"It's the football, that's the football"

Elano Ralph Blumer

Having overtaken the places of Diego and Ronaldinho, Elano Ralph Blumer is one of the princes of Brazilian coach, Dunga.  After his good performance in Shaktar Donetsk and Manchester City, he was brought in to the Galatasaray squad, as a surprise.  However, due to very high expectations from a regular Brazilian team member, he failed to impress in Galatasaray in his first season.  According to some, the reason behind his failure was due to the role he was given by Rijkaard in the team.  He used to have much of an attacking role in Shaktar and Man City, whereas he had to play closer to the defensive line in the Turkish league, because the squad lacked defenders and defensive midfielders with technical ability to get the ball to the 2nd and 3rd areas of the pitch.  This is a key philosophy behind Rijkaard’s mentality which failed with the use of Elano.

There is another speculation mentioned in the media, as Elano didn’t want to get injured during the season, since he didn’t want to miss the chance to play in the World Cup.  This is a quite logical conspiracy, as he most probably won’t have the chance in the next World Cup -due to his age- , so he wants to make sure he is well fit for this one.  If he manages to impress in South Africa, he might move back to the Premier League or another bigger league with a good transfer fee.  Considering that Galatasaray had to pay 8 million Euros to Man City, the acceptable fee for his next move should be around 8-10 million.

Elano Skills

Technically, he could be considered as the king of long passes and through balls.  He is also good with free kicks (another failed characteristic in his current club).  His downsides are his low consistency and laid-back attitude in the game.  He usually plays in the centre of the midfield in his club, whereas he can take place in the right wing in the Brazil national team.  If so, he will be more successful in a 4-3-3 format, since he is not that pacey to play in the wings of a standard 4-4-2 formation.

Elano’s biggest achievements include winning the Confederations Cup (2009) and Copa America (2007) with Brazil national team, and Ukranian Championships with Shaktar Donetsk (2005, 2006).  He played for his national team in 42 games, scoring 6 goals.

Souleymanou Hamidou

Spending his last 10 years in the Turkish Super League, Souleymanou has played for Caykur Rizespor, Denizlispor and his current club, Kayserispor.  Even though he managed to find his way to the starting 11 of the under-par teams he played for, he has been critisized for the goals he conceeded at crucial moments of the games.

A great professional with sympathetic attitude towards fans and media, he is coming towards the end of his career.  Until the age of 37, Souleymanou has been capped 40 times for the Cameroon national team.  The presence of Kameni of Espanyol makes him a candidate for the sideline in the World Cup.  He has been a part of Cameroon squad who were the runners-up for the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

It’s going to be hectic summer for the versatile winger Hamit Altintop. Altough he was in the starting eleven for Bayern in the Champions League Final in place of Ribery it is almost certain that he is looking for a better contract and a regular place next season. The Turkish press is going crazy with rumors transferring him to Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, and Besiktas as they do every summer. The following quote about a serious alternative was interpreted as a sign to Fenerbahce by the Turkish press but it looks unlikely.

Spurs favourites to land Altintop

Bayern Munich winger Hamit Altintop is out of contract this summer, and is rumoured to favour rejecting a new contract at the German champions, in favour of a move to Tottenham, according to the Daily Mail. “There is one serious alternative… The sporting side of things is very important to me.” Reports claim that Spurs having Champions League football next year puts them ahead of other competitors for the Turks signature, notably Galatasaray and Athletico Madrid.

via Tottenham news – Spurs favourites to land Altintop, King says fitness not an issue, Keane positive on Spurs return.

Marek Sapara

Another leg of the big transfer move of Ankaragücü in the middle of 2009-2010 season, Sapara is a Slovakian international playing in the midfield.

Sapara in Rosenborg

He has good technical skills with quality long shots, through balls, and crosses.  Sapara is playing as the playmaking midfielder of the Ankaragucu squad, making use of his technique and effective free kicks.  However, he suffers the typical attacking midfielder syndrome, as he doesn’t take much role in the defensive part of the game.  He didn’t have so many chances to show his skills in the Turkish Super League yet, because of the general dissonance in the team; however, his former displays in Rosenborg proves that he holds a great potential.

Together with Holosko of Beşiktaş, Marek Sapara will be an important part of Slovakian attacking midfield in the World Cup.  He had 24 caps so far, scoring 2 goals.  Previously, he lifted the Norwegian Premier League Championship with Rosenborg in 2006 and 2009, scoring a total of 19 goals Rosenborg, in 4 years.

Geremi Njitap

Back to his Asia-minor hometown (Ankara) with playing for Ankaragücü this season, the Cameroonian star was one of the of the youngsters playing for Gençlerbirliği before 1999.  Geremi was brought into international European football scene by John Benjamin Toschack, after he made the move from Beşiktaş to Real Madrid, surprisingly taking Geremi from Turkey to Real Madrid with himself.

Geremi scoring for Chelsea

Now, a well known player throughout Europe, he is considered to be the power plant of his team’s midfield, as he is one of the strongest midfield players residing in Turkey.  South Africa 2010 seems to be his last World Cup display where he will try to make the best of his international experience for Cameroon.  He has played for his national team for 109 times, and scored 12 goals.  He is the player with the best European football career in Turkey, as he won Premier League with Chelsea (2006), La Liga with Real Madrid (2001), and Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon, like Rigobert Song (2000, 2002).  On top of these achievements, he won UEFA Champions’ League twice with Real Madrid in the Los Galacticos era (2000, 2002).

