Fenerbahce

Bolton fans to this day still wear T-shirts emblazoned with a photo of Jay Jay Okocha and the line: “Jay Jay: so good they named him twice.” It is not the mercurial Nigerian maestro but another double barrel that is enjoying some of the limelight at this year's European Championships and can expect to be named in the starting line-up against Croatia tonight.

Tricky winger Colin Kazim-Richards a.k.a Colin “Kazim Kazim” is enjoying a new lease of life at Turkish club Fenerbahce and for the national side after his move from the lower echelons of English football to the big time.

Known by many in England as the “Coca-Cola Kid” (after a fan “bought” him from Bury to Brighton & Hove Albion for €300.000 after winning the right in a competition run in 2005 by the American soft drinks giant), he struggled to establish himself in the English game.

2 years, 110 appearances and 10 goals later, he signed a four-year deal with Fenerbahce on 15 June 2007 to embark on a new life and a fresh opportunity to fulfill his talent and prove his doubters wrong.

Despite the support of his family and in particular his mother, a Turkish Cypriot, he initially struggled to adapt to a new culture and lifestyle but gradually overcame the homesickness a 20 year-old (now 21) footballer plying his trade solo in an unfamiliar environment is bound to experience and started to win praise for several cameo appearances.

This culminated in his first goal for his new club. And what a goal it was...a fine strike in the first leg of his team's Champions League quarter-final clash against Chelsea, a very proud moment for a lifelong Gunner. Tonight, he will pull on his national colours with pride in the knowledge that just 2 or 3 years ago, he was struggling to make a living out of football and had an uncertain future ahead of him.

Despite inducing the wrath and falling out of favour with several of his previous managers, who suggested that his bad attitude would prove his downfall, Kazim- Richards has a heart of gold and is a tough character. Don't bet against him adding further to his growing reputation tonight by getting his name on the score sheet in another high-profile encounter.

Having cleared several of the hurdles that have faced him so far in his fledgling career, his highest one is yet to come - that of keeping his feet on the ground as his stock continues to rise.  

 

Barcelona have made back up keeper Jose Manuel Pinto’s loan move permanent. The Catalans have paid Celta Vigo half a million Euros or three hundred and ninety five thousand pounds for their new third choice shot stopper. (Marca)

Palermo have signed Fiorentina’s former Lazio midfielder Fabio Liverani on a three year deal, the Sicilian club have confirmed. (Sky Sports News)

Fenerbahce are in talks with Newcastle’s Turkish International Emre about returning to Istanbul for four million. Emre started his career with Fenerbahce’s arch rivals Galatastaray.

Rennes, Lens and Portsmouth are all interested in signing Liverpool back up keeper Charles Itandje. (The Sun)

Jose Mourinho is almost certain to take over at Inter Milan after Roberto Mancini’s sacking by the Italian club. Ironically the former Leicester and Italy International is now favourite to take over at the “Special Ones’” old club Chelsea. (The Guardian)

Fiorentina Viola have signed AC Milan’s Italy international striker Alberto Gilardino. (The Guardian)

Lyon will sign Nice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to replace the departing Gregory Coupet, who is expected to leave the Stade Gerrland this summer. (L’Equipe)

Ernesto Valverde, who resigned from Espanyol a few days ago, has been appointed Olympiakos manager on a three year contract worth four million Euros. (The Guardian)

Sam Morrowhas become the first managerial casualty of the MLS season after the FC Dallas manager was sacked last night after the club’s after the Texan clubs disappointing start to the season. (ESPN)

Former Argentina Manager Jose Pekermanhas resigned from his position as manager of Mexican outfit Toluca for family reasons. (ESPN)

Chelsea could appoint AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti as their new head coach, and then exploit his relationship with star playerKaka with a fifty million pound bid for the Brazilian superstar. (Daily Star)

Barcelona claim that Arsenal’s Belarus Captain Alexander Hleb has agreed to join them for next season, Yaya Touregoing the other way as part of the deal. The Catalans are also reportively interested in Tottenham’s Dimitar Berbartov and Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. Although no deal for either of the front men can be made until Samuel Eto’o leaves. (Daily Star)

