Football Season Guide

Along with Gaziantep FK, Hatay were also victims of an earthquake disaster last season. The Turkish FA hid their rights and they loaned out their players for the rest of the season. The season’s kick-off will be more difficult for coach Volkan Demirel’s team as they lost Christian Atsu who scored the winning goal of their last official fixture during the disaster. They will also have to use Mersin as home stadium because their own stadium turned into a home for earthquake victims. This summer, they were pretty busy in the transfer market. Except Onur Ergun, the fans did not see any major departure. However, it could be said that the coach has a stronger squad comparing to the last season. First of all, they signed Maksimovic who has played in Serie A and European competitions. No doubt that the Serbian center back will be a regular part of the team. Considering that there are also Oksuz, Bekaroglu, Adekugbe, Alici and Corekci , the coach should not worry about the backline. Saglam made his move from Giresun and the board also brought Aburjania, Hodzic and Dele-Bashiru to the midfield. The Georgian midfielder has spent a long time in Spain and Man.City youth Academy product is looking forward to prove himself. Besides them, the coach has plenty of options along with Boudjemaa, Aabid, Cagiran. No doubt that there will be a great competition in the offence line as there are several candidates. Among those players, new arrival Strandberg should get the 1st place up front considering his career. Saba will compete with young Portuguese winger Fernandes following his move from Sporting B. Young attackers like Durmushan, Bertug and Onur Ari will be good options during the long season.