When Fenerbahce last featured on these pages last June after celebrating their centenary by winning a record 17th Turkish title, it was suggested that the next goal facing the Istanbul club would be to establish itself as a serious challenger for European honors. With Wednesday's 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Sukru Saracoglu in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Fenerbahce may be on the brink of achieving that goal. A place in the last four of Europe's premier club competition would constitute a remarkable achievement for a team which last season failed even to survive the qualifying stages.Meanwhile, the Yellow Canaries took a big step towards defending their domestic crown last weekend with a 2-1 win at fourth-placed Besiktas, with Brazilian playmaker and captain Alex de Souza scoring both goals for the visitors.
That result kept them two points clear of Galatasaray with six games left -- though with a trip to their archrivals still to come at the end of April the title race is far from decided.
Coached by the legendary Brazilian Zico, it has been in the Champions League that Fenerbahce have impressed this season, beating Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow en route to the knockout stages and then eliminating Sevilla on penalties in the last 16 after a thrilling two-legged tie finished 5-5 on aggregate.
Read More
