Is Umit Karan Joining Fenerbahce?

Is Umit Karan Joining Fenerbahce?
By Nathan L. Redd

According to media reports out of Istanbul, Galatasaray star striker Umit Karan may be crossing the Bosphorous to join rivals Fenerbahce. According to Sabah, Fenerbahce has agreed to transfer the player in for a fee of 3 Million Euros. It is believed his salary will be approximately 2 Million Euros per year.

The 30-year old striker played for Genclerbirligi and Ankaraspor before joining Galatasaray in 2001. He scored 14 goals in his first season with the Lions. He scored his 100th goal of his Turkish Super Lig career last season against Besiktas.

Alex de Souza Out 1.5 Months With Injury

Alex de Souza Out 1.5 Months With Injury

By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce announced on Friday that Brazilian star Alex de Souza will miss training camp and likely the first two games of the season with an injury. Fenerbahce just re-signed Alex to a new contract less than a month ago. Alex is currently on summer holiday with his family in Brazil.

Alex missed several games during the 2006-2007 season with lingering injuries, but it was believed he was at full strength when he signed his new deal.

Fenerbahce Confirms Addition of Ali Bilgin

Fenerbahce Confirms Addition of Ali Bilgin

By Nathan L. Redd

As previously reported on Fenerbahce Worldwide Wednesday, Fenerbahce has indeed agreed to terms with Antalyaspor Striker Ali Bilgin. The club confirmed the deal on its website Thursday. It is believed the contract with Bilgin will be a three-year deal.

The 25-year-old star played in the German Bundesliga for Rot-Weiss Essen before joining Antalyaspor last year. His quickness and scoring ability made many clubs notice him during his brief tenure at Antalyaspor. Fenerbahce has been in the market for another striker to accompany Mateja Kezman on the front line. The club is expected to formally announce the acquisition at a press conference within the next few days.

Fenerbahce Fighting to Keep Appiah

Fenerbahce Fighting to Keep Appiah

By Nathan L. Redd

Despite overtures from a myriad of European clubs, Fenerbahce plans to keep Stephen Appiah in Kadikoy. The club has made several statements indicating their intentions, but this hasn't kept other teams from attempting to transfer the Ghanian star in. Bayern Munich, Glasgow Celtic, Juventus, and Schalke have all inquired in previous weeks about Appiah. As recently as Monday, Schalke President Josef Schnusenberg spoke about Appiah at a press conference for the start of pre-season training.

“At the moment we are in discussions with his advisor. First of all we will have to determine the conditions for him to play for us, then we can talk to Fenerbahce. But we will do all we can to get the player” Schnusenberg told the media on Monday. It was believed that Schalke would not be able to afford the transfer fee for Appiah, but they released Brazilian star Lincoln to Fenerbahce rivals Galatasaray recently, allowing them to free up more money to potentially sign Appiah.

Fenerbahce has not released a statement in the last few days, but President Aziz Yildirim has indicated recently that Appiah will play a pivotal role for the UEFA Champions League side this fall, and Fener has no intentions of letting Appiah go. Stay tuned to see if Appiah remains a Canary or not during the summer transfer window.

Volkan Demirel, Fenerbahce Agree to New Deal

Volkan Demirel, Fenerbahce Agree to New Deal
By Nathan L. Redd

As reported on Fenerbahce Worldwide nine days ago, Fenerbahce and goalkeeper Volkan Demirel have agreed on a new two-year deal to keep him in Kadikoy. The club finalized and announced the deal on Thursday. Fenerbahce has not disclosed the terms of the deal just yet.

With Rustu Recber's departure to Besiktas, the competition has lightened for Volkan with only Serdar Kulbilge to beat to re-gain his starting position. Volkan took over the #1 goalkeeping spot after Rustu Recber suffered an injury in an international friendly last fall. Despite some solid performances, he was often criticized for inconsistent performance, and Zico made the switch to Serdar Kulbilge late in the year. Volkan also took over national team duties in goal after Rustu's injury, but he was later replaced there by Turkiye Manager Fatih Terim. The 25-year-old Demirel now has the opportunity to reacquire the fans' and coaches' trust in the 2007-2008 season.

(Photo courtesy of www.fenerbahce.org)

Fenerbahce Worldwide, FB USA on Lig TV

Fenerbahce Worldwide, FB USA on Lig TV
By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce USA and Fenerbahce Worldwide will be featured this week on Turkiye's "Lig TV." Lig TV host Deniz Turker was in New York City last weekend for the Fenerbahce USA celebration. The television crew filmed much of the weekend's festivities, including a speech by Fenerbahce Worldwide Publisher Nathan L. Redd. The footage will be featured on several shows on Lig TV. Below is a television schedule for the shows, in Eastern Standard Time (U.S.). The shows are scheduled to air on Wednesday, June 27 and Thursday, June 28.

