Ankaragücü 3-0 Genclerbirligi - Match Report

 Ankaragücü won the TSYD Cup tonight for the first time in 18 years with a comfortable 3-0 win over Genclerbirligi. It was a first opportunity for the fans to see their new signings in action with some impressing and others with a lot of work still to do.

Team - Bahadir, Oguz, Sinan, Atakan, Marlon, Diack, Pedrinho, Zahid, Tasos, Beridze, Ali Sowe

Subs - Nurullah, Abdullah, Ali Kaan, Alperen, Macheda, Firatcan, Jesé, Mahmut, Mervan, Ariyibi, Sahverdi, Yasin

First half was a bit of a bore fest with Ankaragücü dominating possession but having no cutting edge up front. Ali Sowe was poor and lacked any real quality in attack. Diack and Marlon were the 2 standouts in the first half with Diack winning the ball back in midfield and also good in possession. Marlon was full of energy winning tackles and then getting forward to join the attack.

The teams went in at half time level with no goals for either set of fans to cheer. Only 5,000 turned up for the game which was a pretty disappointing turn out.

Into the second half and Tasos opened the scoring as he cut inside before seeing his deflected shot go into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Shortly after Sinan made it 2-0 from a corner after a good cross from Sahverdi which Sinan headed home. The final goal came late on after a brilliant give and go between Jesé and Macheda. Jesé then beat his man before putting the ball into the net to make it 3-0.

The performances of Diack, Marlon, Tasos and Beridze in particular will give Ankaragücü some encouragement. The team still lacks any quality in defence and will need big improvements in Ali Sowe. Jesé clearly has the quality but will need to work on his fitness.

The big test comes next as the team take on Konyaspor in the league which will be a very difficult game against a good Konya side.

Ankaragucu vs Genclerbirligi TSYD Cup Match Preview!

 

Ankaragucu take on Genclerbirligi in their final pre season match before the start of their Super Lig campaign gets underway on Monday 8th August against Konyaspor. 

The new players were unveiled at Eryaman stadium yesterday in front of an excited crowd who had gathered to welcome them with Jese Rodriguez in particular gaining most interest. Faruk Koca spoke to the gathering media saying in his 3 years at the club this is the most excited he has been. 

Koca mentioned Pedrinho, Zahid, Jese and Tasos in particular who he thinks can bring a lot to the team in terms of experience and talent. He also confirmed that Lamine Diack doesnt have a sell on clause or buy back clause in the deal with Fenerbahce. The club will also press on with signing a new centre back and midfielder in the coming days.

Tomorrow night the TSYD Cup takes place with Ankaragucu taking on rivals Genclerbirligi. The last time the team won the competition was back in 2001 which is a record Ankargucu will want to put straight especially with Gencler now in Lig 1. 

Its an opportunity for the fans to see all the new signings play live for the first time due to the lack of media coverage at the pre season games in Erciyes. It will also give a clearer idea of where the team is at in terms of fitness with this match having more of a competitive edge and meaning that the previous pre season games. 

Once of the biggest decisions for Mustafa Dalci is choosing who will be Number 1 goalkeeper with Nurullah, Bahadir, Dogukan, Mert and Kaan all to chose from. It looks like Mert wont see any game time this season and Kaan will find it difficult as Dalci is very reluctant to play academy players. 

It will likely come down to Nurullah and Bahadir and both will have to impress in training to make that position their own. 

In defence the club signed Uros Radankovic in midweek and he will likely partner Sinan Osmanoglu until another central defender is singed. This is still a very weak part of the team and could cause issues especially in the first 4-5 weeks of the season. 

Marlon will take the left back position and it will be down to Firatcan who is more of an attacking player and Oguz who will play at right back. Another area of concern in the team. 

In midfield Ankaragucu look to have done some good business and are 1 player away from being competitive. Diack will likely start in that defensive area of the pitch until a more experienced player is singed, with Zahid and Perdinho the 2 playmakers in front. Pedrinho looks a very exciting signing and Zahid should move up a level too with better players around him. 

In the wide areas Beridze and Jese will fight it out for that left win position while Tasos and Ariyibi are available for the right hand side. On paper the team has some quality options who can provide both pace and technical ability. 

