The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
Team - Bahadir, Kitsiou, Dursun, Mahmut, Mert, Cem, Ali Kaan, Saponara, Rodrigues, Bassogog, Bajic
Subs- Fatih, Gorkem, Djokanovic, Sirac, Enes, Yusuf, Hasan, Umut, Ismail, Osman, Mirac, Hayrullah, Gultekin, Cephas
The team are headed to Kayseri for their pre season training camp and its a mix of players from last season and youth players as the transfer ban still hasnt been lifted. The Lig 1 championship rules state that you must play at least 1 under 21 player in the starting line up, which is a rule i really like as it forces Ankaragucu to give an opportunity to one of the academy players.
Fatih Demir, Umut Tarhan, Sirac, Arda Unyay, Onur Efe and Mirac Simsek have all been training with the first team and will be among the candidates looking to break into the team.
On the transfer front, Efkan Bekirolgu and Tolga Cigerci look like they are both staying with Ankaragucu for the time being. They have both been linked with moves to Basaksehir and Konyaspor but it was reported yesterday that they have failed to agree to a move.
Efkan in particular will be an important player at this level, but question marks remain if having 2 key players who aren't committed to the team is the best idea.
It has also been reported that 36 year old Mahmut Takdemir has signed a 1 year contract with the club on a free transfer from Basaksehir. Mahmut is a good player who has had a great career, but at 36 years old and only playing just over 200 minutes of football in the last 12 months, it doesnt fill you with confidence that it will just be another player coming to the Ankaragucu retirement home.
Yusuf Emre Gultekin has also reportedly agreed to join the club. The 31 year old is set to sign on a free transfer from Kocaelispor.
New coach Cihat Arslan has praised Christian Bassogog as the hardest working player in training and he wants to keep him at the club along with Riad Bajic. Bassogog in particular will be a key player if the club can keep him. Bajic had a poor season last year, but Lig 1 we may see a more effective player.
Finally, Ankaragucu and River Plate have entered into talks about a potential partnership between the two clubs which would share ideas on training, youth development and other areas. The move would see some of River Plates young players come to Ankaragucu. It would be a positive move by the club if they were to make something official.
Tandogan is the heartbeat of Ankaragucu. For many years it has produced players such as Hakan Kutlu, Altay Bayindr, Gokhan Akkan, Kaan Kanak, Emre Tasdemir, Onur Atasayer, Mert Erdogan, Gokhan Erdogan, Umut Nayir, Hasan Kaya and may more players who at some stage have played important parts in the history of Ankaragucu.
Cengiz Paca has played an important part in the academy and is also one of the biggest Ankaragucu fans you will meet. His passion for the club and the youth academy is his life and the academy players at the club respect him very much.
On one of my first trips to Ankara i met with Cengiz when he invited me to Tandogan. He was very proud of the work and his players and gave me a tour of the facility. We have remained friends and it saddens me to see he is no longer employed by the club after he parted ways just after Faruk Koca took control.
The Ankaragucu academy has big potential to produce first team players for the club, but also much needed revenue.
If you look at any modern forward thinking football club in Europe who don't make a lot of money from ticket sales, merchandise or sponsorship, they will invest in a strong scouting team, and more importantly the youth academy.
The academy is an opportunity to develop local players and sell them on for a profit. The academy players at Ankaragucu are on non professional contracts so very cost effective.
Since the arrival of Faruk Koca and his management, not 1 single player has progressed from the academy into the first team. We have saw a couple of players on the last day of the season get 5-10 minutes. But apart from that there is no opportunities. This despite over 100 garbage signings, and 3 relegations under their management.
Ankaragucu have had numerous academy players represent the Turkish National team at youth level including Kaan Cinkaya, Kaan Gormez, Fatih Demir, Sirac Astankulov, Arda Unyay, Hasan Efe , Atakan Dama and many others, but Ankaragucu coaches block their path and refuse to give them any opportunities. They would rather play someone like Atakan Cankaya out of his normal position than give an opportunity to a youth player.
For example, Kaan Cinkaya is one of the most talented young goalkeepers in Turkey. Instead of giving him the 3rd choice option, they signed Dogukan Kaya who has only played 1 game in his 3 years with the club picking up a salary. Kaan has now been released and playing in the 3rd tier.
