only 2 pts behind Besiktas, and with a couple of good transfers they can chase the title until the end. Another advantage is that they don't play any European games this season so might focus on the league.
% for the title : 25

• Fenerbahçe had a difficult start of season but they managed to improve a lot, won a lot of consecutive games in the league, finished first in their EL group in front of Man U and Feyenoord. If I had to rate them compared to their rivals from Istanbul, I would consider them as the best team overall. However, they have lost too many points in the beginning of the season, are two points behind Galatasaray and 4pts behind of Besiktas (despite playing both derbies at home already)
% for the title : 25

• Besiktas, my beloved team. Unfortunately I can't really say I am happy so far despite a 3rd place in CL and current second place in the league. Besiktas is much weaker than last year (here some users such as Dragonite would disagree, as he would consider a 3rd place in CL being already an improvement compared to the 3rd place last season in EL, meaning that Besiktas is successful). Well it isn't as simple as that. We have better results in Europe, but that's it, the football played is poor, especially in the league, and it became difficult to score goals (27 goals in 15 games isn't bad, but last year we scored 34 goals.. Besiktas also scored 6 goals in the last 6 games). Aboubakar is far from convincing, missing sitters but scoring goals when no one expect him to score. I really hope that he can improve a lot, or that we don't buy him at the end of the season (I would invest those 10m € to a better striker personally)
Let's see how it goes, hopefully Talisca would be able to play again, and I hope that Caner Erkin would be back before the end of the season. But despite all, Besiktas remains the best candidate for the title for now.
% for the title : 30

• Istanbul Basaksehir, still leader and undefeated after 15 games. They play some nice football and had great results (won v Fener, won at Galatasaray, won v Trabzon, drew at Besiktas). Drawing Shaktar was though luck in EL, as they could have become another team like Osmanlispor. Can they become the "Leicester City" of Turkey ? Well, time would only tell. Besides the big 4 (Besiktas, Fener, Gala, Trabzon), only one team managed to become champions (Bursa). They are doing well so far and let's see how they would handle the pressure in the second half.
% for the title : 15

• One team between Bursa, Konya or Osmanli should grab the last EL spot (assuming no surprises in the national cup) - Bursa and Konya have been disappointing in the past, so that I hope that Osmanli either finishes 5th or wins the cup.
% for the title : 5

• Relegation battle - Adana and Kayseri showed some poor performances so far. The last team to drop should be one between Rize, Gaziantep and Akhisar

[bjkman1903]

Week 16 (Winter Break)

Table :

36 - Istanbul Başakşehir
35 - Beşiktaş
34 -
33 - Galatasaray
32 -
31 - Fenerbahçe
30 -
29 -
28 -
27 - Bursaspor
26 - Osmanlıspor
25 -
24 - Konyaspor
23 -
22 - Antalyaspor / Gençlerbirliği
21 -
20 - Akhisar Bld.
19 -
18 - Alanyaspor / K. Karabükspor / Kasımpaşa / Trabzonspor
17 -
16 -
15 -
14 -
13 - Çaykur Rizespor
12 - Kayserispor
11 - Gaziantepspor
10 - Adanaspor

Champions League Group Stage
Champions League NCQ3
Europa League Group Stage (Cup Winner)
Europa League Q3
Europa League Q2
Relegation

[bjkman1903]

Winter break is over in Turkey.

Istanbul Basaksehir destroyed Kayseri (5-0) and proved once again that they are a serious title contender.

Galatasaray won in Konya (0-1), they suffered goal opportunities but a great Muslera was there as usual (he is probably the best goalkeeper in Turkey). Garry Rodrigues made his debut and seems to be a great player (3,5m € transfer fee seems to be a bargain), but let's see if they will improve their defensive weaknesses.

Fener dropped surprising two points at home v Adanaspor (2-2), which would seriously impact their title race. They drew at home against a lot of weaker sides (Adana, Kayseri, Alanya) which may cost them heavilily at the end of the season.
They complained again about refs.. OK in Turkey refs are bad, but no one mentions them when everything goes well (when you win). Yesterday the ref awarded a penalty for Fener (equaliser), added 7,5 minutes extra time, I dunno why they were complaining to be honest. If you can't beat dead-last Adana at home then the problem maybe comes from you?