Up front it will be a choice between Ali Sowe and Federico Macheda. Both have done well in their first couple of games, but the reports are that Ali Sowe looks to have the edge with his power, speed and work rate. 

The game will be live on TRT tomorrow and hopefully a chance for Ankaragucu fans to celebrate a trophy before going into the season. 

Ankaragücü sign Lamine Diack!

 

Ankaragücü made their latest summer addition today as they finally announced the 350,000 euro signing of  Senegalese midfielder Lamine Diack from Fenerbahce. The 21 year old starred for Tuzlaspor in Lig 1 last season and impressed enough for Fenerbahce to have first option on his signing. 

Faruk Koca managed to secure the deal from Ali Koc as they agreed to the fee mentioned above plus a sell on percentage. Diack has signed a 3+1 year deal with Ankaragücü and will be hoping to make that holding midfield position his own.

Athletic, fast, strong and a player who can get up and down the pitch, Diack is also a tidy player that has room for improvement on the technical side of the game.

It’s an exciting signing for Ankaragücü as the club don’t often sign younger players with that kind of potential. Hopefully we see more of these type of signings in the future.

Ankaragücü sign Uros Radakovic

 

When building a team any good Sporting Director or Manager will tell you that you build from the back. Sadly with 2 weeks until the season starts Ankaragücü have only signed their first centre back and are still severely lacking.

Alperen Babacan who wasn’t deemed good enough for the Ankaragücü team who were relegated from Super Lig, or the Lig 1 team last season, has played 2 out of the 3 games in Erciyes alongside Sinan. The right back position is also a concern as Oguz hasn’t had the greatest of times over the last couple of years.

The signing of Uros Radakovic stinks of desperation. The 28 year old has had near enough a new club every season with most failed experiences including Bologna, Astana, Wisla Krakow and most recently he couldn’t hold a regular place in an Arsenal Tula side who were released in the Russian premier league.

Let’s hope his experience is more positive in the Turkish Capital for the sake of Ankaragücü. He is 6ft 4 and one of his strength are said to be his passing and good on the ball.

He has signed a 1+1 contract and should make his debut on Friday against Genclerbirligi.

Ankaragücü 3-3 Alanyaspor

 

Ankaragücü drew their last pre season game in Kayseri with a 3-3 draw against Alanyaspor. The goals came from Beridze, Atakan and Ariyibi.

Team - Nurullah, Oguz, Sinan, Alperen, Marlon, Abdullah, Zahid, Sahverdi, Tasos, Beridze, Macheda

Subs - Dogukan, Kaan, Firatcan, Yasin, Mahmut, Atakan Cankaya, Abdullah Celik, Diack, Ali Kaan, Ariyibi, Jesé, Sirac, Eran, Mervan, Ali Sowe

It really is incredible we are less than 2 weeks until the season opener and we have Alperen and Sinan as the centre backs, while the worlds slowest midfield pairing of Sahverdi and Abdullah still take the pitch together.

No surprises Alanyaspor took a 3-1 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Oguz Aydin and a double from Efkan. Beridze scored the goal for Ankaragücü.

The second half saw a fight back from Ankaragücü with both Atakan and Ariyibi scoring the goals. Due to  no coverage at the game we don’t know who played well or any other information apart from the goal scorers.

Ankaragücü have their final pre season game next Friday in the TSYD Cup vs Genclerbirligi before the season opener on Tuesday 8th August with a ridiculous 21:45pm kick off time.

Ankaragucu sign Nurullah Aslan!

 

Ankaragucu have agreed a 1 year loan deal with Samsunspor goalkeeper Nurullah Aslan as he becomes the sides latest signing. It gives the team a lot of choice in the Goalkeeper position with Bahadir, Dogukan, Kaan and Mert all fighting for a place in the squad. 

Nurullah will likely become the teams number 1 and comes very well respected with the Samsunspor support and will be hoping he can impress in Turkeys top division. 

In other news, Serhat Gurler is set for a move to Goztepe as the club and player have agreed on a deal and are just awaiting on confirmation from Ankaragucu to allow the player to leave. 

Ankaragucu 3-0 Yeni Malatyaspor

 

Ankaragucu won 3-0 against Yeni Malatyaspor yesterday in the teams 2nd pre season match as they look to build on the fitness level ahead of the start of the Super Lig campaign. We cant get too carried away by the result as Yeni Malatyaspor played a youth team where only 1 player was aged over 22 years old. 