Rigobert Song

A legend for the Cameroonian side, Rigobert Song holds 2 interesting titles in the World Cup history as ‘the youngest player to be sent off’ at an age of 17 years in USA ’94, and as  ‘one of the 2 players who has been sent of in 2 different World Cups’ along with Zinedine Zidane.  He has been playing for the last 2 years in Trabzonspor, which is one of the 2 non-Istanbul teams to win the Turkish Super League title.

Song scoring against Toulouse in the Europa League

Once an internationally acclaimed defender, he had played for Liverpool, West Ham Utd and Lens.  He also played for Galatasaray for 3 successive seasons.  Song is a player with leadership skills, which led him to be the captain of Trabzonspor in just a year.  Known for his aggressive style of play, on the contrary, Song is a sympathetic figure of Turkish Super League outside the field.  He played for Cameroon in 133 games, scoring 38 goals, which is a remarkable success for a defensive player.  His biggest achievements are, winning African Cup of Nations with Cameroon (2000&2002), and Turkish Super League with Galatasaray (2006 and 2008).  Without a doubt, he will also be one of the centers of attention with his current hairstyle in the World Cup.

Abdul Kader Keita

Regarded as one of the most spectacular players in the Turkish Super League, Abdul Kader Keita from Ivory Coast is a pacey, very strong and very agile right-winger.  He can also play in the left-wing and as a striker, which don’t produce as successful results.

Keita strength and skills

Keita spent 2 good seasons France while playing for Lille OSC, and moved to Olympique Lyonnais 2 years later with a fee of 18.5 million Euros, but couldn’t adapt to the club.  He made his latest transfer to Galatasaray at the beginning of 2009-2010 season, and now is the main driving force behind the attacking-style of play the team posesses.  He is very good with the ball, as well as off the ball play.  At times, he might take wrong final decisions especially close to the opponent penalty box, due to the failure of team play.  He also has the tendency to make some aggressive fouls when he is well-marked in games. Keita is greatly adored by the Galatasaray fans, as of the pre-world cup season performance.  2010 World Cup is the last chance to shine in an international tournament for the 29 year-old, and he might get the chance to move to a bigger European club.  He played for Ivory Coast in 53 games, scoring 11 goals.  He was a part of the Lyon squad when they won the French Ligue A title in 2007-2008 season, like he was with Al-Ain in 2001 (UAE) and Al-Sadd in 2004 (Qatar).

Keita’s goal against Algeria

Mile Jedinak (Left)

Jedinak is an Australian midfielder playmaker with an unordinary tallness, hailing from Gençlerbirliği.  He spent 2009-2010 year in Antalyaspor on loan (due to the Gençlerbirliği squad exceeding the number of allowed foreigners), scoring 5 goals in 25 games.

Jedinak scoring against Galatasaray

When he first arrived in Gençlerbirliği, the supporters were in doubt as he didn’t seem to be the guy that might tidy up the back of the midfield line.  However, as time passed by, it was obvious that he was the right player to stop the opponents’ attacking midfielders, making use of his long legs.  He also is a threat in all kinds of freekicks, as he has the potential to score with headers, as well with direct shots on target.  The only foreseeable issue with him is that, he has the tendency to lose concentration, which sometimes result in loss of posession for his team.  Another downside is his slow pace, which might cause troubles for the Aussies against teams with a counter-attacking style of play.

An even tempered, mature and strong player with technical skills, Jedinak has the potential to find a place in the starting 11 of the Socceroos in the World Cup, next to Tim Cahill.  He still has 1 year to go with his contract with Gençlerbirliği.  He has played for Australian national team for 9 times till now.  His career in Turkey held 43 games, in which he scored 6 goals.  His biggest achievement is winning Australian A-League Championship with Central Coast Mariners (2008), when he was chosen as the team’s player of the year.

(info by Gençay Ergez)

Filip Hološko

Slovakian explosive striker Hološko was chased after by the 3 Turkish giants in 2007, but he chose to play for Beşiktaş starting with the mid 2007-2008 season.

Filip’s goals in Beşiktaş

He shows great pace and agility in the field, and usually plays as the second striker.  He can as well play in the wings of a 4-3-3 formation.  His dribbling still holds one of the highest standards in the Turkish league, and he is good with finishing, as he scored 46 goals in 114 games in Turkey (Manisaspor & Beşiktaş).  He couldn’t perform well in 2009-2010 year since he caught an injury in his splint bone, but now is back in track with his team.  He will most probably be in the starting 11 of the Slovakian national team, which is a good chance to score for him in the World Cup, since he is very-prominent in counter-attack style of play.  Hološko played for Slovakia in 37 games, in which he scored 5 goals.  His biggest achievement is Turkish Super League title in 2009 with Beşiktaş.

A hard fought goal against Northern Ireland by Hološko at 66th minute

Lucas Neill

Australian national team captain Lucas Edward Neill arrived Turkish Super League with a delay of 1 year, as he was chased after passionately by Galatasaray from the mid 2008-2009 season till the middle of 2009-2010.  He first chose to move to Everton, but couldn’t be a first team regular, so moved to Galatasaray half a season later.  He had a direct positive impact on the defensive line of Galatasaray, with his influential character and technical skills.  His character always led him to be the leader of the teams he played for, as he is currently the captain of Australian national team, and used to be the case with West Ham United.  Rumour says that he will be one of the Galatasaray team captains in the upcoming season.

Lucas’ First Impressions on Galatasaray, Turkish Super League, and Soccerroos’ Chance in the World Cup

He is also well known for his determination and combative style of play, but sometimes shows sudden burst of anger which might result in injuries for the opponents, as well as sending off for him.  He has been playing for his national team for the last 13 years, and showed up in 53 games so far.

Controversial penalty by Neill, leading to Austrialia’s elimination from World Cup 2006