Reading’s Ivory Coast midfielder Emerse Fae is close to a return to France with Nice close to acquiring the player on loan with a view to a permanent two point four million pound move. The player was previously fined two weeks wages for refusing to play for the club’s reserves back in April (The Times)

Crystal Palace are facing a real war to keep hold of some of their star players. Teenage superstar John Bostock is on the verge of signing for Tottenham and fellow midfielder Ben Watson is being chased by Derby, Nottingham Forrest, Bolton, and Middlesbrough. QPR have already had a one and a quarter million pound bid turned from the eagles. (The Times)

Rangers are interested in Le Mans left back Jean Calve, and Monaco left back Jeremy Berthod. (Various)

Portsmouth are interested in Trinidad and Tobago international eighteen year old midfielder Khaleem Hyland, who will play against England on Sunday. (The Times)

Sunderland are planning a swoop for Aston Villa’s Scotland midfielder Shaun Maloney with a four million pound bid (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham will bid for twelve million pound rated Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozofrom Benfica. (Daily Mirror)

Derby, Reading and Coventry are all in the race to sign Swansea’s Dutch midfielder Ferrie Bodde this summer. (Derby Evening Standard)

Plymouth Argyle and Aberdeen will fight it out for Leicester’s former Republic of Ireland full back Alan Maybury. (Daily Record)

Cardiff City want to sign Manchester City’s young Welsh midfielder Ched Evans on loan this season. (South Wales Echo)

West Brom are considering making a move for Dundee’s highly rated midfielder Kevin McDonald. (Daily Record)

Swedish champions Djurgardens and Dundee United are bidding to take Ranger’s winger Alan Gowon loan for next season. The Tannadice club are also interested in taking Charlie Adamfrom Ibrox in a similar deal. (Various)

Celtic will rival Sunderland for the signing of Manchester city’s Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland with a five million pound bid. (Daily Mirror)

After a less-than-stellar first season, Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has had quite the sophomore campaign. 

After four years with Bayern Munich, in which the German totaled 44 goals in 107 appearances, Ballack caught the eye of the EPL.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich shelled out millions of dollars for Ballack, who underperformed last season, scoring just five goals in 26 appearances in Premiership play. 

This season, however, Ballack has excelled, netting seven goals in 17 matches for FC Chelsea. Ballack has returned to his fit form from the 2005-06 season in the Bundesliga, in which he scored 14 times.

Ballack has shown his improvement not only in his statistics, but in his confidence on the field. For example, in the Champions League quarter final stage, Ballack looked quite assured of himself on the pitch, controlling the ball beautifully against Turkish giant Fenerbahce. Ballack's improved playing ability has contributed to Chelsea's first Champions League final ever.

Ballack is most well-known for his ability to win headballs, especially on corner kicks. This year, though, Ballack has scored in a variety of ways, whether it be off of a free kick, breakaway, or nice through-ball. 

As the German national captain, Ballack has been scrutinized for two years by German newspapers for his choice to leave the Bundesliga in favor of the Premiership. This season, he has turned his doubters into believers, showing that he deserves to be a starter in the EPL.

With Euro 2008 fast approaching, and Ballack playing the calibre of soccer that helped his German squad to a third-place finish in the World Cup, Germany should be considered one of the top favorites to win the crown.

With Ballack's hard-working attitude, not only should his national team have a chance to win Euro 2008, but the Blues are in a nice position to take the Champions League, and with some luck, take the double via the EPL.

This summer will be a definite sign whether or not Ballack should be considered an elite player in Europe. But for now, he has shown great strides with his play on the pitch this season.

A lot of discussions are taking place in the world of football.

Is scoring a goal better than sex? And did Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Smith both have sex with Gemma Atkinson on the same night? Are among them.

On a more serious note, the UEFA Champions League's battle for places in the semi finals is on.

Manchester United, Roma, Arsenal, Liverpool, Schalke, Barcelona, Fernabahce and Chelsea are all looking to book their places in the semi finals.

ARSENAL VS LIVERPOOL

Perhaps,the most hyped game of the lot is Arsenal vs Liverpool.

The Trilogy is now into it's last stage and be prepared to bet on yet another 1-1 draw. The previous two matches in Europe and the Premier League are enough to ensure that the Gunners and the Reds will be sick of the sight of each other.