Futbol Life Carsamba 2:00 pm --- Vatandas ne diyor Carsamba 1:45 pm
Futbol Life Carsamba 5:30 pm --- Vatandas ne diyor Persembe 1:45 pm

S.Kanarya Persembe 3:30 am

S.Kanarya Persembe 8:30 am

S.Kanarya Cuma 8:30 am

S.Kanarya C,tesi 3:30 pm

S.Kanarya Pazar 12:30 pm

Fenerbahce Releases Camp Information

Fenerbahce Releases Camp Information

By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu released a statement on Wednesday indicating that the futbol team will report to their 2007-2008 preseason camp on July 9. This year's camp will be held in Bad Tatzmanndorf, Austria and run from July 9 until July 22. They have not released a schedule of pre-season friendlies just yet.

Check back with Fenerbahce Worldwide and Fenerbahce.org for more details as they become available.

Lugano, Uruguay Fall 3-0 to Peru in Copa America

Lugano, Uruguay Fall 3-0 to Peru in Copa America

By Nathan L. Redd

Most of the Fenerbahce players are enjoying the last days of their summer holiday, but Diego Lugano still has his boots on. Lugano is playing for his native Uruguay in the Copa America futbol tournament in Venezuela. Unfortunately, Lugano's national side got off to a rough start on Tuesday evening, falling 3-0 to Peru.

Uruguay has won the Copa America tournament 14 times, but the team has been in decline since failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. They were hoping to get it together this time around, but Peru found goals from Miguel Villalta, Juan Carlos Marino, and Paolo Guerrero to take the win 3-0.

Uruguay looked uninspired and sluggish for most of the game, finding few opportunities to score. Peru, on the other hand, came out ready go to and take down the Uruguayans. Fenerbahce defenseman Diego Lugano started for Uruguay and wears #2 for his national side.

Lugano and Uruguay will have a chance to rebound from the loss on Saturday, when they play Bolivia at Pueblo Nuevo Stadium in Venezuela.

Is Ali Bilgin Joining Fenerbahce?

Is Ali Bilgin Joining Fenerbahce?

By Nathan L. Redd

Several media outlets including Fenerbahce.com and Lig TV are reporting that Fenerbahce are in the process of transferring in Ali Bilgin. The Antalyaspor attacker will reportedly sign a 3-year contract with Fenerbahce later this week.

The 25-year-old star played in the German Bundesliga for Rot-Weiss Essen before joining Antalyaspor last year. His quickness and scoring ability made many clubs notice him during his brief tenure at Antalyaspor. Fenerbahce has been in the market for another striker to accompany Mateja Kezman on the front line. According to reports, Ali Bilgin may be just the player to do so.

Fenerbahce USA Celebration Photo Gallery Part II

All Photos By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce USA Celebration Photo Gallery

All photos by Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce USA Celebrates Centennial in Style

Fenerbahce USA Celebrates Centennial in Style

By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce has a lot to celebrate in 2007, and their American fans got in on the party last Friday evening in New York City. A crowd of approximately 500 Fenerli's packed the Marriott Marquis in Times Square to party and celebrate the club's 100th anniversary.

Fenerbahce USA President Turgay Kadioglu opened the evening with videos of Fenerbahce's triumphant 2006-2007 futbol season. Fenerbahce President Aziz Yildirim was unable to attend the event due to illness, but his absence didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd. Throughout the ceremony, speakers and musicians frequently had to pause as fans hoisted their scarves and flags into the air and sang the songs that echo throughout Sukru Saracoglu each week. Fenerbahce Vice-President Ekmel Anda received a special plaque and award, and President Turgay read a special letter from Aziz Yildirim. With the songs of Athena's "100 Yil." celebration songs blaring through the speakers, it was difficult to keep from getting excited about the club's accomplishments.

Despite the event being held in New York City, fans came from far and wide to join the celebration. There were participants from Turkiye, as well as California, North Carolina, Chicago, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and across the globe. Fenerbahce Worldwide Author and Publisher Nathan L. Redd represented Louisville and spoke to the crowd for several minutes about how an American came to love Fenerbahce. Deniz Turker from Lig TV and Kivanc Ozkok from Fenerbahce TV were broadcasting and filming segments for upcoming features on the respective networks. In addition, there were media representatives in attendance from Fenerbahce Magazine, Zaman, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Fotomac, Antu.com, etc.

