Turkey’s Yellow Angels

It’s never easy being an angel especially if you’re a Fenerbahce Angel.

After a disappointing campaign at the 2010/2011 editions of the prestigious Champions League and Turkish Cup, Fenerbahce Acibadem won the Turkish League against Vakıfbank Güneş – the team who defeated them in the semifinal match of the Champions League.

Can we call it a “payback“? Of course we can!

We didn’t get to see any of the matches but based on the results, Fenerbahce fought hard and was determined not to give Glinka’s Team a chance to win any match in the Best of 5 Final Round.

Match #1: Fenerbahce – Vakifbank 3:2 (25:14, 15:25, 17:25, 25:22, 16:14)

Match #2: Vakifbank – Fenerbahce 0:3 (21:25, 21:25, 21:25)

Match #3: Vakifbank – Fenerbahce 2:3 (12:25, 20:25, 25:18, 25:19, 12:15)

Throughout the Finals, Lioubov Sokolova once again proved to us that she is one of the world’s best players. With her all around game, Lyuba was instrumental in Fenerbahce’s crucial victories, ie Matches 1 and 3.

Have we forgiven her after a forgettable performance at the Final Four of the Champions League? Yes we have. As a matter of fact, we are very proud of her! Based on the match reports, she really stepped up her game during the crucial points and no wonder she was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the Finals – making her the second consecutive Russian player to win the award after Gamova.

As of press time, Sokolova has reportedly renewed her contract with Fenerbahce for 2 more seasons. Both parties have declined to disclose the amount (Darn It!). We previously reported yesterday that Kim Yeon Koung would take her spot since Lyuba received an offer from Russia.

Fenerbahce’s road to victory wasn’t just Sokolova’s show, her talented teammates like Naz, Eda, Nati, Skowronska, Furst and Seda played their best to make Coach Roberto Guimaraes proud.

If case you’re wondering where Fofao was, she was sitting somewhere in the stadium cheering for her team since Turkey only allows 3 foreign players on the court. Coach Roberto chose Turkish setter Naz Aydemir to set and utilized the “3 foreign player” rule by chosing Sokolova, Nati Osmokrovic & Christiane Furst/ Kasia Skowronska – whichever he thought would work for the team.

You might disagree but if we were to pick our other MVP it would have to be Naz Aydemir – the young and talented setter – who now has 5 Turkish League titles on her resume. Isn’t that amazing? It is!

She displayed maturity, consistency and a positive attitude throughout the Turkish League and even during the Champions League even if she was mainly a substitute for Fofao.

Naz deserves the “Best Setter” award!

Naz is one the world’s brightest young stars and one player to watch out for in the coming years.

Then there was Natasia “Nati” Osmokrovic – as of press time has left Fenerbahce to play for Azerbaijan’s Rabita Baku next season – who might not be the strongest hitter on the team but she’s no doubt a leader and we must say the team’s “unsung hero“.

She spent the last 2 seasons of her life with Fenerbahce and winning 2 titles in a row gives her portfolio a big boost. We really admire her attitude on the court. Nati remains calm even if her team is losing and she never fails to show us that playing volleyball is also about having fun and not just winning.

We are a bit shocked she left the team for a maybe more lucrative deal from Rabita but no doubt she still has a bright future ahead of her because of her personality and her all around game.

One of our most unforgettable moments of Nati was during the 2000 Olympics. She was still known as “Natasa Leto” and she hit the ball so hard and almost knocked out China’s libero, Li Yan. Nati and Croatia made headlines by defeating China in 4.

Another player who has really impressed us this season is middle blocker Eda Erdem. Her backslides are deadly and very efficient so no wonder she won the “Best Spiker” award. She also carries a very admirable personality on the court. She’s full of smiles and that’s really a plus!

Just look a this pic…

Eda! Eda! Eda! We can’t wait to see more of you at the 2011 European Championship. Make us proud girlfriend! You’re one major major weapon that other teams need to scout really well.

We almost forgot Kasia Skowronska! LOL! We kid! We kid!

She wanted to win the Champions League but her dream didn’t come true. Now, Kasia finally won something she should be very proud of.

We read from a few online threads that Fenerbahce Fans were very disappointed of her after the Champions League semifinal because of her so-so performance and that they wouldn’t want her to return next season. Harsh? If this was indeed true then yes it was harsh of them to make such opinion which they’re entitled to.

We don’t think she played awful at the semis. Kasia tried harder and pushed herself to the limit knowing that Sokolova was having a bad match. We think the pressure caught on her but she still managed to score points for her team. It was just that Vakifbank’s weapons led by Glinka, Nikolic and Poljak were playing one the best matches of their lives.

Can we now move on from this match? We should.

It’s time to recognize Kasia’s brilliant effort in matches 2 and 3. Scoring 22 points against the Champions League winners was/is a fantastic performance! After having a tough 2010 season, Kasia redeemed herself and resurrected her reputation as one of the best opposite hitters in the world by winning the Turkish League crown.

Since she has decided not to play for Poland due to conflict with the coach, we wish Kasia the best. We don’t know her future plans yet.

Make ~~Matlak~~ us proud Kasia like what you always do.

We also would like to take this opportunity to recognize Cigdem (who got injured a couple of months ago), Nihan Yeldan (libero), Seda (the other opposite hitter), Coach Roberto Ze Guimaraes (who has renewed his contract with Fenerbahce), Fenerbahce’s players & staff and their fans from all over the world who have always been there for the Angels from start to finish.