Two years ago the Germans put on a great show for the start of the World Cup and this year it was the turn of Swiss.
Flying Dutchman Kanka (all photos by Spine by the way)
A huge gathering of Kankas showed up at the Swiss ambassador's residence (some of us were even invited!) and it was especially great to see Lanky Kanka again.
Proceedings started with a couple of speeches about goodwill and stuff and then the Turkish Foreign Ministry was presented with a trophy for having won the Diplomatic Cup earlier in the day. They beat Germany which pleased the crowd as the Germans always win this damn Cup.
Speeches over and it was time for the first match. Big screens had been erected in the ambassador's garden and luckily the rain held off. Unfortunately the sun was still out and so we couldn't see a thing for the first half but the commentary was on and Turkish TV commentary is much the same as radio... ie it was easy to understand what was going on. Not sure about the non-Turkish speakers though.
Alpine Kanka Wolfgang
Anyway this gave me the chance to talk to a few of the footballing types who had shown up. Had a lovely chat with Ender Yurtguven, general manager at the evil Ankaraspor who told me how Gokcek is actually a pretty good boss. Aparently he just lets the management of the club get on with it and doesn't interfere all the time like Cavcav does.
Oz Kanka and Ender Yurtguven
Bumped into Ankaraspor's sporting director Hasan Cetinkaya, who had just flown in from Algeria where he had been scouting around. He says hello Zagreb Kanka!
Also had a nice chat with Genclerbirligi Oftas vice president Suphi Yalcinkaya, the bloke who helps us out from time to time in getting stuff sorted.
Oz Kanka and Yalcinkaya share a joke, probably about ... censored
As I said, I can't comment on the football (although Turkey did look pretty bad).
A great night and thank you very much to the Swiss Embassy for putting on such an event. Great food, drinks friends. Top night.
Only one question. Where was Sir eski Kanka?
Maniac Kanka Harun and Romantic Kanka Gokhan
The man with the money ... Davide
Hi There, I'm looking for some information about Andres Lamas. It's supposed that my team in México is looking for a Defender born in Uruguay that plays in Turkey. Obviously it would be impossible to hire Diego Lugano, so my guess is maybe Andres is the player they want.
ReplyDeleteCan you give me some links to sites where I can find information about it... do you know if he might leave your team?
Regards
Dear Babilon, I haven't heard any talk of Lamas being on the way out. However, if there is money involved then the Ankaragucu Chairman (Cemal Aydin) will be `all ears` and `hands out` !
ReplyDeleteI will ask our oracle (Maniac Kanka Harun) to check whether this move is afoot and to give you a website link if it is true.
Good to hear from you all the way from Mexico !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
ReplyDeleteConcerning Oz Kanka's burning question on my absence from the Swiss Embassy ...... I plead guilty to missing the Main Embassy Function of the Year.
However, in my defence .... it was either go and suffer a divorce and being `dropped` by my daughter, or ...... be at Esenboga Airport to collect her on arrival from Edinburgh !!!
Women are thoughtless ... don't you agree ?? We plan our lives around footie and they don't give a stuff. I gave up years ago trying to train my two women !!!
Well, you were missed, Eski. I showed up at Harun's shop earlier in the day expecting that maybe we'd go and catch the matches at Capadokkia Bar. Unexpectedly, though, Maniac pulls out an invite for Mr. and Mrs. Maniac Kanka for the event at the Swiss Embassy. Lucky for me no one at the gate gave a damn that "Mrs. Maniac Kanka" was sporting a 5 O'clock shadow.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as you all probably gathered from Chris' post, a great time was had by all. The atmosphere was so great, in fact, that it mitigated the sting of losing to Man U's most recent number 7 and company. In closing, I just have to congratulate Flying Dutchman Kanka and the Dutch for tonight's win. We fought hard tonight, but you guys just out played us.
Yes. Agreed. The Protestant Boys were too strong for you Tally Wallies !!!
ReplyDeleteI was drinking ORANGE beer last night, eating ORANGE marmalade for breakfast this morning and will be wearing an ORANGE shirt today !!!
A great footballing performance and fully expect to see them in the final.
PS..... hope that isn't the kiss of death from Eski Kanka ??!!
Gooooooooollll !
ReplyDeleteSecond goal. Goal of the tournament. Van Bronckhorst sends it into the box, a header back by Kuijt and a round-house kick by Sneijder to put it past the post into the goal. The Pool Pub in Ankara explodes!
Watching with many fellow countrymen all dressed in orange we then knew we had the Italians beat. Next up ... France. If the colour blue is anything to go by ... ;)
FD
Hello again Babilon in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteThe latest on Lamas .....
Yes, I can confirm that he has left Ankaragucu, but we are still trying to find out where he went to from here. We are checking all the web site links and our Ankaragucu contacts.
Incidentally, you might be interested to know that he wasn't actually signed-up as an Ankaragucu player. He was `rented` from his previous club for a short-term stay.
Speaking personally, I am sorry to see him leave. I rated him as a `thinking man's defender` and not one of those old fashioned `hoofer up the field` players. I'm sure your Club will be pleased with him. By the way, what is the name of your Team ?
More information will be posted here if we can find it.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Hello Eski Kanka Jim!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for looking for information on Lamas
My team is 'Tigres UANL'.
Actually, so many names are flying around to cover that position. Our last defender was JC Cáceres (now with Boca) So you can imagine they are looking for a really good defender.
I appreciate your effort, I'll keep checking your blog.
By the way, I really hope Turkey can turn around the score against Switzerland.
Hello again Babilon.
ReplyDeleteYes, a great result for Turkey last night with their `never say die` attitude.
Now it's `all or nothing` against The Chech Republic. Very interesting scenario.