Tag: Besiktas

  • Istanbul United: Istanbul Review

    Istanbul United: Istanbul Review

    Farid Eslam and Olli Waldhauer document how fanatical soccer fans supporting rival Istanbul teams cast their loyalties aside to fight the Turkish government’s controversial urban redevelopment plans.

    istanbul_united_stillPurportedly inspirational films about sports bringing erstwhile antagonistic groups together have been omnipresent on screen for decades: get the ball rolling, as this subgenre goes, and warring soldiers (as in the French first-world-war drama Merry Christmas) or people with contrasting socio-political attitudes (The Blind Side,Invictus) could easily be reconciled. But first-time filmmakersFarid Eslam and Olli Waldhauer have offered a slight twist to the norm, with the documentary actually noting how diehard fans of Istanbul’s three leading soccer teams cast their bitter rivalries aside to join up in protesting against the Turkish government’s urban redevelopment plans.

    With its vibrant interviewees, powerful images and an incredible narrative, Istanbul United is a spectacle to behold and a radiant record of the Turkish city’s cultural and social make-up of the present day; making its world premiere at – where else? – the Istanbul International Film Festival, the film is ecstatically received by an audience ever ready to laugh (at the over-the-top fanaticism on show) and jeer (at footage of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan) during the screening. A crowd-funded crowd-pleaser which manages to set blood boiling and hearts stirring, but non-Istanbullus would find its upbeat united-we-stand message ironically undermined by incomprehensibility, incoherence and in some cases unintended contradictions.

    Timed for release just as sports fans ready themselves for the onslaught of the World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil in June, Istanbul United is about soccer and politics. The emphasis is certainly on the former, with the city’s intense club rivalries meticulously delineated – lifelong hardcore supporters of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas are shown hyped up to their eyeballs on the stands, while talking heads of three fan-group leaders’ explanations about their near-fundamentalist attachment to their teams are followed by archive news footage of acts of extreme hooliganism inside and outside stadiums.

    It’s not like the three leading interviewees are hooligans, mind, as their recollections about their unyielding commitment to their clubs are laced with remarks about how problems in sports and society converge: Galatasaray fan Kerem Gurbuz muses on how the fans’ communalism could be transformed into a force of good, Fenerbahce ultra Cahat Binici complains about soccer being turned into an industrial, capitalistic machine, and the grey-haired Besiktas’ Ayhan Gunerdescribing his mission of running the Carsi fan faction as “anarchism and rebellion” in action.

    These are thoughts left dangling like misplaced passes, enticing opportunities falling on players without a gameplan. Without broadening the discussion by noting how the fans’ fury correlates with social problems, the film abruptly jumps (from a sequence of fans singing foul-mouthed songs on the stands against the opposition team) to last summer’s protests at Gezi Park, in reaction to the government’s plan to replace the whole place with lavish commercial and residential projects. As police brutality against the demonstrators escalates, the soccer fans are seen mobilizing and finally ending up with sworn enemies marching alongside each other in a united front against the establishment.

    It’s certainly one of the most extraordinary moments the city has ever witnessed; but Istanbul Unitednever really accounts properly this rare occasion. Rarefied, more like: there was neither build-up to this climactic moment, nor enough explanation about what happened then and what that means for the future. Activists and journalists are heard praising the soccer fans’ efforts as a powerful show of strength against the authorities’ increasing authoritarian tendencies – which in the past few weeks are manifested in Erdogan’s attempts to block Twitter and YouTube in Turkey – but the legacy is not exactly sufficiently explained to those living outside Istanbul.

    Eslam and Waldhauer would have delivered closure by ending with the three ultras‘ accounts of their altered perspectives about soccer and society. The film’s denoument, however, is akin to snatching defeat from the jaws of a historic victory by scoring multiple own goals at stoppage time: barely has Binici finished telling a boy to “fight those who sow hate among us” that a group of fellow Fenerbahce fans nearby begin yet another round of expletive-laden songs against their rivals, while patriotism/nationalism rears its head as the national anthem is played out at a Besiktas match, an image risking a signal of everyone returning to old-school reverence towards the state machine. (The absence in the film of the city’s “fourth club”, the Erdogan-worshipping Kasimpasa, should also be noted.)

