THE TSYD CUP (SPORTSWRITERS CUP) - 2013

Greetings Kankas.

It's that time of the year again when the season kicks off with the Ankara Sportswriters Cup as the curtain raiser for the Super League next week.

Whaaaaaaat ?    No Ankaragucu in the mix ?    Shock horror !!!

Perhaps they received an invitation and decided that they were too good for this competition and continued to train at their Bolu Camp ??!!

Well, at least there is one Ankara team in the competition ....... Genclerbirligi !

It all kicks off tonight at 19 Mayis Stadium and the details are as follows -

10 August - KO 8pm - Konyaspor v Genclerbirligi
10 August - KO 10pm - Elazigspor v Kayseri Erciyes

11 August - KO 7pm - 3rd and 4th place
11 August - KO 9pm - Final

Only two more words to say ...............

C'mon Gencler !!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Polatli Bugsasspor team profile !

One of the most interesting teams that Ankaragucu will come up against this season is Polatli Bugsasspor who play in the outskirts of Ankara. They are also linked to the Gokceks and like Ankaragucu have had troubled times under their leadership. It is believed that they still have links to Melih Gokcek which could see the game between the two teams quite hostile.

Speaking to Jim today we were trying to work out where Polatli play their home games. It seems that they play in the Stadium of Hell otherwise known as Yenikent which is in the outskirts of Ankara. The stadium holds just over 25,000 which means there will be plenty tickets for the match available. Some reports also say they play their home games at Sincan Sehir Stadium which holds about the same amount.

Founded in 1984 as Egospor they changed their name to Polatli in 2005, the club were close to promotion last season but lost out in the play offs. Their squad consists of former Ankaragucu players Emre Aygun, Baki Mermicek and Mustapha Er.  Both Timur Ozgoz and Bayram Olgun have spent time on loan at Polatli in the past.

Both sides will meet on the weekend of 9th October at Polatli. The home match will be played at the 19 Mayis on 26 February. Polatli are one of the favourites this season for promotion and both matches Ankaragucu will need to be at their best if they are to take any points.

In other news Bilal Gundogdu will miss the first couple of months of the season after picking up an injury in training. The club also wished the fans Byrami Mubarak Olsun and season tickets are on sale from the club shop on the 12th of August from 1300.

Ankaragucu duo called up to International side !

Ankaragucu youngsters Gokhan Akkan and Emre Tasdemir have been called up to the Turkish Under 19 squad for their upcoming match against Slovakia. Genclerbirligi player Atabey Cicek has also been called up to the squad.

Gokhan Akkan has established himself as first choice Goalkeeper at Ankaragucu despite still only being 18 years old. A string of impressive performances has saw him replace Bayram Olgun who has a fight on his hand to win back his place.

Emre Tasdemir made a couple of substitute appearances last season and has also attracted interest from Bursaspor, Trabzonspor and Galatasaray. The youngster also 18 will be looking to challenge Mehmet Tasci for the left back position this coming season.

From all at the Round Ball in Ankara well done to the youngsters from both clubs on representing their country.

Ankaragucu news round up !

Ankaragucu youngster Mert Pamukkaya has become the latest youth player to sign a professional contract with the club as he signed a 3 year deal. Not all good news though as the club have been handed a 1 point deduction for the coming season due to debts owed to Robert Vittek and Ariel Broggi.

The club have stated the will appeal the deduction as they continue to fight against the financial crisis at the club. Timur Ozgoz has been linked with a move to Sivasspor after his move to Antalyaspor fell through, its almost certain he wont be wearing the Ankaragucu jersey this coming season.

Ankaragucu youngsters sign professional contracts !

Ankaragucu youth players Ahmet Bahutan Aykildiz and Onur Atasayar have both signed professional contracts with the club and are pictured above with President Yiginer. After all the doom and gloom over the past 3 years, President Yiginer has delivered this summer and brought a bit of stability to the club. The majority of the squad apart from Timur, Bilal and Enes have stayed with the club and Yiginer  is confident the team can challenge for the Championship.

Ahmet Bahutan was on the bench a couple of times last season and will be hoping to push on and challenge for a first team place. Onur meanwhile has a fight on his hand as he is a left back and will have competition from Mehmet Tasci and Emre Tasdemir.

Iskenderun Demir Celikspor team profile !

Only founded in 1991 it was difficult to find any information on Iskenderun. Located in the Hatay province of Turkey they have played all their years in the lower leagues in Turkey. They finished 10th last season in Lig 2 and play their home games at the Iskenderun 5 Temmuz Stadi which holds 12390.

They will more than likely be looking to avoid relegation this season and like most clubs will be relishing a trip to the 19 Mayis Stadium to face Ankaragucu. For these small clubs Ankaragucu will be seen as a scalp, no game will be easy and this young Ankaragucu team will need to be up for it from the start.

Ankaragucu 2013/14 fixtures announced !

Ankaragucu will start the 2013/14 campaign at home against Gungorenspor on the 8th of September. The match will be played behind closed doors as Ankaragucu have 4 games left of the current stadium ban. The second home game is against Diyarbakir Buyuksehir Belediyespor. The first away game of the season is in Istanbul where Ankaragucu will take on Eyupspor.

The much anticipated clash with Altay doesn't take place until the 15th of December in Izmir. For a full list of the fixtures click on the link below.

Ankaragucu 2013/14 fixtures !

I will be checking flights tonight to see what date i will be returning. But it will be likely between February-April. Looking forward to the season which will be known as Dirilis !