Fatih fires Trabzonspor

By Türker Tozar

Black Sea side Trabzonspor's European expedition may have ended with an aggregate defeat against Athletic Club Bilbao in the first round of the UEFA Cup, but thanks to the form of their 27-year-old striker Fatih Tekke, they look set to be in Europe again next season.

Good form
After 12 games, Trabzonspor are two points behind Fenerbahçe SK in second place in the Turkish Superleague, and on target for another attempt at making the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2005/06. Certainly, coach Ziya Dogan will be spurring his side on to even bigger achievements as the season goes on.

Tough coach
"Ziya Dogan is a person who does not like losing even if it is only a friendly match," Fatih told uefa.com. "He was born in Gümüshane, therefore he knows the Black Sea people very well. He is hard-working and very ambitious. One of the most important things he changed here is that the team has learned to win."

Avoiding defeat
"Even if the team play badly, we do not lose the game," added the Turkish international. "We don't forget that the match is 90 minutes long and never lose our hope of winning until the final whistle. He has fixed it in our minds that we should never give up on competing."

European struggle
Trabzonspor have lost only once in the league this season - a 1-0 defeat at home against Galatasaray SK - but Europe was a bridge too far. Having got past Skonto FC in the Champions League second qualifying round, they went down to FC Dynamo Kyiv at the final hurdle before the group stage.

Limited squad
Athletic then proved too strong in the UEFA Cup, to Fatih's disappointment. For the striker, Trabzonspor's main weakness was manpower rather than willpower. "Our side mainly consists of young and inexperienced players, though there are a few experienced names and internationals," he said.

Walking wounded
"We do not have a large squad which prevented key players getting sufficient rest," added the former Altay GK and Gaziantepspor player. "Some of the players, including myself, had to play with injuries during those matches. As a result, we played the games without being fully ready."

'One missing piece'
However, the striker is also willing to admit his side can be their own worst enemies at times. "While the opposition has the ball, we are brilliant," he said. "On the other hand, we are top of the list of teams that does not know what to do when we have the ball. That is our one missing piece."

Title hope
Fatih's assessment may be correct, but his team have none the less managed to score 26 league goals already this season, and he is well aware that a Turkish title is within their reach. "With fans, club and players united the title may come," he said. "But it will be a hard job. We are going well but our rivals are winning too."

Leaving home
As a goalscorer and a provider of assists, Fatih has played a massive role in making Trabzonspor competitive this season - so much so that his skills have come to the attention of a number of clubs outside Turkey.

Summer switch
However, he insists that he wants one last crack at the title with Trabzonspor before he leaves his homeland. "I do want to move abroad," he said. "Everything is going fine for me and hopefully if I manage to avoid injury maybe I will leave at the end of this season."