    It’s as if the visceral excitement has come to nowt as a sentimentalized, vague notion takes its place: the early promise of revolutionary change – heightened by fluid camerawork and editing – slowly dissipates. With Erdogan having just attained a handsome triumph in the country’s municipal elections despite constant protests on Istanbul’s high street – along which the festival’s main venues, where Istanbul United made its bow – the same old seems to have taken hold; without properly structuring its decidedly explosive interviews and images – many of which could well be employed as mirroring components, metaphors and so on – Eslam and Waldhauer’s debut is a clarion call but not enough to be a harbinger of a markedly changeable future.

    Venue: Istanbul International Film Festival (Documentary Time with NTV section), Apr. 12, 2014

    Production Companies: Nippes Yard, Port-au-Prince, ‘D Riot, Taskovski, Vox Pictures

    Directors: Farid Eslam, Olli Waldhauer

    Producers: Olli Waldhauer, Tina Schoepkewitz, Farid Eslam, Jan Krueger

    Director of Photography: Paul Roissant

    Editors: Fridolin Koerner, Joerg Offer

    International Sales: Nippes Yard, Port-au-Prince

    In English and Turkish

    88 minutes

  • Sport overcomes politics as Turkey hosts Israelis amid rising tensions

    Sport overcomes politics as Turkey hosts Israelis amid rising tensions

    By Ben Hartman, for CNN
    September 22, 2011 — Updated 1159 GMT (1959 HKT)

    110921022507 besiktas carsi tattoo horizontal gallery
    A Besiktas fan shows a tattoo which reads “Carsi” — the name of the club’s most famous supporters’ club.

    STORY HIGHLIGHTS
    • Clash between football teams from Turkey and Israeli passes peacefully in Istanbul
    • There had been fears that Maccabi Tel Aviv’s players and fans would be attacked
    • Besiktas supporters insist they have no problem with Israelis, but wanted to win
    • Just a dozen Maccabi fans attended the match, played amid rising political tension

    Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — They traveled to Istanbul amid fears that mob violence might erupt as relations between two once-friendly nations turned ugly.

    But if Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israeli club’s supporters received any trouble from the people of Turkey last week, it was only on the football pitch.

    After a 5-1 trouncing at the hands of Istanbul’s Besiktas, Maccabi safely returned to Tel Aviv the next day as concerns that the team and its fans would be in danger proved unfounded.

    The Europa League match appeared to be a perfect convergence of sports and politics, coming as relations between Israel and Turkey reached an all-time low.

    Less than two weeks before the match, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expelled the Israeli ambassador over the Middle Eastern country’s refusal to apologize for a naval commando raid on the SS Mavi Marmara, on which nine Turkish activists were killed as they made their way to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

    Days later, Turkey broke off military ties with Israel — and Jerusalem announced the formation of a naval alliance with Greece, Turkey’s historical enemy.

    Erdogan has since threatened to deploy Turkish warships to escort the next Gaza Flotilla and to increase Turkish naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean to counter Israeli “bullying practices” in the area.

    Turkey quickly became a state where Israelis no longer feel welcome, just as Maccabi Tel Aviv headed to Istanbul for a match against a team renowned for having some of the wildest fans in Turkish soccer.

    Elif Batuman, a regular contributor to The New Yorker and a writer-in-residence at Koc University, described the Besiktas squad as “the more working-class team.”

    “Of the three main Istanbul teams, Besiktas is kind of the underdog. They have the least money, the most run-down stadium,” she said.

    “With the other two big Istanbul teams (Galatasaray and Fenerbahce), the stadiums don’t have any particular ties to their neighborhoods, and the fan bases are more spread out. They call themselves the neighborhood team, the people’s team.”