The evening was capped by musical performance from singer Nukhet Duru and clarinettist Husnu Senlendirici, who electrified the crowd and quickly got everyone onto the dance floor. In addition, autographed Fener shirts from new signee Roberto Carlos, Fener legend Lefter Kucukandonyadis, Tuncay Sanli, and Selcuk Yula were on display in the ballroom.

The 2007 Fenerbahce USA Celebration was a huge success by all accounts and already has many fans looking forward to the 2008 event. For more information on Fenerbahce USA or to join, log onto the organization's official website at www.fbusa.org.

Emre: "I Had An Offer From Fenerbahce"

Emre: "I Had An Offer From Fenerbahce"

By Nathan L. Redd

Turkish midfielder Emre Belozoglu announced earlier that despite his desire to stay with English club Newcastle United, he had an offer from Fenerbahce to join the Yellow Canaries.

"I know all the Turkish newspapers will write my name in their headlines during the transfer window. But although I have received serious offers from Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, I want to continue my career in England. The Premier League is famous all over the world and that's why I wanted to move there. I will stay at Newcastle. I have great respect for Sam Allardyce, the new coach."

There was speculation several months ago that Emre may join Fenerbahce at the end of his season with Newcastle, although Fenerbahce officials never confirmed any interest in Emre. In fact, it is believed that the acquisition of the midfielder would be very disappointing to Fenerbahce fans. Emre endured one of the most difficult seasons of his career in 2006-2007. He was falsely accused of racism by American goalkeeper Tim Howard, who himself should have been punished for ethnic slurs against Emre. It was believed that Emre would leave England after the incident, but he was cleared by FIFA and the FA and has chosen to remain at Newcastle to play for new Manager Sam Allardyce.

Future Canary On Cover of FourFourTwo?

Future Canary On Cover of FourFourTwo?
By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce landed unprecedented worldwide publicity with the signing of Roberto Carlos recently. If they land Brazilian striker Ronaldo, the attention focused on Kadikoy will skyrocket. Ronaldo is on the cover of the new July 2007 edition of FourFourTwo, one of the most popular football magazines in the world. The English-based magazine features a lengthy interview with Ronaldo; the interview occured prior to any Fenerbahce speculation, so there is no mention of the Yellow Canaries.

FourFourTwo is available in various large markets in the United States in stores such as Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc. You can also visit their website at www.fourfourtwo.premiumtv.co.uk

Is Fenerbahce Still After Ronaldo?

Is Fenerbahce Still After Ronaldo?

By Nathan L. Redd

The transfer talks surrounding Fenerbahce and AC Milan star Ronaldo seemed to have cooled a bit last week, but Fenerbahce may not be out of the hunt for the superstar just yet. Fenerbahce was reportedly linked with a move for Inter Milan's Adriano, but he stated his desire to remain in Italy yesterday.

Rumor has it that AC Milan is still hoping to bring Andriy Shevchenko back to the San Siro for the upcoming season. If so, they may be willing to part with Ronaldo despite acquiring him less than six months ago. With that being said, it is believed that Fenerbahce still has Ronaldo high on their transfer wish list.

Stay tuned for more details on the Ronaldo transfer saga.

FW Publisher on Fenerbahce Website

(Left to Right): Fenerbahce Worldwide Publisher Nathan L. Redd with Fenerbahce USA General Secretary Osman Mehter

Following the Fenerbahce USA Centennial Celebration in New York City over the weekend, the official Fenerbahce website, www.fenerbahce.org, featured an article and photos from the event. Fenerbahce Worldwide Publisher Nathan L. Redd is joined in the photo above with Fenerbahce USA General Secretary Osman Mehter.

You can read the article and see photos in Turkish by visiting http://www.fenerbahce.org/detay.asp?ContentID=7850

You can read the article, with photos, in English by visiting http://www.fenerbahce.org/eng/detay.asp?ContentID=970

Back From New York City

Back From New York City

By Nathan L. Redd

First, let me apologize for the brief hiatus over the weekend. As many of you know, I was in New York as part of the Fenerbahce USA event. I anticipated that I would have internet access while I was there and hoped to provide updates over the weekend, but I unfortunately did not have access. I did take lots of photos and have some nice stories to tell, however. Please check back later today as I'll begin a series of new articles on the Fenerbahce USA event in addition to other articles regarding Fenerbahce.