Looking to set the new record for best start to the season, Fenerbahçe needs to overcome GençlerbirliÄŸi's challenge in the Turkcell Super League. The Yellow Canaries look strong, but GençlerbirliÄŸi has proven to be no pushover, as the side has yet to yield a loss



GOAL: Fenerbahçe players celebrate a goal by Alex de Souza against Sheriff in the Europa League. AA photo
Turkcell Super League leader Fenerbahçe will play arguably its most difficult game of the season so far when it welcomes rock-solid GençlerbirliÄŸi on Sunday.

Fenerbahçe, which sits atop the standings with 21 points, needs a victory at its own Åžükrü SaracoÄŸlu Stadium to break the record for best start to the season. After clinching another victory with a last-minute goal at Antalyaspor last weekend, the Yellow Canaries extended their winning streak to seven games. An eighth-consecutive victory will set the record for best-ever season start by any team in the history of the Turkcell Super League.

The winning goal against Antalyaspor was an unusual one, which proved the home team did not play with a convincing defensive mentality. With most Antalyaspor players focused only on a winning goal, Fenerbahçe got the ball and finished a three-on-one counterattack. A goal this easy is rarely seen in top-flight football, but this weekend Fenerbahçe will not face a pushover side.

GençlerbirliÄŸi is performing above expectations this season, as it is one of the league’s four unbeaten teams. The club from Ankara has two wins and five draws to claim 11 points and is currently in sixth place, which is quite impressive for a team that barely escaped relegation on the final day of the previous Turkcell Super League season.

A number of draws have prevented GençlerbirliÄŸi from climbing even higher in the standings, but it also marks the team’s hard-to-beat attitude, which is probably a product of German coach Thomas Doll.

Doll has evidently implemented a traditional German approach to the game and taught his players never to give up. An example was seen last Friday, when GençlerbirliÄŸi conceded two early goals against Trabzonspor, but fought back to claim a draw. It should be noted that the red-and-black team held BeÅŸiktaÅŸ to a goalless draw in the third week of the season as well, which kicked off the defending champion’s long winless streak.

The Fenerbahçe-GençlerbirliÄŸi game will most likely be the highlight of the eighth week of the Super League season, as it brings together two teams on form and looking to extend their unbeaten streaks.

Another Istanbul-Ankara meeting will take place also on Sunday, as Galatasaray visits Ankaragücü.

Having seen its six-week winning streak end against EskiÅŸehirspor last Sunday, Galatasaray was held to another draw on Thursday, when Austrian Sturm Graz side earned a 1-1 draw in Istanbul in the Europa League. Some critics see this period of two consecutive draws as revealing of the team’s defects, while others write off the draws as minor chokes and believe that Galatasaray will return to its winning ways.

The Ankaragücü game is likely to provide a clearer evaluation of which one of those arguments is true, but it looks like Galatasaray is losing its concentration on defense when the team focuses on attacking. Having arguably the strongest attacking line in the country with 20 goals – five more than the second-place club – the Lions’ inability to convert its chances may be seen as merely unlucky, but the team’s defensive woes are waiting to be addressed by coach Frank Rijkaard.

Still, two straight draws are but a minor headache compared to BeÅŸiktaÅŸ’s weeks-long migrane. Last year’s double trophy-winning BeÅŸiktaÅŸ ended September without a single victory. If it were not for Ekrem DaÄŸ’s last-minute strike against CSKA Moscow in the 2-1 Champions League game on Wednesday, the whole month was about to end without a single goal.

Last year’s champion is now closer to the bottom than it is to the top, sitting in 12th place with only six points. Coach Mustafa Denizli will look to turn things around with a victory over Denizlispor on Saturday.

Earlier that day, Diyarbakırspor will welcome Istanbul Municipality. This will be Diyarbakırspor’s first match after a woeful week. The Southeast side warned the Turkish Football Federation on Monday that it might consider withdrawing from the league if Bursaspor is not punished following the two teams’ controversial match last weekend.

Bursaspor fans chanted slogans protesting Diyarbakırspor, which represents the biggest city in southeastern Turkey, and threw plastic seats that injured visiting fans. For many ultra-nationalists, Diyarbakırspor is considered to represent the Kurds and by extension the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Diyarbakırspor Chairman Çetin Sümer said the club was tired of being slandered as PKK supporters and said that the team might quit the league if the problem persists. The debate seemed to quiet after the federation offered mediation, but whether there will be amelioration regarding other supporters’ reactions toward Diyarbakırspor remains to be seen