    Ahead of a talk on Turkish soccer at an art gallery in central Istanbul the day before the match, Batuman described Besiktas supporters as being tied not only to the neighborhood but also, to some extent, to a political way of life.

    Israel isn’t our problem, it’s the country’s problem. Every Besiktas game is crazy
    Kemal Yuksel

    “They’re the most political of the soccer teams: they support Greenpeace, they do blood drives, they’re environmentalists. They’re definitely not pro-American, the ones I’ve talked to, but they say they don’t dislike Americans, only American policy. They are also definitely not pro-Israel and they support the Palestinians.”

    He said the match against Maccabi, the most successful club in Israel, was “clearly seen as a rallying event.”

    The Israeli media aired reports that Maccabi players who serve in the Israel Defense Forces reserves were banned from taking part in the game out of fear for their safety. The report turned out to be false, but was in keeping with a general sense in Israel that the team was heading straight into the lion’s den at the worst possible moment, prompting calls for the game to be canceled or forfeited.

    By mid-afternoon on Thursday, Besiktas fans began pouring into a square in the heart of their neighborhood, a short walk from the stadium. Cheering and downing copious amounts of Efes Pilsen beer, they locked arms and sang about the evils of the hated Fenerbahce and the beauty of all that is Besiktas.

    Those Besiktas supporters spoken to at the pre-game drink-up did not appear to have the Gaza Strip or the Mavi Marmara on their minds, and were completely indifferent to the presence of an Israeli reporter scribbling on a notepad in their midst.

    They’re the most political of the soccer teams: they support Greenpeace, they do blood drives, they’re environmentalists
    Elif Batuman on Besiktas fans

    “We hate Fenerbahce, not Israel,” said Kazim, a student from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, who also said he did not believe the war of words between the Turkish PM and Netanyahu gave the game any extra meaning.

    Kemal Yuksel, a student at the Istanbul Technical University said the Besiktas fans are “just interested in football, not politics.”

    “We live for Besiktas and it doesn’t matter what country you’re from — we want to beat you,” he said. “Israel isn’t our problem, it’s the country’s problem. Every Besiktas game is crazy, doesn’t matter if we play Maccabi or anyone else.”

    At the same time that the Besiktas fans were pounding pre-game lagers, a crowd of around 200 people marched from Taksim Square in central Istanbul to the Inonu stadium, vowing not to forget or forgive the Mavi Marmara incident. Wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the pictures of the nine Turkish activists and with some protesters carrying flags of the Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah, they made their way towards the stadium without arrest or incident.

    The protest was a repeat of sorts of a smaller gathering held the night before outside the Divan hotel where the Maccabi players were staying. A crowd of about 20 people waving Palestinian flags stood in silence across from the hotel for a couple of hours before filing away into the night.

    Meanwhile, a block further down the street past the Divan hotel, three street-walkers of unclear gender plied their wares, drawing slightly more interest from passersby than the nearby anti-Israel protest.

    We told everyone we were Israeli. No-one gave us any trouble whatsoever
    Israel Mukhtar

    Like everywhere else the Maccabi players traveled during their visit, the Divan was under heavy police protection. Outside the hotel, two armored police vans were parked at the ready, with officers in front of the vehicles with sub-machine guns. Around a dozen other police officers stood in formation next to the vans, but were not wearing riot gear. Next to the vehicles, a police sedan idled, while a single officer napped in the front seat.

    The heightened security continued inside the stadium, where dozens of riot police circled the field and plainclothes police and security officials kept a constant watch on the event.

    Once the match kicked off, it took only three minutes for Besiktas forward Hugo Almeida to put his team on the board with the first of his two goals. Maccabi answered soon after halftime through forward Roi Kehane, but the visitors never threatened again and Besiktas rolled to a 5-1 victory before a raucous home crowd.