It's over to Merseyside for this one, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres did not start against Arsenal in the Premier League and should be firing on all cylinders. Dirk Kuyt is reportedly in a rift with manager Rafael Benitez and if rumours are to be believed he will follow Craig Bellamy in the line of players who have left Merseyside due to a disagreement with Benitez.

Liverpool are the bookies favourites due to their success in Europe in previous years and the fact that they will be playing at home.

Our prediction: 1-1 Liverpool to win on penalties.

MANCHESTER UNITED VS AS ROMA

Roma visit the Theatre of Dreams knowing the Red Devils are missing defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Roma are making their third visit to Old Trafford in a year's period.

Previous results have been 7-1 and 1-0 both in favour of the mighty Red Devils. United, however, come into the game on the back of a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be placing his hopes on the duo of Rooney and goal machine Ronaldo (37 goals) to shake off a hangover and book a place in the last four.

Sir Alex is reportedly considering Gerard Pique and John O'Shea to start at the heart of defense. United Skipper Gary Neville could make a return from an injury which has made him miss a large chunk of the season.

Luciano Spalleti's side missed the services of skipper Francesco Totti in Rome and has pinned his hopes on the likes of Vucinic, Giuly and Mancini to impress in Manchester.

Our prediction: 4-1 Manchester United to progress 6-1 on aggregate.

CHELSEA FC VS FERNABAHCE SK

Chelsea host Fernabahce and the Turks who sprung a surprise win in Istanbul will be hoping to knock Avram Grant's side out of Europe.

The Turkish Champions hold a 2-1 advantage coming in to the second leg and if Mateja Kezman's remarks are to believed then one might consider putting money on the Turks to scrape through.

On second thought, one feels Chelsea have to much quality and should easily progress through to the semis to face either Arsenal or Liverpool.

Nicolas Anelka is looking to add to his goals column and is expected to start alongside Didier Drogba, add to that the likes of Essien, Ballack, Lampard and Joe Cole and Fernabahce SK have a nightmare waiting for them.

Deivid and Co will be looking to continue from where they left off in Turkey.

Our Prediction: 1-0 Chelsea to progress (2-2) on away goals.

FC BARCELONA VS SCHALKE 04'

Barcelona and Schalke is the last game on our agenda and the Catalan giants who have a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany are favourites.

Frank Riijkard's side will have to shift their focus from La Liga where they are trailing behind Real Madrid to Europe with a possible clash with Manchester United in sight.

If you still have any money left, place it on Barcelona because you can not bet against Barcelona when they are playing at home with the likes of Henry, Eto'o, Xavi and Iniesta among them.

Schalke keeper Marcus Neuer must prepare for another tough evening of European Football.

Schalke have defied all odds making it this far and one feels this is the time they will get knocked out, or will they?

Our prediction: 2-0 Barcelona to progress (3-0) on aggregate. 

Salaar Shamsi writes for Soccernet, We Talk Football, Soccer-Digital, ESPN-World Sport and Bleacher Report.

