Fenerbahce Ends Camp Saturday vs. Sparta Prague

Fenerbahce Ends Camp Saturday vs. Sparta Prague

By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce wraps up their 2007 pre-season camp on Saturday with a friendly against Sparta Prague. While the camp was deemed successful, many questions still remain as Fenerbahce gets ready for their opener in three weeks.

The Canaries had plenty of opportunities to get their new signings acclimated to Zico's style, but Fener was without several star players for much of the camp. Alex de Souza continues his healing from injury back home in Brazil and missed the entire camp. Diego Lugano's Uruguayan National Team made a nice run in the Copa America tournament, keeping him out of camp for its entirety. Roberto Carlos and Stephen Appiah both joined the team late into its camp. It is still believed that at least one Fener foreign player will be exiting Kadikoy, and questions remain as to whether or not Fener is done transferring players in. Zico spoke with the media on Saturday and did nothing to squash the transfer rumors.

"I will never say that the transfer season is over for us. Anything can happen. I will never complain about a transfer. I will never say that this player or that player did not come, and I am very unhappy. I always try to my best with the players I have. This is my job I have been given" stated Zico.

Regarding Roberto Carlos, Zico said "Roberto Carlos is working very hard and deserves everything he has; he deserves the love, the admiration, the fame. He has really impressed people throughout his career. Roberto Carlos is such a special person."

Zico spoke about much-criticized striker Deivid de Souza, as well as captain Semih Senturk. "Deivid wants to prove his skills because he was criticized really hard by lots of people last season. He continues working hard, and that’s what makes him so special. He wants to prove that he deserves to play."

When asked about the captainship, Zico said "Semih Senturk is still our captain. We will announce the new captain after every player is present. I do not agree with you on the issue that Semih could not find the chance to show himself. He always played in the Turkish Cup."

Fenerbahce will wrap up their preseason camp today with a friendly against Sparta Prague at 19:00 (12 Noon EST in the U.S.). After the game, the team will travel back to Istanbul and prepare for their Super Cup game against Besiktas on August 5, with the season opener the following weekend in Istanbul.

(photo courtesy of Fenerbahce.org)