    The 12 hardy Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who attended the game, protected by at least 20 police per head, were seated in the fenced-off visitors’ section, which was book-ended on the left and right by two sections of empty seats patrolled by stadium security.

    One of those Israeli fans who made the trip to Istanbul was Israel Mukhtar, 45, who was in town on his first-ever trip abroad with the Maccabi squad.

    “We went all around the markets and the nightclubs [in Istanbul] and we told everyone we were Israeli. No-one gave us any trouble whatsoever,” Mukhtar said, adding “all of the security was well done and we never felt a threat for a second, I didn’t even see a single Palestinian flag.”

    Mukhtar and his friends, nearly all of whom were middle-aged men who seemed to know each other prior to the trip, said the danger inherent in the match was overblown by the Israeli media.

    They praised the professionalism of Turkish security forces, and expressed their feelings that the diplomatic tension between the two countries is on the upper levels of their respective government, and not reflected in a visceral hatred from people on the streets of Turkey’s largest city — as opposed to Cairo, for instance, where a mob ransacked the embassy a week earlier forcing the Israeli staff to flee in drag under evacuation by Egyptian commandos.

    Even with the final score of the match reflecting an on-field massacre of the Israeli visitors, Mukhtar said he was not disappointed by his decision to attend the match.

    “To be honest, it made me proud to be Israeli. To know that out of 6 million people (in Israel), you’re one of only 12 who was willing to come … I think it means something.”

    Ben Hartman is a reporter for the Jerusalem Post.

  • Tension rises for Jews in Turkey

    Tension rises for Jews in Turkey

    For Turkey and Israel, sports are the only remaining relations that are intact.

    Noga Tarnopolsky

    Turkish riot police stand guard as Maccabi Tel-Aviv players walk towards a bus at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, on Sept. 14, 2011. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)
    Turkish riot police stand guard as Maccabi Tel-Aviv players walk towards a bus at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, on Sept. 14, 2011. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

    There are no Jews in Jordan and possibly a dozen Jews in Egypt, once the cradle of a great Jewish culture, but Turkey is different. About 20,000 Jews live in Turkey. Cenk Levy, 33, lives in Istanbul and works for Greenpeace.

    “Weeeell,” he says. “It is not so tense regarding the Jews. You don’t hide it, but you don’t feel very comfortable regarding your identity these days.”

    His name is Levy. “Yeah, absolutely,” he laughs. “It’s very, very obvious!”

    “You hear many statements about how the main problem here is the government, but we have also started to hear about how people themselves are turning. It’s not like it was three or four years ago. People don’t trust Israel, they don’t trust what Israel does. It’s becoming clear that this could disrupt business relations and other ties, not only military.”

    For now, sport remains an area of intact relations. Last night, Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team played Maccabi Tel Aviv at home.

    Tel Aviv fans who went to support their team reported the paradoxical experience in which merchants and restauranteurs, hearing they were Israelis, welcomed them warmly and with explicit expressions of friendliness. Meanwhile, on the radio they heard that thousands had gathered n Istanbul’s central square to chant anti-Israeli slogans.

    Cenk Levy watched the match at home.

    “Bekistas were trying to reduce tensions as much as possible before the match, to emphasize that it is part of a friendship and sport. They went to some lengths to emphasize that there is a clear distinction between politics and sport, and that there are also Muslim players playing for Israel. There was also very high security in the stadium.”

    “I think there was only one anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, slogan heard during the entire game.”

    Maybe it helped that Bekistas won, 5-1.

    “Things are a bit depressing,” Levy added. “This didn’t start yesterday, with the match, or a month ago. It’s been a long campaign and as you see it moving forward, and with the flotilla incident, now my sense is that the government is using Israel as leverage to stabilize themselves politically in the new Middle East.”

    via Tension rises for Jews in Turkey | GlobalPost.