Atakan Dama was watched by Besiktas and Galatasaray but Ankaragucu blocked his development and he went 12 months playing less than 2-3 games as he sat on the bench and wasn't included in the youth team. Kaan Gormez is now playing amateur football and Sirac one of the most talented wingers in Turkey sits on the bench every week and plays very little football.
In Europe we see young players 16-20 playing 30 games per season. In Turkey we see 20 year olds who are playing 2-3 games per season. Lamine Yamal at 16 is playing both for Barcelona and Spain at the highest level, because Barcelona gave him an opportunity and stood by him and his development.
One player who many people have been talking about at Ankaragucu is Hasan Efe Akdogan. He is a 16 year old striker and everyone was very excited by him. He was so good that he moved up the age groups and was breaking records with his goals. He was a member of the Turkish National youth teams. He could have been a player who made the club big money.
Only this week he signed with Corum FK for £15,000. Ankaragucu refused to give him a professional contract. Corum stepped up and offered him the professional contract and he agreed to sign with them. You loose one of the best talents in Turkey who is in your academy to Corum FK because you refuse to offer him a professional contract and call yourself the greatest management in history? No one can explain why they allowed this to happen. It is one of the most corrupt and most awful decisions i have ever seen.
The club met with Cengiz this week with the view of him returning to the club which would have been a great decision. Cengiz is someone we all trust, and he has great experience with the academy. The young players love him like a father and respect him. Even the Academy Director was looking forward to working with him. But again there were those working with this management who opposed the decision.
The person who opposed has no experience with football. He serves himself like many others in this management. They help their careers, fill their pockets, give money to their friends and benefit their political careers. They don't want Ankaragucu men at this club because they will speak against the corruption.
We have stood by and allowed these corrupt thieves to destroy this club day after day. The treatment of Omer Erdogan wasn't enough, the 3 relegations weren't enough, the 100 garbage signings weren't enough, giving Emre Yildiz flowers at Bestepe wasnt enough, allowing your best talent Hasan Efe wasnt enough.
Now is the time to protest, and speak up. Tandogan is the heartbeat of Ankaragucu, but it is also home for many young kids in Ankara. These kids are passionate Ankaragucu fans and fight for the jersey. The results of the academy teams have been impressive last couple of years, but they were ignored by the first team and this management. If we allow the thieves to continue their corrupt acts then Tandogan will be finished.
We must continue to fill the stands and support the team, but we also must oppose the corrupt thieves in management. I appreciate there will be some good people in this management who want to do good, but there are many who do not care for this club or respect it.
We must make our voices hear, share on social medio, go to Tandogan and Bestepe and protest. I cant arrange from Scotland, there must be those in Ankara who can arrange these protests before its too late?
Tandoğan Ankaragücü'nün kalbidir. Uzun yıllar boyunca Hakan Kutlu, Altay Bayındır, Gökhan Akkan, Kaan Kanak, Emre Taşdemir, Onur Atasayer, Mert Erdoğan, Gökhan Erdoğan, Umut Nayir, Hasan Kaya gibi oyuncuların yanı sıra bazı dönemlerde önemli roller üstlenen daha birçok oyuncu yetiştirmiştir. Ankaragücü'nün tarihi.
Cengiz Paca akademide önemli bir rol oynadı ve aynı zamanda tanışacağınız en büyük Ankaragücü taraftarlarından biri. Onun kulübe ve altyapı akademisine olan tutkusu onun hayatıdır ve kulüpteki akademi oyuncuları ona çok saygı duymaktadır.
Ankara'ya ilk gezilerimden birinde Cengiz'in beni Tandoğan'a davet etmesiyle tanıştım. İşinden ve oyuncularından çok gurur duydu ve bana tesisi gezdirdi. Arkadaş olarak kaldık ve Faruk Koca'nın yönetime gelmesinden sonra yollarını ayırdıktan sonra artık kulüpte çalışmadığını görmek beni üzüyor.
Ankaragücü akademisi, kulübe ilk takım oyuncularını yetiştirme konusunda büyük bir potansiyele sahip, ancak aynı zamanda çok ihtiyaç duyulan bir gelire de sahip.
Avrupa'da bilet satışlarından, ürün satışlarından veya sponsorluklardan çok fazla para kazanamayan herhangi bir modern, ileri görüşlü futbol kulübüne bakarsanız, güçlü bir scouting takımına ve daha da önemlisi altyapı akademisine yatırım yapacaklarını görürsünüz.