Besiktas won in Ankara v Osmanlispor (0-2), I am so happy that Talisca is back now - he was injured and didn't play in the league for almost 80 days. He is such a great player, scored again, and I hope that he will stay but I doubt that we will be able to pay 25m € to Benfica.
He is a complete player, and is good no matter which game he plays. On the other hand, Aboubakar for instance seems to scrore only in CL.. I doubt that we will even miss him until he is back from the national team.

Next week a critical turning point of the season - Fenerbahçe v Istanbul Basaksehir.
Probably last chance for Fener if they want to stay in this title race - a must win.

[--staradam--]

With the total number of Passolig passes sold reaching 2.5 million

Passolig has anounced the numbers of card holders and attendees in the Spor Toto Super League reached 2.5 million within two years of its introduction.

Passolig is a newly implemented pass system that makes it only possible to attend football matches with a Passolig smart card instead of traditional paper tickets.


Passolig was implemented on April 14, 2014 to create a safe atmosphere at football games and protect fans from football hooliganism. The new system also plays a crucial role in preventing anti - government chants at the stadiums.

[bjkman1903]

National Cup Last 16 :

Akhisar v Gümüshanespor
Konyaspor v Ümraniyespor
Besiktas v Fenerbahçe
Basaksehir v Galatasaray
Tuzlaspor v Sivasspor
Gençlerbirligi v Kayserispor
Kasimpasa v Osmanlispor
Sanliurfaspor v Rizespor

Interesting things are happening in the national cup - both Bursa and Trabzon were eliminated in the group stage.
And now the top 4 in the league are playing each other in the next round.

[bjkman1903]

Week 19

* played 18 games

Table :

42 - Istanbul Başakşehir
41 - Beşiktaş *
40 -
39 - Galatasaray
38 -
37 -
36 -
35 - Fenerbahçe
34 -
33 -
32 -
31 - Antalyaspor
30 -
29 -
28 -
27 - Osmanlıspor / Bursaspor / Trabzonspor / Konyaspor *
26 -
25 -
24 - K. Karabükspor
23 - Gençlerbirliği *
22 -
21 - Akhisar Bld. / Kasımpaşa *
20 -
19 - Çaykur Rizespor
18 - Alanyaspor
17 -
16 - Kayserispor
15 -
14 - Adanaspor *
13 -
12 -
11 - Gaziantepspor *

Champions League Group Stage
Champions League NCQ3
Europa League Group Stage (Cup Winner)
Europa League Q3
Europa League Q2
Relegation

[bjkman1903]

Week 19 - Overview

Title Race

• Besiktas won two difficult away games to start 2017 (at Osmanli and Alanya) and started the week as leader. They will host Konya tomorrow and will aim to win to keep Basaksehir and Galatasaray at distance. Despite the loss of Aboubakar (who went to play for his national team), Talisca's return and new transfer Ryan Babel made an impact and Besiktas look strong again.

• Basaksehir suffered their first loss of the season last week at Fener, but managed to overcome Bursa at home today with a last minute-goal. How far they can go? In my opinion, they have the best fixture (will host both Besiktas and Galatasaray, already played Fener twice) but they are inexperienced and would be interesting to see how much they will cope with the stress.

• Galatasaray lost an important game last week at Karabük, but they destroyed Akhisar at home yesterday (6-0) - this was their best game this season. Let's see if this strong performance was due to the opponent's weaknesses or if this was a sign of revival in the following weeks. They will host Besiktas in 3 weeks, it would be a crucial game for both teams.

• Fener won against Basaksehir last week to keep their chances alive, but lost an important 3 points at Kayseri today (4-1). This game probably marks the end of their hope for title (if Besiktas win tomorrow, they will be 9 points behind the leader, 7 points behind Basaksehir and 4 points behind Galatsaray.. on top of that, they will play both Besiktas and Gala away)