  • Turkey Beats Israel in Politically Charged Soccer Match

    Turkey Beats Israel in Politically Charged Soccer Match

    By JOE PARKINSON

    OB PR093 0915ts D 201109151724331ISTANBUL—Fiyapi Inonu Stadium on Thursday showcased the latest sign of the deteriorating diplomatic relationship between longtime allies Turkey and Israel: 12 Israeli soccer fans.

    Engulfed by a sea of empty white seats in the 32,000-capacity stadium and vastly outnumbered by battalions of riot police, the solitary Israelis had traveled to cheer their team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, against Istanbul’s Besiktas in a politically charged Europa league match.

    Ricardo Quaresma of Besiktas reacted as he was stopped by Savo Pavicevic of Maccabi Tel Aviv during their match.

    When the tournament schedule was announced, Istanbul authorities had expected thousands of Israeli supporters to attend, but just a dozen made it there amid rapidly escalating tensions between Ankara and Jerusalem and fears of violence.

    Israeli fans were shepherded into the visitors’ stand at the far end of the stadium, which is covered by a special fireproof netting to shield spectators from projectiles.

    “I’ve been to games between Israeli and Turkish teams many times and we usually see hundreds or thousands of visiting fans,” said Joseph Perez-Ari, a commentator for Tel Aviv Radio broadcasting at the stadium. “Today there’s so few. It’s because people are scared, because of the situation.”

    Late Thursday, the match appeared to have passed largely without incident as Besiktas, the pre-game favorites, romped to a 5-1 victory.

    But the dramatically increased police presence and sporadic protests by anti-Israeli demonstrators in the center of the city underscored that the relationship between the countries is being redefined.

    Tensions escalated after Israel refused to apologize for a raid on a Gaza-bound ship last year that killed nine activists, prompting Turkey to expel top Israeli diplomats, cut military ties with the country and vow to send navy vessels to escort aid ships in the future.

    That coincided with Turkey showing signs of trading its vaunted “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy for a more muscular approach, bidding to become the leading power in the Middle East and North Africa. The shift, on display as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved a major aerial bombing campaign against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and pressed Egypt to let him visit Hamas-run Gaza, could trigger clashes with Jerusalem and force Washington to choose between its closest allies in the region, analysts said.

    At Thursday’s match, fans said Besiktas’s on-field domination may have diminished the potential for violence, which could have further fueled tensions.

    Still, Thursday saw an escalation of diplomatic tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.

    Turkey’s foreign ministry warned that it would sign a continental-shelf delimitation agreement with Turkish-backed Northern Cyprus if the Greeks of the divided island move ahead, following a December maritime-demarcation deal with Israel, to develop offshore natural-gas fields.

    Athens responded by calling on Turkey to drop threats to Cyprus, warning the dispute could prove “dangerous” to the already tense eastern Mediterranean basin.

    In Tunis, Prime Minister Erdogan, following a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi, reiterated that Turkish warships would be deployed in the Mediterranean, stressing that Israel would “no longer be able to do what it wants” in those waters.

    The buildup to Thursday’s match also reflected heightened diplomatic tension.

    Before the evening kickoff, several hundred protesters gathered in Istanbul’s landmark Taxim Square, chanting anti-Israel and anti-American slogans and briefly halting traffic at one on the city’s busiest intersections.

    The Israeli team arrived at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on Wednesday under tight security and were escorted from the stadium by riot police after the match.

    Istanbul police tried to calm fears, stressing that they had taken measures to thwart protests that were organized on social-networking websites, including possible plans to invade the pitch.

    Amid fears over their citizen’s security, Israeli authorities had petitioned UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, to reschedule the game at a neutral venue, but Turkey’s government refused, last week offering guarantees for players’ and fans’ safety.

    Turkish Sports Minister Suat Kilic told reporters at a televised news conference last week that “various issues” existed between Turkey and Israel, “but it is not a situation that could prevent this match. “The game would be played in the “highest level of [Turkish] hospitality,” and that Israeli players would “safely” return home, he added.

