Samsunspor 1-0 Ankaragucu!

A disappointing performance from Ankaragucu last night especially in the final 3rd of the pitch as the team lost 1-0 to Samsunspor at the opening of their new stadium.

Team - Korcan, Alaadin, Gencer, Yusuf, Mehmet, Sedat, Arif, Mbamba, Kenan, Enes, Kehinde

Subs - Altay, Alihan, Muharrem, Owusu, Cagatay, Mahmut, Erhan, Ferhat

The only goal of the game came in the first half through Jonathan Chibuike from the penalty spot. The closest Ankaragucu came to a goal was when Sedat Acgay hit the crossbar from a free kick Justin outside the box.

Overall their wasn't much to get excited about apart from Mbamba Kibong who looks like an excellent addition to the team. The defence looks shakey especially in the fullback positions and the team failed to create any decent chances.

A lot of work still to be done by the new manager İsmail Kartal who has just under two weeks to get the team in shape for th visit of Erzerumspor in the opening match of the season.

Trio released by Ankaragucu!

İsmail Kartal announced the shocking news at his press conference in Samsun today that the club have parted ways with Muhammad Gonulacar, Omer Bozan and Edson Da Silva. The news has been met with much disappointment from the Ankaragucu fans especially in regards to Muhammed.

Edson Da Silva only joined up with the club 2 weeks ago but has been told he can leave the club after failing to impress at training camp in Erzerum.

Muhammed has been with the club for 4 years since singing from Batman Petrolspor and has been a key player in the middle of the park. He formed a good partnership with Harun Aydin who was also released last week. Many thought Muhammed would be a player who could step up to the next level with better players around him, sadly İsmail Kartal has other ideas.

Omer Bozan was the clubs top scorer and player of the season last year but has also been told to find a new club. I think it would have been difficult for Omer to keep his place in the team with better quality players been brought in and can understand this decision to an extent but it will be interesting to see how the new players play in his place.

İsmail also confirmed the club are looking to sign 4 new players. A centre half, right back, left back and winger. There will also be another couple of players who will be allowed to leave the club.

The team take on Samsunspor tonight at the opening of their stunning new stadium and the game will be shown live on Klasspor TV at 20:30.

Ankaragucu 0-2 Elazigspor

Ankaragucu played their 2nd pre season game this afternoon against Elazigspor but unfortunately we're on the wrong side of a 2-0 defeat. I only managed to catch glimpses of the game and although Ankaragucu started brightly it was Elazig who ran out deserved winners.

Team - Korcan Celikay, Alaadin Cokmus, Edson Da Silva, Yusuf Abdioglu, Mehmet Sak, Arif Morkaya, Kenan Özer, Omer Bozan, Sedat Acgay, Mbamba Kibong, Lanre Kehinde

Subs Used - Cagatay Ceken, Enes Kubat, Samuel Owusu, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Muhammad Gonalucar, Erhan Yilmaz, Muharrem Ozan

The goals came from Brazilian due Lucio and Silva for Elazigspor. Pre Season games are all about fitness and looking for the team to gel with so many new players. Hopefully there was a lot of things Ismail Kartal will have learned from today.

Ankaragucu complete double signing!

Ankaragucu today completed the signings of Nduka Ozokwo and Ilhan Parlak both on free transfers as the club continue to strengthen the squad.

Nigerian winger Ozokwu signs from FC Wil in Switzerland and has had previous spells at Mersin, Boluspor and Adanaspor in Turkey. His key attributes are his pace and skill which will cause problems for defenders in the PTT Lig.

Ilhan Parlak returns to Ankaragucu for his second spell at the club after he spent the 2009/10 season on loan at th club. I actually predicted in one of my articles a few months ago that we would sign him. I've followed his career at Karabukspor and Gaziantepspor and see him as a key player for the team this season.

Zlatko Krmpotic reflects on his time at Ankaragucu!

Zlatko Krmpotic kindly took time this week to talk to the Round Ball in Ankara about his time in Turkey and his future plans.

Krmpotic was a talented Serbian right back who spent 9 years with Red Star Belgrade in his homeland before moving to Turkey as a player with Genclerbirligi where he spent 2 successful seasons. Ten years later In 1998/99 he would end up back in Ankara, this time as manager of Ankaragucu.

Nadeem Raja - Having travelled the world as an experienced manager, where does Zlatko Krmpotic find himself these days?

Zlatko - Currently I am manager of ZESCO from Zambia who are in the top 10 clubs in Africa. Previously I was manager of TP Mazembe from DR Congo who are one of the biggest clubs in Africa and former Champions League Winners.

Nadeem Raja - How did your move to Ankaragucu come about?

