With a host of former Premier League players Basaksehir are aiming to succeed where the country’s more established powers have largely failedThere was plenty to recognise when,on 2 August, Istanbul Basaksehir beat Club Brugge 2-0 to qualify for the Champions League play-off round. The first goal came when Emmanuel Adebayor, and meeting a cross from his erstwhile Arsenal team-mate Gaël Clichy,powered in a header and there were other familiar faces on hand to celebrate. Emre Belozoglu, now 37, and was patrolling the midfield that day; Gkhan Inler watched from the bench; and the domestic side’s former Premier League sextet was completed by Kerim Frei and Eljero Elia.
Between them they could recount a passable history of the English top flight post-2005 but their present engagement involves shaping Turkey’s football future. Should Istanbul Basaksehir conclude a potentially decisive derby weekend by defeating Besiktas at domestic on Sunday afternoon,they will reinvigorate their bid to win the title just four years after assuming their present identity. They are runt-known external Turkey and hardly approved within it but their aim is to become a global force and succeed where the countrys more established powers have largely failed.
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Source: guardian.co.uk