Dynamo will face Fenerbahce in their first qualifying round
According to the results of the draw for the second qualifying round of the Champions League, which took place in Nyon on June 15, Dynamo recognized their opponent at this stage of the selection. The Kyiv club, which was seeded at the draw, received Turkish Fenerbahce as opponents. Dynamo will play the first match nominally at home, the return match in Istanbul. Sport Arena tells you what you need to know about Fenerbahçe, one of Turkey’s most popular clubs.
How did you play last season?
Fenerbahce finished second in the Turkish Championship, eight points behind the champion Trabzonspor. At the same time, last season Fenerbahce had the most expensive squad in the Turkish Super League – $143.5 million, which is $30 million more than Trabzonspor. And the team included Ozil, Sosa, Valencia. The third prize-winner – Konyaspor – was ahead of the Canaries by five points.
One championship in ten years
Fenerbahce is one of the most popular and titled clubs in Turkey. The canaries have 19 championship titles. Another thing is that recently, Fener rarely pleases his fans with victories in the national championship – only one title in 2014 over the past 10 seasons. True, it is worth noting that the Canaries fell out of the top three for this segment only twice: in 2019 – the sixth place – and in 2020 – the seventh. Five times the team finished in second position, once was third.
Three times in the last 10 seasons, Fenerbahçe, who won the Turkish Cup six times, has played in the national cup final. The last time was in the 217/2018 season. There is only one trophy in this segment – in the 2012/2013 draw.
Coaching leapfrog
Perhaps the reason for such results is the frequent change of coaches. Over the past 10 years, 16 (!) head coaches have changed in the team. During this period, Vitor Pereira (came twice), Phillip Cocu, Dick Avvokat, Ervin Koeman, Emre Belozoglu managed to work with the Kanaireks.
Even last season Fener was managed by two coaches. The team started the championship under the leadership of Vitor Pereira, who was fired in October last year, when the team was in fifth place. Under the Portuguese specialist Fenerbahce, having passed the playoff round of qualification, he entered the group stage of the Europa League.
Ismail Kartal, who replaced him at the helm of the team, flew out to the 1/8 finals of the Cup of the country from Kayserispor, failed to get past Slavia in the playoff match of the Conference League, losing in two matches with the same score – 2: 3, but lifted Canaries to second place in table. This result was not enough for the club’s bosses to offer the Turkish specialist a new contract.
portuguese vector
Fener’s new mentor, starting from the 2022/2023 season, will be the Portuguese specialist Jorge Jesus, who led Benfica last season, where Roman Yaremchuk plays. The specialist has won 19 trophies with four different clubs in his time, including three league titles in Portugal, gold in the Brazilian championship and the Copa Libertadores.
Moreover, according to Turkish media, the contract with Jesus, signed a few more rounds before the end of the 2021/2022 championship, will be terminated if the team qualifies for the Champions League.
Unhappy Champions League
The highest achievement of Fenerbahce in the Champions League is the quarter-final of the 2007/2008 season. Then the Canaries finished second in their group, behind Inter and above PSV and CSKA, and in the 1/8 in the penalty shootout they beat Sevilla (the teams exchanged home wins 3:2). In the 1/4 finals, Fenerbahce lost to Chelsea on aggregate – 2:1 at home and 0:2 away.
There was also an unpleasant episode in the history of the club, when in the 2011/2012 season Fenerbahce was withdrawn from the Champions League by the Turkish Football Federation due to a match-fixing scandal in the country, in which the leading Turkish clubs were involved. Fener filed an appeal with CAS, but it was rejected. In June 2013, UEFA reopened the Fenerbahce case and the club received a three-year ban. Later it was reduced to two years.
Dynamo Fenerbahce undefeated yet
In their history, the white and blue have met Fenerbahce five times: four matches were official (moreover, all in the Champions League), one, most recently, was friendly. So far, the advantage is on the side of Dynamo: two wins and three draws.
In the 2008/2009 season, Dynamo and Fenerbahce crossed paths in the Champions League group. Then the Ukrainian and Turkish clubs ended up in the same quartet with Porto and Arsenal. The White-Blues drew away with Fener – 0:0 and won in Istanbul – 1:0, thanks to Eremenko’s goal. In the end, Dinamo finished third, six points ahead of Fenerbahce, eight to two, and three points behind Porto and four behind Arsenal.
Crossed Dynamo and Fenerbahce in the Champions League qualification. In the 2006/2007 season, the white and blue, led by Anatoly Demyanenko, in the home match of the third qualifying round of the tournament beat the Canaries 3:1, thanks to Rincon’s double and Yussuf’s goal, and in Istanbul Shatsky’s double helped to defend a draw – 2:2.
And in August last year, Dynamo and Fenerbahce did not reveal the strongest in a friendly match in Istanbul – a 1-1 draw, Lednev scored a goal for the people of Kiev.
When and where will the matches take place?
The first match, which is scheduled for July 19/20, will be held by the white-blues at their conditionally home stadium. According to preliminary information, the Dynamo-Fenerbahce match may take place with Bucharest. The second leg – scheduled for July 26/27 – will be held in Istanbul.
The loser in this confrontation will continue to fight in European competition. The loser of the second qualifying run of the Champions League will get into the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
Source: Sportarena
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