Zlatko - I previously played for Genclerbirligi so people knew me in Ankara. Ankaragucu had a crisis with results and therefor called me to offer me the position as head coach.

Nadeem Raja - How did you enjoy your time at Ankaragucu?

Zlatko - I had a good time, we made good results and qualified for the UEFA Cup qualifiers. I would always come back to Ankaragucu.

Nadeem Raja - What is your opinion of the Ankaragucu fans?

Zlatko - Ankaragucu has the biggest fanbase in Ankara, its a shame the club fell to Lig 3. Hopefully they will come back into the Super Lig again.

Nadeem Raja - Who was the most talented player you worked with at Ankaragucu?

Zlatko - We had a lot of good players but the most talented was Tarik Dasgun who previously played with Fenerbahce.

Nadeem Raja - Who is the best player you have played against and also managed in your career?

Zlatko - I played against Diego Maradonna so he is the obvious Choice for best player I have played against. Best player I have coached is Andreas Anderson who went onto play for AC Milan later in his career.

Nadeem Raja - How has Turkish football change since the time you were here?

Zlatko - Turkish football has changed a lot, especially in infrastructure, it has become more advanced. Teams can bring good foreign players from Europe.

Nadeem Raja - Can you see yourself ever going back to Turkey in a managerial or coaching capacity?

Zlatko - I would always come back to Turkey, it's a great country with a great infrastructure

Nadeem Raja - Which team do you support in your homeland?

Zlatko - Red Star Belgrade

Nadeem Raja - Serbian football has many talented players but a lot of financial problems. What does the future hold for Serbian football?

Zlatko - Serbia has a lot of talented players but a lack of financial resource sends those players to Europe very young and unprepared. If financial problems are sorted and infrastructure then I don't see any reason why the glory days can't return.

Nadeem Raja - We would like to thank you for taking the time to speak with us and wish you all the best in your future.

Zlatko - Thank You

Samuel Owusu and Gencer Cansev sign on!

Ankaragucu have completed the signings of Samuel Owusu and Gencer Cansev as both have spent the last couple of weeks training with the club.

Owusu has signed a 1 year loan deal from Genclerbirligi having failed to break into the first team since his move from Radnik in Serbia. The 21 Ghanaian year old his a highly rated winger with pace and looks to be another good signing by the club.

Cansev is a centre half who has signed from Basaksehir having spent a success period on loan to Goztepe last season.

We look forward to seeing both players in action for Ankaragucu this season!

Ankaragucu 2-0 Kapaz match report!

Ankaragucu got off to a good start in their pre season campaign with a 2-0 win over Azerbaijani Premier League side Kapaz.

Team - Korcan Celikay, Cagatay Ceken, Arif Morkaya, Edson Da Silva, Mehmet Sak, Yusuf Abdioglu, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Omer Bozan, Kenan Özer, Enes Kubat, Muharrem Ozan

So 4 of the new signings starting in what would be a tough opening game against a side who played in the Europa League last season.

There were run outs in the second half for Samuel Owusu, Muhammad Gonulacar, Alaadin Cokmus, Ali Sinan Gayla, Mert Aydeniz and trialist Mahmut Akan from Karabukspor.

Edson Da Silva was an apparent stand out in defence and we can now look forward to seeing some of the other new players in action.

Ankaragucu complete double swoop!

Ankaragucu completed the signings of  Alaadin Okumus and Erhan Yilmaz as the club continue to strengthen the squad with more still to come.

Alaadin has signed from Genclerbirligi and is a 21 year old who can play either right back or right midfield. He had a successful period at Haceteppe before Genclerbirligi snapped him up last month before loaning him out for the rest of the season.

Erhan Yilmaz is a 22 year old German born forward who has signed on a free transfer from Swiss side FC Wil. Going by the couple of Youtube videos I've saw of him he looks like he could be a nice pick up by the club.

In other news Eskisehrspor will start the season with -9 points and have a transfer ban due to their financial problems and failing to pay former players.

Ankaragucu sign Sercan Kaya!

Ankaragucu tonight completed the signing of Sercan Kaya on a free transfer from Adana Demirspor. The 29 year old winger has had successful spells at Caykur Rizespor and Bucaspor while also playing a handful of games for Trabzonspor.

Mehmet Yiginer has stated the club will push on with more new signings in the next couple of days as they look to build a squad capable of challenging for promotion.

The club have also announced season tickets will go on sale in the coming days so get signing up for Passolig.

Ankaragucu sign Mehmet Sak!

Ankaragucu tonight completed the signing of Mehmet Sak from Yeni Malatyaspor on a free transfer as they continue to build the squad under new boss İsmail Kartal.

