Turkish soccer in chaos

since yesterday,  I hear news and rumors flowing about soccer in Turkey.First, there is this strange playoff system added to Super League. This evening big news arrive: Fenerbahce Banned From Champions League Amid Match-Fix Investigation And a few minutes ago I heard that Trabzonspor Will Replace Fenerbahce In UEFA Champions League Group … There is … Read more

Beşiktaş fans at New Yorker.

Letter From Turkey The View from the Stands Life among Istanbul?s soccer fanatics. by Elif Batuman     Beşiktaş hosts Fenerbahçe in first İstanbul derby of year Today’s Zaman The Beşiktaş Black Eagles entertain the Fenerbahçe Yellow Canaries in their Spor Toto Super League week 22 match at the Fiyapı İnönü Stadium this evening in the … Read more

Nationalist paranoia at Karabük University/ Politics of gender in Turkey (by Deniz Kandiyoti)

Fulbrighters Hounded Out of Karabük University By Spy Allegations from Kamil Pasha by Jenny White Americans Rachel Smith and Hayfa Aboukier have been teaching English at Karabük University under the Fulbright exchange program, like many other teachers around the country. (I was a Fulbright research fellow in Turkey in 2008.) Turkish teachers, students and researchers … Read more

Beşiktaş: Champion of Sympathy

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According to another survey on football fans in Turkey, Beşiktaş is the third biggest football club in terms of fan numbers. However, it is the most sympathized team among other teams’ fans.. More findings here.

In the mean time, it has become too complicate to estimate who will win Turkish Super League. Dear Ahmet Turgut has a good roundup:

WHO WILL WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN TURKEY?

from Turkey(Turkiye) football(soccer) by Ahmet Turgut

IT IS A JUNGLE OUT THERE…

Things at Turkish Turkcell Super League are getting hotter as we get close to the end of the rope.

It is like jungle …

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Beşiktaş may have played a role in “Why America never fell in love with soccer (!)

Why America never fell in love with soccer By James Montague, CNN “In 1950 we played Besiktas of Istanbul, in St. Louis. They beat us badly, 5-0. It was a tryout as much as anything, and then we faced an English select team with Stanley Matthews playing, in New York, and they won 1-0. Those … Read more