Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Gameday vs. Dynamo Kiev


Gameday is finally here....Fenerbahce takes on Ukranian power Dynamo Kiev in a Champions League qualifier. The game will take place at 12:00 EST in Kiev. This will undoubtedly be Fenerbahce's toughest test thus far. However, the Yellow Canaries' offense has been on fire so far, outscoring their opponents 15-0 under the management of Zico in three games. This offensive output has been surprising, as many expected the departure of Marcio Nobre to Besiktas to negatively impact Fener.

Fenerbahce's defense will have its hands full with Dynamo today, led by striker Ruslan Rotan. Rotan scored two goals in Dynamo's last game vs. Metalurgs. Turaci and Arat will have to step up big to help Recber maintain a clean sheet today for Fener.

Other Fenerbahce Notes:

*Fabio Luciano returned to training earlier this week, but is still not training with the team. He is recovering from an injury and hopes to re-join the lineup soon.

*Deniz Baris returned to the team for the first time this week following the untimely death of his wife. Baris's two children watched practice from the sidelines accompanied by their uncle.

*Stephen Appiah was reportedly devastated by his red card on Saturday, so much so that he couldn't sleep the evening of the game. Zico and Appiah had a brief meeting at the next day's practice where Zico encouraged him to put the incident behind him.

*Nicolas Anelka has supposedly "moved on" from his transfer rumors and is in good spirits about playing this season in Istanbul. Anelka was reportedly unhappy and encouraged by the various transfer rumors linking him to English side Portsmouth, but he has now come to the realization that he will likely finish this season in Istanbul. Sources close to the team say he is in good spirits.

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