    Write to Joe Parkinson at joe.parkinson@dowjones.com

    via Turkey Beats Israel in Politically Charged Soccer Match – WSJ.com.

  • Nets Star Has Deal to Play in Turkey

    Nets Star Has Deal to Play in Turkey

    By HOWARD BECK and PETE THAMEL

    Deron Williams is set to become the biggest N.B.A. star to play in Europe — a development that is bursting with intrigue, risks and caveats.

    Chris Trotman/Getty Images  The Nets consider Deron Williams, a two-time All-Star point guard, as a key to their future.
    Chris Trotman/Getty Images The Nets consider Deron Williams, a two-time All-Star point guard, as a key to their future.

    Williams, the Nets’ star point guard, has agreed in principle to a one-year deal with the Turkish club Besiktas, according to the team’s coach. His commitment would begin Sept. 1 — when the N.B.A.’s lockout would be two months old — and the deal includes an escape clause allowing him to return when the lockout ends.

    “It’s the biggest signing in the history of European basketball,” Ergin Ataman, Besiktas’ excitable coach, said Thursday.

    The agreement was confirmed by Misko Raznatovic, a European agent who works with Jeff Schwartz, the Los Angeles-based agent who represents Williams. Ataman and Raznatovic first met last month in Istanbul to discuss possible deals involving N.B.A. players.

    Reports have pegged Williams’s salary between $200,000 and $350,000 a month, or $2 million to $3.5 million for the 10-month Turkish league season. Raznatovic said that Williams, 27, would get between $1 million and $5 million, plus a car, housing and the tax breaks associated with playing overseas. He will also be provided with a security guard, driver and personal assistant, all of them available 24 hours a day. Ataman later told SI.com that Williams’s deal would be paid for by a sponsor.

    Ataman said he expected the deal to become official within 24 hours, and that the club’s president, Yildirim Demiroren, would hold a news conference in the United States next week.

    Besiktas opens its season Sept. 27. If Williams is on the court, he would be — by far — the biggest N.B.A. star to play overseas in his prime. But that day is far away, and Williams must first gain approval from the N.B.A. and FIBA, the world governing body for basketball.

    In general, FIBA and the N.B.A. have an arrangement that precludes teams from signing players who are already under contract. But that agreement became moot July 1, when the N.B.A.’s labor deal expired and the league locked out its players.

    “If there’s a lockout, the players are free; their contracts are suspended,” Commissioner David Stern said in February. “It’s that simple.”

    N.B.A. officials reaffirmed that position Thursday, but indicated that they had not received any inquiry from FIBA regarding Williams.

    FIBA has the authority to reject the deal if it determines, for instance, that signing N.B.A. players poses a risk to the stability of the European leagues — because those players could leave at any time once the lockout ends. But there are no indications that FIBA intends to intervene.

    FIBA has not yet been approached by Besiktas or the Turkish league regarding the Williams deal, according to a spokesman. It also has not established a policy for N.B.A. players under contract.

    “We are currently working on a statement that will be sent to our membership and their clubs, that will clarify the legal situation,” Patrick Koller, FIBA’s head of communications, said in an e-mail.

    Even if he gains approval, Williams could be risking the $34 million and two years left on his deal with the Nets. N.B.A. contracts are not insured against injuries sustained in another league. Conceivably, Besiktas could pay to insure Williams’s Nets contract, but it could cost as much as $6.8 million.

    The Nets have no ability to block the move. Nor can team officials comment publicly, because Stern has prohibited all N.B.A. personnel from talking about players during the lockout.

    News of Williams’s deal with Besiktas was greeted with surprise and heavy skepticism by a number of N.B.A. agents and executives Thursday. One prominent agent said it was not worth the risk and expressed doubt that Williams would ever put on a Besiktas uniform.

    “A lot can happen in two months,” said the agent, who did not want to be named discussing a player he did not represent.

    Skeptics also cited a weak European economy and a history of European clubs failing to pay their players. Last season, Besiktas players briefly staged a strike when the team fell behind in paying them.

