Futbolgrad spoke to the Turkish blogger Burak Saglam of TAKIM OYUNU about the upcoming Europa League match between Lokomotiv and Fenerbahçe. We discussed the upcoming match, Fenerbahçe’s biggest stars, but also how the ongoing political conflict between Turkey and Russia could influence the match.
- How has Fenerbahçe played so far this season. Where are they placed in the league, and in the cup?
At the off-season, Fenerbahçe’s board wanted to build a strong team in order to make the Champions League and win the Turkish Süper Lig. They failed to reach the Champions League group stage, but after that they were successful enough in the Europa League. In the league, Fenerbahçe is now the leader by four points, and two matches less than Beşiktaş. In the Turkish Cup, they have reached the quarterfinal and will play their first match in Diyarbakır against the biggest surprise team of the cup, Amedspor. They have the advantage, as the first match ended in a 3-3 draw.
- What are Fenerbahçe’s expectations this season?
As they failed to win the Turkish Süper Lig last year, it is obvious that the league is their priority. The main goals of the transfers are to change the mood of the club and to secure the league title. They also want to reach Europa League Final.
- Who are the stars in the Fenerbahçe squad?
In summer transfer season, Fenerbahçe broke the bank—several Turkish and foreign stars joined the squad. The majority are national stars, but the most important transfers were Nani and Robin van Persie, who have very good reputations in world football. Van Persie, however, had some injury problems and is not as fit as he should be. Coach Vítor Pereira prefers Fernandão if he’s healthy, and van Persie sits on the bench most of time. Josef and Mehmet Topal are key to Fenerbahçe’s tactic. Simon Kjær is the most trusted centre back now. At the beginning of the season, he made some mistakes but he had improved his performance week by week. The deep rotation and strong defence essential to Fenerbahçe’s success.
Robin van Persie has mostly disappointed this season – Image via Eurosport
- The Turkish Süper Lig was in the news in the summer for signing several star players. Who where the biggest signings for Fenerbahçe?
The [Dutchman] Robin van Persie and the [Portuguese] Nani were the most sensational ones. But van Persie so far hasn’t reached our expectations.
- Fenerbahçe are under investigation by UEFA for breaking Financial Fair Play regulations. How has this impacted the club? How is the financial situation now?
Most of the Turkish clubs buy players but don’t sell at a profit. The youth academies are not good enough and don’t develop quality youngsters, this is no different at Fenerbahçe. That means they shouldn’t spend lots of money for transfers. But, this summer, Fenerbahçe spent €41.7 million on transfer fees (players wages are not included). Only Moussa Sow was sold to the Abu Dhabi based club Al-Ain FC for €16 million. Moussa’s contract will expire in one year and because of his age—he was almost 30—they got a good deal. We think, however, that Fenerbahçe will be in trouble if they do not adjust their budget.
- The game between Lokomotiv and Fenerbahçe will be under close scrutiny due to the difficult political situation between Russia and Turkey. How do Fenerbahçe fans feel about the game?
Last week, in the Turkish Cup, they had a match against Amedspor from Diyarbakır which is located in a politically critical region in Turkey. Now they are going to Russia. Fenerbahçe fans consider these draws as unlucky and weird. But in Diyarbakır this situation didn’t affect the game and most of the people think that this is going to be the same in Moscow as well.
- Will Turkish fans travel to Russia to support Fenerbahçe?
I think there will be fewer fans who will travel from Turkey to Russia than to other European matches, but there are still a few Turkish people working in Russia and they are going to be supporting Fenerbahçe at the Lokomotiv Stadium.
- Do you think Russian fans travelling to Turkey will be welcomed?
Fenerbahçe’s board warned the fans about the possible provocative actions and football fans don’t want to get a fine due to misbehaviour. Anyway, many people don’t agree with these political issues and we don’t anticipate any strong anger directed at the Russia supporters.
Fenerbahçe are sponsored by the Russian internet company Yandex – Image via Fenerbahçe
- Fenerbahçe are sponsored by the Russian internet company Yandex. Have there been any issues between Yandex and Fenerbahçe after economic sanctions were imposed by Russia against Turkey? Given Fenerbahçe’s difficult financial situation what would happen if Yandex withdrew funding?
Yandex has launched several apps for Fenerbahçe, which is a project from which Fenerbahçe and Yandex will profit highly in the end, as fans are extremely interested in this project. The project has already achieved the target number of 1 million downloads in a short time. Fenerbahçe has millions of fans so Yandex are not likely to end this sponsorship.
- Finally what are your thoughts on the match? Who will win and why?
Because of Lokomotiv’s lack of match fitness, and the fact that they lost Oumar Niasse, also because of Fenerbahçe’s strong defense, we think Fenerbahçe is the favourite for this tie. Even small details can decide these two-match ties, and Fenerbahçe’s highly experienced international stars could be a decisive factor.
Follow TAKIM OYUNU on Twitter @takimoyunuorg
COMMENTS