Akademi, yerel oyuncuları geliştirmek ve onları kâr amacıyla satmak için bir fırsattır. Ankaragücü'ndeki akademi oyuncularının profesyonel olmayan sözleşmeleri var ve bu nedenle oldukça uygun maliyetli.
Faruk Koca ve yönetiminin gelişinden bu yana akademiden A takıma yükselen tek bir oyuncu olmadı. Sezonun son gününde birkaç oyuncunun 5-10 dakika süre aldığını gördük. Ama onun dışında hiçbir fırsat yok. Bu, 100'den fazla çöp transferine ve onların yönetimindeki 3 küme düşmeye rağmen.
Ankaragücü, Kaan Cinkaya, Kaan Görmez, Fatih Demir, Siraç Astankulov, Arda Unyay, Hasan Efe, Atakan Dama ve daha birçokları dahil olmak üzere Türk Milli takımını altyapı seviyesinde temsil eden çok sayıda akademi oyuncusuna sahip oldu, ancak Ankaragücü antrenörleri onların yolunu kesiyor ve onlara izin vermeyi reddediyor. herhangi bir fırsat. Genç bir oyuncuya fırsat vermektense Atakan Çankaya gibi birini normal pozisyonun dışında oynatmayı tercih ederler.
Mesela Kaan Cinkaya Türkiye'nin en yetenekli genç kalecilerinden biri. Kendisine 3. tercih hakkı vermek yerine, kulüpteki 3 yılında sadece 1 maç oynayan ve maaş alan Doğukan Kaya'yı kadrosuna kattılar. Kaan şu anda serbest kaldı ve 3. ligde oynuyor.
Atakan Dama, Beşiktaş ve Galatasaray tarafından izlendi ancak Ankaragücü onun gelişimini engelledi ve 12 ay boyunca yedek kulübesinde oturup altyapıya dahil edilmeyerek 2-3'ten az maç oynadı. Kaan Görmez artık amatör futbol oynuyor ve Türkiye'nin en yetenekli kanat oyuncularından biri olan Sirac, her hafta yedek kulübesinde oturuyor ve çok az futbol oynuyor.
Avrupa'da 16-20 yaş arası genç oyuncuların sezon başına 30 maç oynadığını görüyoruz. Türkiye'de 20 yaşında, sezon başına 2-3 maç oynayan gençleri görüyoruz. 16 yaşındaki Lamine Yamal, hem Barselona hem de İspanya adına en üst seviyede oynuyor çünkü Barcelona ona bir fırsat verdi ve onun ve gelişiminin yanında yer aldı.
Ankaragücü'nde birçok kişinin bahsettiği isimlerden biri de Hasan Efe Akdoğan. Kendisi 16 yaşında bir forvet ve herkes ondan çok heyecan duyuyordu. O kadar iyiydi ki yaş gruplarında üst sıralara çıkıyor ve attığı gollerle rekorlar kırıyordu. Türkiye A Milli gençlik takımının bir üyesiydi. Kulübe büyük para kazandıran bir oyuncu olabilirdi.
Daha bu hafta Corum FK ile 15.000 £ karşılığında sözleşme imzaladı. Ankaragücü kendisine profesyonel sözleşme vermeyi reddetti. Corum öne çıktı ve ona profesyonel sözleşme teklif etti ve o da onlarla imzalamayı kabul etti. Akademinizdeki Türkiye'nin en iyi yeteneklerinden birini, ona profesyonel bir sözleşme teklif etmeyi reddettiğiniz ve kendinizi tarihin en büyük menajeri olarak adlandırdığınız için mi Çorum FK'ya kaptırıyorsunuz? Bunun olmasına neden izin verdiklerini kimse açıklayamıyor. Bu şimdiye kadar gördüğüm en yozlaşmış ve en korkunç kararlardan biri.
Kulüp bu hafta Cengiz'le buluştu ve onun yeniden kulübe dönmesi büyük bir karar olacaktı. Cengiz hepimizin güvendiği biri ve akademide çok iyi tecrübesi var. Genç oyuncular onu bir baba gibi seviyor ve saygı duyuyor. Akademi Direktörü bile onunla çalışmayı sabırsızlıkla bekliyordu. Ancak yine bu yönetimle birlikte çalışan ve karara karşı çıkanlar da oldu.