Team - Bahadir, Oguz, Sinan, Celik, Marlon, Diack, Pedrinho, Zahid, Tasos, Ariyibi, Sowe

Subs - Dogukan, Firatcan, Alperen, Yasin, Abdullah, Sahverdi, Ali Kaan, Macheda, Eren, Jese

Again it was glaringly obvious that Ankaragucu need to strengthen the defence otherwise they have no chance of staying in the Super Lig. Only Marlon is of the quality required at Super Lig level. Abdullah Celik started at CB and the young defender has spent the last season on loan in the lower leagues. It will be interesting to see how he develops. 

Ali Sowe opened the scoring for Ankaragucu late in the first half, while both Federico Macheda and Eren scored in the second half. 

Dogukan saved a late penalty in the Ankaragucu goal too but due to the lack of coverage we dont know much else about the match. The main thing is the players getting meaningful minutes under their belt. 

In other news Ankaragucu will take on Genclerbirligi on the 30th July in the TSYD Cup at 19:00pm Turkish time. 

Ankaragücü 2-2 Kayserispor

 

Ankaragücü got their pre season campaign underway with a 2-2 draw with Kayserispor thanks to goals from Atakan Cankaya and Federico Macheda.

Team - Bahadir, Firat, Atakan, Sinan, Yasin, Abdullah, Sahverdi, Pedrinho, Beridze, Tasos, Eren

Subs - Kaya, Kaan, Atakan Dama, Oguz, Marlon, Sirac, Mervan, Zahid, Macheda, Arif Emre, Celik, Gboly, Alperen, Diack

The starting line up drew a lot of criticism from the Ankaragücü support due to the defence and midfield. We are 3 weeks from the Super Lig campaign starting and we have a defence that is weaker than what it was in Lig 1.

Those who were at the game commented the defence was a problem during the full game. Also Dalci deciding to play Sahverdi and Abdullah in the same midfield. Both are very slow players who don’t have the fitness levels to play at high intensity and cover a lot of ground. He also decided to go with Eren up front who is another who really struggles to run or move.

Kayserispor took an early lead through Thiam after a 5th minute penalty. But Ankaragücü drew level not long after though Atakan Cankaya. Unfortunately Atakan had to leave the game with an injury and was replaced with incredibly a player even slower than Abdullah and Sahverdi as Alperen Babacan came on.

Kayserispor regained the lead on the 76th minute through Cardoso but again Ankaragücü hit back with Macheda scoring on his debut.

Full time 2-2

Ankaragucu signs Ali Sowe!

 

Ankaragucu last night completed the signing of Gambain striker Ali Sowe on a 1 year loan deal from Russian side Rostov. 

The 28 year old striker had a successful 3 years in Bulgaria with CSKA Sofia before moving to Russia with Rostov. Things having quite worked out with injury and his physical condition not being at the level it previously was. 

Its a bit of a gamble by Ankaragucu who will be hoping that Sowe can find that form from his time in Bulgaria and get back to full fitness. At 6ft 3inches he could be a very good addition to the squad if he finds that level again. 

Ankaragucu sign Marlon!

 

Ankaragucu finally completed the signing of former Trabzonspor left back Marlon today on a 2 year contract. The Brazilian has most recently been playing back in his home country with Fluminense after spells in Portugal with Boavista and Trabzonspor.

I spoke with a Trabzonspor fan who said he was a good player who will give consistent performances without being spectacular. At 25 Marlon is reaching the prime in his career and we hope it will be a successful signing for the club. 

Ankaragucu sign Federico Macheda!

 

Ankaragucu completed the signing of former Manchester United striker Federico Macheda from Panathanikos. The Italian forward will be paid a reported 850K euros per year and will join former team mates Tasos and Zahid in the Turkish Capital. 

Macheda was one of the most highly rated young strikers in Europe when he broke through at Manchester United as a teenager but has failed to live up to the early promise. Failed moves to Doncaster, Cardiff, Novara were followed up with a mixed time in Greece with Panathanikos. 

Ankaragucu fans will be hoping Macheda can be a success for the amount of money he will receive and we wish him all the best. 

The club also announced the signing of young Kocaelispor striker Mervan Yigit who is highly rated and will push for his place in the squad.