Triumphant Lions, Canaries return to domestic league

The Lions pulverized and eliminated poor Israeli side Maccabi Netanya 10-1, while the Canaries sent Hungary's Budapest Honved packing 5-2.

With champion Beşiktaş having played on Friday and Sivas and Trabzonspor the following day, today all attention is on the Lions and the Canaries, the winningest teams in the league, with 17 championships apiece.

The Lions this evening are away in Antep where they will be battling for maximum points against host Gaziantepspor at the latter's Kamil Ocak Stadium in their opening match of the 2009-10 league season.

The Yellow Canaries are also away at Denizli and will be locking horns with their old nemesis, the Denizlispor Roosters, at Atatürk Stadium.

Looking back

Any Denizlispor encounter against Fenerbahçe at Atatürk Stadium attracts more than the usual interest from the local sports media and fans because of what happened there on the night of May 14, 2006, when the Fener Canaries tied with the Roosters during the dramatic final day of the season, and archrival Galatasaray eventually grabbed the coveted league crown.

To recap, the league-leading Canaries needed an away victory over the Roosters to retain their title, but they could only manage to come from behind and get a 1-1 draw. So the second-placed Lions, who crushed Kayserispor in İstanbul, clinched the 2005-06 league championship. This is something the Canaries and the Fener fans will never forget, and it continues to hang around their necks like the Ancient Mariner's albatross.

Not that anyone today expects a Denizlispor surprise again against a Fener side that has revamped its squad with three new Brazilians -- Fabio Bilica from Sivasspor, Cristian Oliveira Baroni and Andre dos Santos from Corinthians. The trio has joined five other compatriots at the Fenerbahçe Brazilian “battalion,” which includes legendary defender Roberto Carlos, captain-playmaker Alex de Souza, midfielder Deivid de Souza, defender Edu Dracena and defensive midfielder Gokçek Wederson.

The Canaries also have a new coach after re-signing German Christoph Daum in June. The no-nonsense German is eager to begin his second adventure at Fener on a winning note. “Everyone, including myself, wants to win the first match of the season,” Daum said this week. “And we are all working diligently toward achieving that goal,” he added.

Furthermore, the Canaries got a morale-boosting victory on Sunday when they beat the Beşiktaş Black Eagles 2-0 in the Turkish Super Cup, which pits the league champion against the cup holder.

Host Denizlispor was lucky to avoid relegation last season and does not want to repeat last season's mistakes of dropping points at home. Therefore, rather than make mistakes, the Roosters will strive to make the star-studded Canaries pay dearly for any errors they make. Kickoff is at 9:45 p.m., and the referee will be Bülent Yıldırım.

Rijkaard and Lions ready  

The Lions, like the Canaries, also have a new coach, after signing Frank Rijkaard during the preseason. The Dutch coach, after a successful Europa League qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan's Tobol and Israel's Netanya, wants to enjoy his first taste of the Turkcell Super League with victory at Antep this evening.

Rijkaard's Lions conceded only two goals in four Europa League qualifying matches and scored 13. This means the team's striking force is capable of hitting the target, and the defense is not as shaky as was previously thought. The Lions have also sought Brazilian inspiration with the recent signing of Brazil international midfielder Elano Blumer from English Premier League side Manchester City.

“Our aim is to play entertaining soccer and win,” Rijkaard said. “And we will be going to Gaziantep with that in mind.”

Antep is famous for humiliating the İstanbul “Big Three” at Kamil Ocak. But judging from the Lions' form in the Europe League qualifiers, a draw would not be considered a bad result for the host. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m., and the referee will be Bünyamin Gezer.

In other Super League games today: Gençlerbirliği hosts Kayserispor (referee Fırat Aydınus) and Bursaspor entertains newcomer Kasımpaşa (Taner Gizlenci), while another newcomer, Manisaspor, takes on Eskişehirspor at home in a match that will be refereed by Mustafa İlker Coşkun.

In the opening match of the season played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Friday, İstanbul BşB held Beşiktaş to a 1-1 draw -- thereby living up to its spoiler reputation.

Live on LİG TV

19:30 Gaziantep vs. Galatasaray

Live on LİG TV

21:00 Denizlispor vs. Fenerbahçe