Day of reckoning for Turkish teams in Europa League
After a lackluster performance in Europe last season, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş are eyeing comebacks in the UEFA Europa League tonight, while Osmanlıspor are looking to boost their standings in the tournament it joined for the first time last year
With the UEFA Europa League's round of 32 kicking off today, Turkish teams finally have an opportunity to prove their mettle in international competitions after bad spells in the domestic league and underwhelming performances in Europe last year.
Fenerbahçe will square off against Russia's Krasnodar while Beşiktaş will take on Israel's Hapoel Beer-Sheva in away games. Accompanying the two Turkish giants in their Europa League journey are the minnows from the capital Ankara, Osmanlıspor, who have taken a fast lane to success this season with a fresh lineup.
Though no longer the underdogs, Osmanlıspor, whose name derive from the Ottomans, will face a challenge when they meet with Olympiakos at a time of rising tension between neighboring Greece and Turkey.
The match in Greece may further fuel tensions, although Osmanlıspor, with its little fan support unlike Fenerbahçe or Beşiktaş, is not known for fan violence.
Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe, who advanced to the competition's round of 32 for a second consecutive year, will take on Russia's Krasnodar who are currently positioned fifth in the Russian league, some 12 points off leaders Spartak.
Krasnodar may count on the Swedish midfielder, Viktor Claesson, it transferred to a tune of around 2 million euros last month. Claesson, who has won nine caps with Sweden, had scored 32 goals in 134 matches with his former team Elfsborg.
It is the 25th season in the Europa League for Fenerbahçe, who shined in the semi-finals in 2012-2013. Although they managed to defeat Lazio in the quarter finals, Fenerbahçe were later defeated by Portugal's Benfica.
On the other hand, Turkish Spor Toto Super League leaders Beşiktaş will continue competing in the UEFA Europa League, after they were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages. They will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva, which, like its Turkish rival, are dominating their respective domestic league in Israel.
Competing in the tournament for the 17th time, Beşiktaş are Europa League veterans, but the team's greatest success was reaching quarter finals in the 2002-2003 season.More recently, they enjoyed a winning streak against Sarajevo, Alaves, Dinamo Kiev, Slavia Prag in the first rounds of the competition that started last year, only to be defeated by Lazio in the quarter finals. Meanwhile, Osmanlıspor, who are currently in ninth place in the Turkish domestic league, will play only their 13th game in the Europa League, when they take on Olympiakos today.In the 14 games they played in European competitions, including the UEFA Intertoto Cup they participated in while they were known as Ankaraspor, Osmanlıspor enjoyed nine victories and saw two draws. They scored 24 goals in total and have never been defeated in Europa League qualifiers.
Fenerbahçe will square off against Russia's Krasnodar while Beşiktaş will take on Israel's Hapoel Beer-Sheva in away games. Accompanying the two Turkish giants in their Europa League journey are the minnows from the capital Ankara, Osmanlıspor, who have taken a fast lane to success this season with a fresh lineup.
Though no longer the underdogs, Osmanlıspor, whose name derive from the Ottomans, will face a challenge when they meet with Olympiakos at a time of rising tension between neighboring Greece and Turkey.
The match in Greece may further fuel tensions, although Osmanlıspor, with its little fan support unlike Fenerbahçe or Beşiktaş, is not known for fan violence.
Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe, who advanced to the competition's round of 32 for a second consecutive year, will take on Russia's Krasnodar who are currently positioned fifth in the Russian league, some 12 points off leaders Spartak.
Krasnodar may count on the Swedish midfielder, Viktor Claesson, it transferred to a tune of around 2 million euros last month. Claesson, who has won nine caps with Sweden, had scored 32 goals in 134 matches with his former team Elfsborg.
It is the 25th season in the Europa League for Fenerbahçe, who shined in the semi-finals in 2012-2013. Although they managed to defeat Lazio in the quarter finals, Fenerbahçe were later defeated by Portugal's Benfica.
On the other hand, Turkish Spor Toto Super League leaders Beşiktaş will continue competing in the UEFA Europa League, after they were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages. They will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva, which, like its Turkish rival, are dominating their respective domestic league in Israel.
Competing in the tournament for the 17th time, Beşiktaş are Europa League veterans, but the team's greatest success was reaching quarter finals in the 2002-2003 season.More recently, they enjoyed a winning streak against Sarajevo, Alaves, Dinamo Kiev, Slavia Prag in the first rounds of the competition that started last year, only to be defeated by Lazio in the quarter finals. Meanwhile, Osmanlıspor, who are currently in ninth place in the Turkish domestic league, will play only their 13th game in the Europa League, when they take on Olympiakos today.In the 14 games they played in European competitions, including the UEFA Intertoto Cup they participated in while they were known as Ankaraspor, Osmanlıspor enjoyed nine victories and saw two draws. They scored 24 goals in total and have never been defeated in Europa League qualifiers.