Karşı çıkan kişinin futbol tecrübesi yok. Bu yönetimdeki pek çok kişi gibi o da kendine hizmet ediyor. Kariyerlerine yardımcı oluyorlar, ceplerini dolduruyorlar, arkadaşlarına para veriyorlar ve siyasi kariyerlerine fayda sağlıyorlar. Yolsuzluklara karşı konuşacakları için Ankaragücü adamlarını bu kulüpte istemiyorlar.
Biz durduk ve bu yozlaşmış hırsızların bu kulübü her gün yok etmelerine izin verdik. Ömer Erdoğan'a yapılan muamele yetmedi, 3 küme düşme yetmedi, 100 çöp imza yetmedi, Beştepe'de Emre Yıldız'a çiçek vermek yetmedi, en yetenekli Hasan Efe'ye izin verilmedi
We are now under a month until the new season starts and Ankaragucu have a lot of work still to be done as they prepare for pre season camp in Kayseri.
Metiner Erdem reported this morning that Cihat Arslan has told Saponara and Djokanovic to both find new clubs. Each team in Lig 1 can only register 8 foreign players and the new coach had concerns over the fitness of Saponara.
Stelios Kitsiou will remain at the club unless a bid comes in for the player before the transfer window closes. Kitsiou wanted to remain a the club but Kemal Ozden said he had no place in the squad. Cihat has been impressed with him in pre season and has decided he will remain.
Ankaragucu are also said to have agreed terms with Osman Celik the former captain of Samsunspor. The 32 year old midfielder was an important player for Samsun in their promotion back to the Super Lig and Ankaragucu will be hoping he can do similar here.
Efkan and Tolga are both set to return to training with the team after failing to show up so far. Ankaragucu gave both players an ultimatum to return or they would terminate the contracts. The players will join up with the rest of the squad in Kayseri.
Unfortunately the bad news keeps coming at Ankaragucu. This management continue to make decisions that are not only amateur, but you start questioning if its corruption because no one can be this bad at managing a football club.
Ankaragucu have one of the most talented young players in Turkish football in Hasan Ege Akdogan. The 16 year old striker has an incredible goal scoring record at youth level and is a member of the Turkish National youth team.
A number of clubs have shown interest, but Hasan wanted to stay with Ankaragucu as long as they offered him a professional contract. For whatever reason, the club did not make him the offer and Corum FK have snapped him up by offering a professional contract which Hasan has accepted.
This is a player who could potentially make millions of pounds for the club, but instead they will receive £15,000 compensation for the player. I dont even know what to say anymore.
Ismail Cokcalis is set to sign for the club once the transfer ban is lifted. The 24 year old right back is available on a free transfer from Adana Demirspor. Mert Cetin terminated his contract with Hellas Verona this week and will decide if he wants to return to Ankaragucu.
Another player linked with a move to the club is Douglas Tanque. The former Samsunspor and Kocaelispor striker would be a great addition as he is a proven goalscorer in Lig 1.
Finally, some good news. Atakan Cankaya left the club on a free transfer earlier this week and will look to find a new club. The player who has been relegated 3 times in the last 4 years we will not have to suffer watching any longer.
Since the passing of our great friend Jim, I along with some of the other Kankas have taken some time to decide if we are going to continue with the Blog. Without Jim, this Blog will never be the same, his passion in writing about Ankaragücü was very unique and will be sadly missed. But we do think Jim would have wanted us to continue and keep the Round Ball in Ankara as a source of information for both foreign and Turkish fans of Ankaragücü and Genclerbirligi.
Unfortunately, they news at Ankaragücü continues to look bleak as this management go from 1 disaster to another. Only 1 month previous the club appointment Kemal Ozdes as the new manager for the upcoming season. They promised him that they would keep the team together and new transfers but as usual more failed promises.
Earlier in the week Ankaragücü appointed Seyit Igcul as Sporting Director. Incredibly it’s his fist job in football for 9 years after leaving Karabukspor. A few days later Kemal Ozdes has resigned and been replaced with Cihat Arslan who managed Sanliurfaspor last season. He is another coach who has had a new job every season with lower league teams and achieved nothing. But where did they find such an underwhelming coach? The new vice president of Ankaragücü is the ex president of Sanliurfaspor. Just look at how badly managed Sanliurfaspor have been over the years and see examples of bad footballing decisions.