    Although some N.B.A. stars have played overseas — notably Dominique Wilkins and Bob McAdoo — all of them made the move in the twilight of their careers. Allen Iverson played briefly for Besiktas last season, because no N.B.A. team would sign him. In 1989, Danny Ferry, the No. 2 pick in the draft, left for Italy rather than play for the dysfunctional Los Angeles Clippers. Despite his high draft standing, Ferry never became a star once he returned to the N.B.A.

    Williams is different. He is a two-time All-Star and is widely regarded, along with Chris Paul of New Orleans, as one of the game’s top two point guards. The Nets are counting on him to be their franchise player for years to come, and to help attract crowds when they move to Brooklyn in 2012.

    If Williams plays for Besiktas, he will likely be an anomaly. Few teams in Europe have the resources to pay top N.B.A. players. And the best teams, including those in the Euroleague, will be reluctant to break up their rosters just to rent an N.B.A. player for a month or two.

    “This will be, I think, a fairly unique situation,” said Marc Cornstein, an N.B.A. agent who represents several international players. “Because you’re just not going to find a real combination of teams that can afford these kind of salaries, but also be willing to let a guy go the minute the lockout ends.”

    Ataman said Zaza Pachulia, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks, also has an agreement to play for Besiktas. And the club is not done recruiting locked-out N.B.A. players, he said.

    “If there’s a possibility, we’ll talk with Kobe if he’d like to play in Europe with Deron and with other guys to play we can talk with him,” Ataman said. “If Kobe would like to play with us, we will also contact his agent and maybe with him.”

    Ataman acknowledged the risk that the lockout would end and Williams would leave. But, he said, “We’re happy, because Turkish boys will watch him play live.”

    Pete Thamel contributed reporting.

    A version of this article appeared in print on July 8, 2011, on page B10 of the New York edition with the headline: Nets Star Has Deal To Play In Turkey.
  • Real Madrid invites Besiktas Istanbul for preseason friendly

    Real Madrid invites Besiktas Istanbul for preseason friendly

    Besiktas Istanbul gets an invitation from Real Madrid for a preseason friendly match at Santiago Bernabeu.

    Besiktas Chairman Demiroren with Ronaldo
    Besiktas Chairman Demiroren with Ronaldo

    Besiktas Istanbul drew quite an attraction last season, when the turkish giants made star signings like Ricardo Quaresma, Simao Sabrosa, Hugo Almeida and ex Real Madrid captain Guti Hernandez. Last season Besiktas also put ex Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster in the managing seat.

    Although the outcome in success wasn’t as brilliant as the transfers themselves, Besiktas Chairman Yildirim achieved one of his ultimate goals : To make Besiktas Istanbul a renowned football team and raise the popularity and reputation of the club.

    Besiktas Real Madrid : Good Relations through Jorge Mendes ?

    Chairman Demiroren is known to have a good relations with prominent footballer agent Jorge Mendes, who in fact is the agent of many Real Madrid and Besiktas players, including the star Christiano Ronaldo. Besiktas Chairman Yildirim Demiroren and Christiano Ronaldo are also good friends, since the duo plan to build a hotel in Portugal as partners.

    Real Madrid turkish players, ex Real Madrid captain Guti : Good assets for Real Madrid Besiktas Friendly Game

    Turkey midfielder Hamit Altıntop joined last month German-Turkish compatriots Nuri Şahin and Mesut Özil at Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, increasing the number of players of turkish origin to three.

    With these connections between both clubs its not suprising that Real Madrid chairman Florentino Perez ve manager Jose Mourinho find it fitting to invite the turkish side Besiktas to Madrid for a preseason friendly game, where Guti Hernandez could meet Real Madrid fans, who still adore their ex-captain, where Real Madrid ‘s turkish players have the opportunity to play against their compatriots.

    via Real Madrid invites Besiktas Istanbul for preseason friendly.