Thirty minutes of domination against Medical Park Antalyaspor was enough for Fenerbahçe to make a flying start to the new Spor Toto Super League season.
Last season’s runner-up beat the southerners 4-0 thanks to an almost perfect first-half performance.
Turkish international Semih Şentürk made a fast start to the match, getting on the score sheet twice with goals in the eighth and 13th minutes. Şentürk made another contribution in the 24th minute, passing the ball to Alex de Souza to let the Brazilian score. Four minutes later, Gökhan Gönül added to the tally as the energetic fullback’s shot was deflected by an Antalyaspor defender and into the net.
In the second half, Fenerbahçe slowed down the pace of the game, but could have found more goals if it tried even a little as Antalyaspor looked only a shadow of last season’s solid mid-table team.
Fenerbahçe coach Aykut Kocaman was happy after his team’s first competitive win of the season, which started with a disappointing exit from Champions League preliminaries against Young Boys of Switzerland.
“My team looked ambitious and serious and the opposition’s resistance dimmed after the goals came,” said Kocaman, who also played down the importance of the big win. “The score is good for a start. But it is not about how the movie starts, but it is about how it ends. I hope the movie has a good ending for us.”
It is understandable that Kocaman is cautious, since Fenerbahçe had a great start last year to its movie but ended terribly. In 2009-10, Fenerbahçe broke a Super League record with eight wins in their first eight games but lost the title to Bursaspor on the last day of the season.
The loss was made all the more dramatic after an incorrect announcement was made in the stadium, saying Bursaspor had failed to beat Beşiktaş at home, granting Fenerbahçe the title.
The announcement sent Fenerbahçe into ecstasy, but only for a few minutes until the true score of the Bursaspor-Beşiktaş game was announced, leaving the club in utter dejection and the crowd furious.
Because of the resultant crowd trouble on May 16, Fenerbahçe played its first league game of this Super League season behind closed doors.
Şentürk, however, seemed unfazed that no one was in the stands to watch his show of mastery. The striker, who was the top goal scorer in the Super League in 2008, fell out of favor when coach Christoph Daum regarded him as a secondary figure behind Daniel Güiza and fell even further down the depth chart after the arrival of Gökhan Ünal.
On Sunday, Şentürk showed his class by scoring for the first time in the Super League since a pair in a 5-1 win at Sivasspor on Jan. 31.
Fenerbahçe completes Niang signing
Nonetheless, he will again find stiff competition for a starting place, now that the club has officially signed Mamadou Niang from Marseille.
The Senegalese striker, who was the French Ligue 1 top scorer last season, was brought on a reported deal worth 8 million euros and arrived in Istanbul on Sunday. Prior to the match, he came to the official fan store Fenerium at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium to meet the fans.
His brief showing and signing period allowed the Istanbul club to cash in as 1,100 jerseys were sold in only two hours, daily Hürriyet reported.
Niang was reportedly surprised at the selling of jerseys with number 7 and his name on it.
“How quickly were you able to prepare those jerseys?” the daily quoted him as asking.
“I am really happy to be here. I can’t wait for my debut and to be successful in Turkey,” he said. “My aim is to bring the title to Fenerbahçe, just like I did with Marseille last season.”
When asked how many goals he is aiming to score this season, Niang refused to give a number.
“I don’t think about it,” he said. “I can’t give a number, but I want to score many. I would love to score just as soon as I get the chance.”
