The Fenerbahçe Yellow Canaries took a giant step toward the Fortis Turkish Cup final by beating Sivasspor 3-1 in their first-leg semifinal at the Åžükrü SaracoÄŸlu Stadium in Ä°stanbul on Wednesday night.



Today's interactive toolbox

Video Photo Audio

Send to print Send to my friend

Post your comments

Read comments







This was the second meeting between the two teams after their clash in the Turkcell Super League at the same venue on Saturday, which the Canaries won 4-2. The results mean the rock-solid defense of surprise league leader Sivasspor, which had conceded only 13 goals in 21 outings, has let in seven goals in two matches against the Canaries. And this raises more questions than answers about Sivasspor's leadership and championship credentials.

At Åžükrü SaracoÄŸlu on Wednesday night Bülent Uygun's Sivas strived very hard in the first half not to repeat Saturday's mistakes, chasing every ball and covering every inch of the field. And so it came as little surprise that the first half ended scoreless.

After the break the Canaries took the game to Sivas, attacking from every left, right and center and virtually pinning the visitors to their own half. The pressure yielded dividends in the 66th minute, when Deniz Barış scored the opening goal for the Canaries.

Substitute Brazilian defender Edu Dracena, back in action after several weeks on the sidelines due to injury, doubled the score for Fener in the 75th.

But Brazil center-back Fabio Bilica reduced the tally to 2-1 for Sivas in the 82nd with a tremendous free kick from 30 meters that pierced through the Fener defensive wall and hit the net, sending Fener's No. 2 keeper Volkan Babacan diving full length in vain to his right.

For the record, the 30-year-old Bilica was a member of the Brazilian Olympic team at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, with the team making it to the quarterfinals before being beaten and eliminated by Cameroon.

A goal six minutes from time by Brazilian midfielder Deivid De Souza sealed the score and gave the Canaries a huge advantage for the second leg at Sivas on April 22.

Still waiting for Godot?

The Fenerbahçe Yellow Canaries last lifted the Turkish Cup in 1983. So many things have changed in Turkey since then, but the one thing that has not changed is the fact that Fener is yet to win the Turkish Cup.

When the Canaries lifted the cup in 1983, the competition was known only as the Turkish Cup; now it is called the Fortis Turkish Cup. Turkey's population then stood at 48,185,047; today it is 71.5 million (as of Jan. 26, 2009).

Children who were born then are now engineers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, army and police officers, mothers, fathers -- you name it. Most importantly, Turkey was under junta rule in 1983, with Gen. Kenan Evren the military president. Today, Turkey is a democratic country aspiring to join the European Union.

On the international scene, the Berlin Wall has fallen, the once-powerful Soviet Empire has disintegrated and, more recently, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was toppled, tried and executed -- yet the Canaries have still not clinched the cup.

Fener -- the Turkish team with the most wins, along with Galatasaray, with 17 league titles to its credit -- has only clinched the Turkish Cup four times, 1968, 1974, 1979 and 1983, since the inception of the competition in 1962.

Every year for over a quarter of a century, the Canaries have been pledging to change the tide in their favor, only to falter again. Can new Spanish coach Luis Aragones break the Fener cup jinx this season or shall we continue waiting for Godot? Okan Udo Bassey Ä°stanbul




06 March 2009, Friday


OKAN UDO BASSEY Ä°STANBUL