Can Fenerbahce overcome slow start in pursuit of coveted fourth star?
Fenerbahce’s season was derailed before it ever really began. A Champions League qualifier saw to that. The first leg, in Istanbul, went well, with a 2-1 win to take to Monaco for the second leg. Things looked good, with Vitor Pereira bringing in a few new players and switching to a 3-5-2. But then came the second leg, a 3-1 defeat and elimination from the Champions League, and the wheels came off.
With the chance to compete in Europe’s premier competition thrown away, the fissures at the club began to make themselves apparent. Head Coach Pereira had spent part of the previous season falling out certain with players, chiefly Robin van Persie, and through the prism of Champions League elimination, all Pereira’s conflicts began to be reassessed. Pereira was sacked and, with the likes of Manuel Pellegrini and Marcelo Bielsa mentioned, it remains a surprise that Fenerbahce decided to appoint Dick Advocaat, whose most recent job was an up-and-down spell with Sunderland.
Fenerbahce are a club that finds it difficult to accept anything other than the Super Lig title each season. Their rivalry with Galatasaray and, to a slightly lesser extent Besiktas, fuels Turkish football. That they have finished runners-up twenty-times, more than any other club, is a continual sore point. That they have 19 titles, one less than Galatasaray, affording them one less star above the club’s crest - given for every five Super Lig titles - is an abomination. Every managerial appointment, at least until they manage to get that 20th title, will be about star gazing. Pereira could not give Fenerbahce what they wanted and it is unclear whether the club truly believes that Advocaat ever can. With the season about to get underway, they needed a coach and Advocaat was available immediately.
Yet Advocaat's appointment has not, as yet, produced the required results. It took him four Super Lig games to register his first win, a 5-1 thrashing of Kasimpasa. Since then, Fenerbahce appear to have cut out their early season defeats but draws - against Kayserispor, Osmanlispor and Alanyaspor - continue to blight them. They currently sit in fifth, eight points behind leaders Istanbul Baskasehir, six behind Besiktas, five behind Galatasaray and four behind Bursaspor. Already, as November, begins, it appears that Fenerbahce will be unable to catch up. Winning the league looks like a stretch.
But there have been, at least recently, some more promising signs. The shoots of recovery, though probably too late to result in a league title win, have made themselves visible. Fenerbahce’s last six games have yielded four wins and two draws. They have climbed from the catastrophic position of mid-table to fifth. Robin van Persie looks to finally have turned up and in Jeremain Lens, Fenerbahce have one of the most dangerous players in the league. Indeed, in Lens’ five Super Lig games, he has one goal, four assists and a WhoScored rating of 7.81, giving him a place on the right wing in the team of the season so far.
These tendencies were apparent in the 5-0 demolition of Karabukspor last time out. Karabukspor, managed by former Juventus defender Igor Tudor, are no also-rans. Ahead of the game, they sat level on points with Fenerbahce, surprising many with how well they have adapted to life after promotion. But they barely troubled Advocaat’s side.
A red card for anchor man Ceyhun Gulselam did not aid Karabukspor’s cause, but two goals for Van Persie and a man of the match performance for Lens, who received a WhoScored rating of 9.06, evidenced improvement. Fenerbahce are now tasked with showing that this result is no anomaly. The last time they scored five in the league, against Kasimpasa in September, two out of the subsequent three games resulted in draws. If Fenerbahce are to really progress, the same cannot happen.
It is in this context that Fenerbahce gear up to face Manchester United on Thursday night. The Europa League does not have the same importance as the Super Lig but it is a competition that Galatasaray have won and Fenerbahce have not - another sore point over in Kadikoy. There is also the prospect of welcoming one of Europe’s most storied clubs to Istanbul.
A match against Manchester United brings the prestige that was supposed to come from participation in the Champions League. Europa League or not, this match has great significance for Fenerbahce fans. These are the games that they remember and, in what already looks like a season to forget, a good performance at home could provide the sort of catalyst that Fenerbahce need. Another 4-1 defeat is unlikely to be tolerated.
Can Fenerbahce move on from their poor start to secure domestic glory this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
