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Sports world converges on Zaman HQ for annual awards ceremony
In previous years awards were given in the following categories: Sportsperson of Year; Sports Personality of Year; Soccer Player of Year; Team of Year; Coach of Year; World Sportsperson of Year. It is going to be more or less the same this year.
The guest of honor of this evening’s event, which promises to be a thriller just as in years gone by, will be legendary Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu.
Fatih “the Emperor” Terim and German Sepp Piontek, former coaches of the Turkish national team -- among others -- will also be present to add color to this uniquely splendid occasion.
Lucsescu, one of the most successful Romanian coaches of all time, is the current trainer of Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, which won the 2008-09 UEFA Cup at the Fenerbahçe Şükru Saracoğlu Stadium in Kadiköy, İstanbul, on May 20 last year.
Very young soccer fans perhaps do not know that Lucescu is also one of the most successful coaches in Turkish soccer history. Lucescu joined Galatasaray in June 2000 and led the Galatasaray Lions to the UEFA Super Cup triumph that same year by beating Real Madrid. Under Lucescu, the Lions reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in 2000-2001 for the first time.
The following season, 2001-02 to be more accurate, Lucescu led the Galatasaray Lions to the Turkish league championship in spite of the fact that almost all the star players on the team had left. In June 2002, Galatasaray decided to replace Lucescu with Terim.
Lucescu then moved on to Beşiktaş in June 2002 and led the Black Eagles to the league championship in 2002-2003 in their centenary year. Little wonder why Lucescu has been named the guest of honor of this evening’s magnificent occasion.
“Emperor” Terim is a household name in Turkey, and writing about the “Emperor” would fill a whole library. However, Terim is best known for leading the Turkish national team for the first time ever to the European Championship finals in 1996 as well as the Euro 2008 semifinals. He also won four consecutive championships for Galatasaray: 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00 and the UEFA Cup in 2000. Terim coached the national team recently and called it quits last October after Turkey failed to qualify for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Piontek, full name Josef Emanuel Hubertus Piontek, coached Turkey in 1990-93. Piontek’s assistant was Terim, who also coached the under-21 team.
Many other VIP guests to attend
These are not the only sports personalities who will be attending this evening’s ceremony. There will be many more, including active sports stars, politicians, actors, actresses and people from all walks of life.
The guest of honor in 2008 was Dunga, the current coach of the star-studded Brazilian national team. Former Beşiktaş French coach Jean Tigana was also present. Other top foreign sports personalities included Serb Radomir Antic, former Fenerbahçe player (1976-78), who later coached Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona; Piontek; former Beşiktaş star striker Les Ferdinand of Britain who played for the Black Eagles in 1988-89; and Fenerbahçe’s former Sweden international striker Kenneth Andersson, who was a member of the domestic league championship-winning team in 2001-02.
In the not too distant past, the Zaman sports awards ceremony was attended by Inter Milan star striker Samuel Eto’o, then playing for Barcelona; former Argentina striker Mario Kempes; former Fener coach Todor Veselinovic; legendary Romanian left midfielder Gheorghe Hagi, who later became coach of the team; Cevad Prekazi, a former Galatasaray leftie; Egyptian Olympic champion wrestler İbrahim Karam; NBA legend Vlade Divac; and many others.
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