On the transfer front the below players have all left the club:
Nihad Mujakic - Partizan Belgrade - 900,000 Euros
Tasos - Eyupspor - Free
Pedrinho - Kocaelispor - Feee
Uros Radakovic - Sivasspor - Free
Stelios Kitsiou - Free
Federico Macheda - Free
Season ticket sales go live this week but it will be a miracle if more than 100 are sold. In all the years supporting Ankaragücü I have never seen as less interest and it’s all thanks to this management. They have destroyed this club and paid people to stay quiet.
The kit makers this season have been announced as Umbro and will be unveiled this coming week too.
The last few days have been some of the saddest days of my life. Losing our friend Jim has been hard to take, but we can take some comfort from the sheer volume of tributes paid to the great man from family, friends, the mayor of Ankara, tribune groups, Ankaragücü club and community and many others. It just shows how wonderful a person he really was and will be sadly missed.
It was this exact photo that made me become an Ankaragücü fan back in 2009. I had always a keen interest in Turkish football and decided to chose a team to follow. Darius Vassell had just signed for the club and the video of 3000 fans turning up at Esenboga airport made me do a search on google and this blog came up. After seeing the picture above I thought this guy doesn’t look Turkish, and after a bit of digging he was in fact from the same country as myself, Scotland.
I contacted Jim and he immediately replied and suggested I come over for a game to experience the Ankaragücü atmosphere. I did indeed a few months later and the rest is history. Through Jim I made friends with the rest of the Kanka group. Jim was the leader, and a great leader at that. Everyone respected him because he was like a father figure, who genuinely cared and had this infectious personality that made him instantly likeable.
We first met when he came back home for a visit to Scotland when visiting family near Glasgow. Jim kindly gifted me my first Ankaragücü jersey which I still have to this day. Shortly after I made the trip to Ankara with my wife and he was the perfect guest. Jim had organised a welcome dinner with all the rest of the group both from Ankaragücü and Genclerbirligi. It was a fantastic night and such a kind warm welcome.
I have made numerous trips across to Ankara since then and developed a friendship with Jim over the last 15 years. Including an away trip to Bursa which was our last game we attended together. Every occasion, you always got the same Jim. The same warm welcome of someone you knew was so happy to see you. The football chat which tended to involve how rubbish Ankaragücü, Rangers and Hibs were.
The only thing that frustrated me about Jim was that I was a guest in both Turkey and Scotland. He, despite my best attempts would never allow you to pay for things. There was the odd occasion he would accept a drink, but he was a kind and generous man. I mean all of that as a big compliment.
Although Jim had a settled life in Turkey which he counted as home, he never forgot his roots in Scotland. A trip back home to North Berwick was a regular occurrence and he was joined by Damon on his last few trips. Visiting his family and his beloved Hibs (won’t hold that against him haha) was the highlight of those trips. But he always found time for us to catch up for dinner. A few months ago when we said goodbye in Glasgow, I never imagined it would have been the last time we ever met :-(.
This Blog was founded by Chris and over the years has saw so many people come together from different countries due to Ankaragücü and Genclerbirligi. But the biggest reason is Jim. The way he welcomes people and makes them feel like part of the group instantly is a special gift he has. Some of us older Kankas such as Harun, Damon, Myself, Chris, Tansu, John, Marcus, Ahmet, Miguel to name a few have all had the pleasure of spending time in Jim’s company over the years. But Jim could even make special relationships with people he hasn’t met such as Johnny from Denmark. You would think those guys were friends for 20 years. It’s just the way Jim was.
Even during the times where I found it difficult to get time to continue with the match reports and reviews, Jim took over as he knew family came first. Jim would regularly message me saying Nady if yer busy this week with the family I’ve got it.
And family was the only thing more important to Jim than football. His wife Aysen, daughter Laura, son in law Paul and little Finbarr in particular. Jim was the most positive Ankaragücü fan I know, he very rarely complained compared to the rest of us. I’ve seen him happy many a time with football, but the happiest and proudest I ever saw him was when little Fin was born. He was a proud grandfather. Even on our last meeting in Glasgow the big smile on his face when he spoke about him, you could tell how much he loved him.
Tomorrow is a sad sad day as we all get the opportunity to say goodbye to our great friend. Sadly I can’t be there as I’m in Scotland. But I will be thinking of him. Ankaragücü will be attending the funeral which is a lovely touch from the club.
Because I can’t attend, I thought the minimum I could do was write this tribute to Jim. We all have our great memories, and it hurts to know we won’t speak again, or have any more of the famous match reports.
RIP Jim, you were a great great friend
Nady