The 27 year old left back has had spells at Bursaspor, Goztepe, Samsunspor and Adanaspor before ending up at Yeni Malatyaspor last season helping the team winning promotion to the Super Lig. We would like to welcome Mehmet to Ankaragucu and wish him success in the coming season.

Mass exodus at Ankaragucu as 13 shown the door!

Ankaragucu are set to have a full new team next season after 13 more players told their contracts won't be renewed today. As mentioned earlier amongst the names are Cenk Kaplan, Serkan Balci and Erhan Senturk much to the surprise of the Ankaragucu fans.

There have been reports amongst the fans that İsmail Kartal is making huge changes and that it's more like a military camp than football camp he is running. He has apparently told the players no laughing and joking and has a strict regime they must follow. It remains to be seen if this is a positive move or if it will end in disaster like his previous spells with Gaziantepspor and Fenerbahce.

The 13 players released by the club are as follows:

Erhan Senturk
Serkan Balci
Cenk Kaplan
Emre Kara
Hursit Tasci
Hasan Kaya
Ahmet Can Arik
Irfan Batuhan Yilmaz
Furkan Beklevic
Metin Ilhan
Arda Karademir
Furkan Gunes
Batuhan Aslan

We would like to wish all the players the best of luck in their futures and thank them for all their efforts.

Ankaragucu sign African duo!

Ankaragucu last night completed the signings of Lance Kehinde from Elazigapor and Mbamba Kibong from Konyaspor. Both players have agreed 1 year deals and have teamed up with the squad at their training camp in Erzerum.

Kehinde is a tall powerful striker who enjoye a successful campaign with Elazigapor last season having scored 8 goals in 16 games. I watched him play a couple of times and he stood out due to his size and caused all sorts of problems for opossing defenders. The management have pulled off a major coup with the signing of the Nigerian striker who is still only 23 years old.

Mbamba is an experienced midfielder who again is very powerful and is the workhorse in the middle of the engine room. He spent 5 years at Adanaspor before moving to Konyaspor where he also had a loan spell at Boluspor.

In other news, it was announced today that Erhan Senturk, Sercan Balci and Cenk Kaplan have all left the club after failing to win new deals. The reaction from the fans is disappointing especially the news with Sercan and Cenk highly regarded.

Also moving on from the club is Emre Kara, Hursit Tasci, and Mehmet Tasci with more expecting to follow.

Ankaragucu complete double swoop!

Ankaragucu tonight announced the double signing of Brazilian defender Edson Da Silva and experienced midfielder Sedat Agacay.

Da Silva is a much travelled defender whose contract ended with Machine Sazi in Iran earlier this month. The 30 year old has had previous spells in Portugal with Porto, Beleneses and Leira having arrived as a youngster from Figueirense in his homeland. He also had a short spell in Croatia with Slaven Belupo. Having enjoyed a successful trial period with the club he is now officially and Ankaragucu player and will be hoping to emulate his fellow countrymen Jaba who enjoyed his time with the club.

Sedat Agacay is a 35 year old experienced pro who played a huge part in Yeni Malatyaspor promotion to the Super Lig this season. Previously he was with Istanbul Basaksehir and has been a first choice pick with every club he was played for.

In other news Cameroonian midfielder Evariste Ngolok has failed to win a move to the club and will head back to Belgium after his trial.

The club have also announced sponsorship with a host of Muncipal businesses.

Ankaragucu sign Altinordu duo!

Ankaragucu have completed the signings of Arif Morkaya and Yusuf Abdioglu from Altinordu both on free transfers. They have both played a key part in Altinordu moving up the divisions and cementing their place in the PTT Lig.

While the two were jetting in, Emre Sahin, Orhan Gulle, Mehmet Tasci, Hursit Tasci and Harun Aydin all left the club.

In other news, Ankaragucu will play their home games this season at the Yenikent stadium on the outskirts of the city much to the disappointment of the fans due to its location.

Ankaragucu transfer roundup!

Ankaragucu start back pre season training today and the club are making moves to strengthen the squad as it looks likely the transfer ban will be lifted in the coming days.

Sporanki reported yesterday that the club have agreed deals with Altinordu duo Arif Morkaya, Yusuf Abdiouglu and Konyaspor pair Kibonga Mbemba and Mehmet Uslu. It was also reported the club are in talks with Eskisehirspor forward Chico Ofoedu and Mersin defender Milan Mitrovic.

The management team have succeeded in keeping the nucleus of the team from last season and are hoping to add some quality as the club look to fight for a place in the Super Lig. We will keep you up to date will all the latest developments.