in this years draft which is 88 days away thereare two players which probably havnt been given alot of though in the nba. Being from turkey doesnt help them either, but i have hi hopes for omer asik and semih erden both 7 footers from the turkish basketball team im going to give a brief strengths and weaknesses of each player starting with semih erdenStrengths: Arguably Turkey’s top current prospect, he offers a long and lean body frame with good athletic skills, long arms and good legs ... He can run the floor very well for a guy his size and has good agility and quickness ... Especially right handed, he also has penetration possibilities to go with decent hands and passing, as well as acceptable body balance ... Even enjoying a good rythm on his outside shot (3 pt range) with a high release, he’ll have to work hard to make his percentages rise, become confident in himself and gain confidence from teammates to shoot from the perimeter ... Considering his size, ballhandling and dribbling are surely acceptable, and his shotblocking as well due to a good leaping ability and solid timing.Weaknesses: Most influenced by his often poor mentality are his defense and rebounding ... Although in both aspects his instincts and awareness aren’t bad, his lack of intensity and concentration don’t allow him to be a steady intimidating force in the middle ... Does need some work on his timing when executing rotations and double teaming from help side ... It would also be interesting to see him bulk up and gain more arm strength ... Should also try to impose himself at the low post in half court offense, better developing his post moves.Outlook: As far as I’m concerned, the only person who can prevent Semih from being drafted is … Semih Erden. The potential is undeniable, though at this point it appears he's wasting a good amount of his talent. Let’s hope he’s conscious enough of that and can tap into his outstanding potential. now leading onto the other omer asik the other turkey meat coming into the nba this year,Strengths: he is extremly consistent as he always gives his team some points and an equal share of rebounds while being a capable shot blocker at the Euroleague level (should be able to be a solid shot blocker at the NBA level as well) ... Center seems to be his natural position as he loves playing with his back to the basket possessing a good assortment of moves to get his shot off ... He is a tenacious rebounder going for the offensive boards as well as wiping the defensive glass ... A late bloomer who has progressed considerably over the last 2 years. He possesses a good reach and good hands, and his frame appears to be able to add weight ... Weaknesses: To play at the NBA level, he has to work on his body as he is thin by NBA center standards ... He does not possess the skill set to make up for his good but not excellent size and probably is a little un-athletic to go down to the four slot. Lacks a great shot from beyond the paint area. Must extend his range ... Too right hand dependant. Should look to improve his use of his left hand ... A poor free throw shooter at below 50%. Must improve upon this to become an effective scorer ... His progression over the past 2 years gives him a lot of hope, but he will need to continue to work hard and bulk up and improve his shooting and skill level.
Notes: Had a great season for his Turkish club that opened up some eyes and when Fenerbahce offered him to play at Europe's highest level on a consistent basis he jumped at the opportunity. Thrown into the fire right away he played from gameday 8 on to the end of the regular season. as it stands right now i have them going actually back to back in the draft depending on the draft order around late first early second round depending if they come to the states for the pre-draft work outs usally euro players dont come unless they are top picks. so as you now know that there are going to be another addition the the nba turkish family (hedo turkoglu, mehmet okur) watch for there names to be called during the draft

 

A late away goal from substitute Carlos Tevez for Manchester United salvaged their night after Karim Benema’s 20 yard drive put Lyon ahead.

Benzema, despite being linked to a summer move to Old Trafford and highly-rated by Alex Ferguson, was given too much time and space and could have extended his tally.

Lyon, six time Ligue 1 champions running, are overdue European success as are the Red Devils, who have failed to pass the semi-finals after their win in 1999

Despite conceding late, Lyon will take heart from their first leg performance.  Expect an uncomfortable night for United come March 5.

AC Milan (0) vs Arsenal (0), Emirates Stadium

Despite a good performance, Arsene Wenger was disappointed with his team’s lack of composure in the final third which saw them squander good chances. Emmanuel Adebayour should have won the game but his injury time header struck the bar. Fagregas, Bendter, and Silva all had clear cut opportunities but failed to score.

Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac, who has replaced Dida as their starter, was their player of the night thwarting the Gunners on numerous occasions.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti will be happy with the away draw and Wenger’s young guns will be hard pressed to overcome last years champions at the San Siro.

Celtic (2) vs Barcelona (3), Celtic Park

Young Argentinian Lionel Messi’s two goals handed Barcelona a come-from-behind victory against the Scots at Celtic Park. Barcelona came from behind twice after goals from Vennegoor of Hesselink and Barry Robson for Celtic.

Thierry Henry curled in a ball from the edge of the box after a careless pass from Gary Caldwell allowed Ronaldinho to intercept and supply the Frenchman for Barcelona’s second. Messi sealed the game with a cool finish after another defensive error, this time by Stephen McManus.

Despite their defensive frailties Celtic provided a stern test for the Catalans, although one wouldn’t give them much chance of going through to the quarters.

Fenerbache (3) vs Sevilla (2), Sukru Saracoglu

Fenerbache took the lead twice in each half through Mateja Kezman and Lugano respectively, but both goals were snuffed out within minutes by an own goal and a Julien Escudé strike for Sevilla.

The winner was scored by substitute Semih Senturk with three minutes remaining to take a slender into the second leg in Spain.

Given their two away goals, Sevilla will probably have done enough to edge through in the return leg.