Team Focus: Bosz Inspiring Resurgence at In-Form Vitesse by Mohamed Moallim at Tuesday, Apr 7 2015 15:01

The mascot of Vitesse Arnhem is an eagle but it could easily be a phoenix given their recent rise from the ashes. As clichd as it may sound, it's been a season of two halves for the men donning yellow and black: what looked destined to be a forgotten campaign has now bred a renewed sense of purpose heading into the home stretch.

A total of five games remain with the goal surely to secure Europa League participation; the impetuous for any highly ambitious club is growth and stability, and finishing inside the top four plus regular excursions in Europe will help establish both. Regarding the former a distant thought only a few months ago they sit two points behind AZ who currently occupy the final spot.

Sticking to a long-term vision and strategy, not succumbing to the spectre of short-termism which is suffocating modern football, is equally essential. No question Peter Bosz, who prides himself on tactical awareness, is the right person for the job. The day after their next league game at home, against FC Dordrecht on April 18, he will become the clubs longest-serving manager since 2008 (his six predecessors have averaged just 280 days in charge, where he's been at the helm for 656 and counting).

His forward-thinking and proactive methodology, (displayed at Heracles 2010-2013) who he transformed into one of the more enjoyable sides for neutrals, granted him the opportunity to awaken this sleeping giant. But as the old adage goes, 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. The process of turning Vitesse into consistent as well as viable contenders will be gradual.

It's the fate of every Dutch club; going through a summer of upheaval, with that said even when the pressure was mounting on Bosz in the autumn and winter months he remained levelheaded, never compromising or losing faith in his coaching philosophy, which is largely derived from the school of 'circulation football'. The idea behind monopolisation of possession is to provoke the opposition: only Feyenoord (60.6%) average higher ball retention (58.5%) whilst they are one of only three sides exceeding 400 short passes per game, whilst they are out on their own when it comes to shots on goal (19.6) per game.

Credit where credit is due. By sticking to his guns he's turned the good ship Vitesse around. After a false start, accumulating five wins from their first 19 games, losing 7 in the process and finding themselves as low as 12th in the table, he's got them once again playing efficiently, winning 8 of their following 10 games, picking up 26 points from 30 available. How the Arnhem faithful wished for this exact same form a year ago, when they emerged as title candidates or punching above their weight as some observers felt co-leading with half the season to go, before falling by the wayside, eventually finishing 16 points behind Frank de Boer's side.

But that was then and this is now, prior to last season's winter break not much was expected of them so they subconsciously played without a care in the world, and it's been the opposite way round this particular time. Nevertheless every disadvantage has its advantage. Having a wobble to an extent has done some good as newfound anticipation borne out of the last campaign has been tempered, thus allowing Bosz to continue to shape Vitesse in his image. The presence of technicians, especially in midfield, will make that specific job a lot easier. So, retaining the services of Marko Vejinovic, their metronome in the heart of midfield, will be critical.

As discussed on these pages before, the would-be Dutch international has matured into their lynchpin becoming one of the exemplary proponents of the 'number six' role in the Eredivisie. He exudes calmness; sitting in front of the back four, he retains and recycles possession (averaging 60.6 passes per game), allowing those behind him breathing room as well as assurance.

Not exactly ground-breaking, but what a difference going back to basics makes; the same line-up (an offensive 4-3-3) has been played across the past ten games, and that has been the tonic behind their reversal of fortunes, cohesion is, after all, the source for success: keeping five clean sheets and conceding 0.5 goals per game is a stark contrast to the first 19 games of the season: two shutouts and 1.68 goals conceded per game.

Their mini revival has not only illustrated the importance of Vejinovic's tempo setting but has also seen the resurgence of central-defensive duo Jan-Arie van der Heijden and Guram Kashia, the men he screens. Although the axis is set break up after the season's end Van der Heijden allowing his contract to run out it's one of the more formidable in the Eredivisie.

As of this previous weekend, they have started 18 games, surrendering 21 goals, and what makes their partnership special is a telepathic understanding, a classic 'number three-four' tandem. Van der Heijden enjoys nothing more than bringing the ball out of defence and starting attacks. He averages more passes (62.8) than any other player in his side, whereas Kashia, club captain, is more strategic, organising the defence with a 'take no prisoners' mentality, and leads in interceptions (64).

Good defensive resilience is meaningless if there's no profiteering. Bosz has struck the right balance; during their current run of 10 games unbeaten (the longest surrent run in the division, and third longest all season) they've managed 17 goals, and a total of seven players have contributed, with most coming from on-loan Chelsea forward Bertrand Traor (5), whose own future certainly seems bright.

Of course the more prominent Vitesse become the more is expected, though it's fair to say at this stage of their development under Bosz they are not yet ready to duel in the sun. His main objective, understandably, remains developing a battle-hardened squad creating the mind-set of belonging in the upper echelons of the league so when they do find themselves in the position of challengers they are not prone to stage fright.Team Focus: Can the Likes of Calhanoglu, Tore & Tufan Take Turkey to New Heights? by Emre Sarigul at Thursday, Apr 2 2015 15:17

Turkey have stumbled and stuttered ever since an unprecedented third-place finish at the 2002 World Cup and a semi-final finish at the 2008 European Championships. The Turkish national team have failed to make it to every subsequent international tournament culminating with a disastrous start to the Euro 2016 qualification process.

The Crescent-Stars go into their sixth Group A game in fourth hardly the group of death - having picked up just five points out of a possible 15, losing against Iceland, Czech Republic and only managing a draw against Latvia.

Turkeys latest encounter with the Netherlands did, however, give Fatih Terims boys a glimmer of hope. The Turkish side exceeded even the most die-hard fans expectations against the Oranje and were just four minutes away from a memorable away win.

The Turkish national side is now at a crossroads. Other than Arda Turan there have been no exceptional talents to burst onto the European footballing scene for a long time. Mehmet Topal had a brief stint at Valencia, Burak Ylmaz was linked with a big European move that did not materialise. In short Turkish football did not enter a golden age as was expected after 2008. The next generation does look more promising, though.Hakan alhanolu

Hakan alhanolu is not only one of Turkish footballs biggest talents; the Bayer Leverkusen star is one of the brightest prospects in European football. The 21-year-old has gone through a meteoric rise over the past three seasons. alhanolu joined HSV from Karlshruher for 2.2 million in 2012, and two years later he joined Bayer for 13 million and it is going to take a substantially increased offer to prise him away from the Bundesliga outfit this summer.

The set-piece maestro has been going from strength to strength at Bayer. The 11 Freunde 2012/13 young Bundesliga player of the season has been lighting up the league and Champions League with his 7 goals and 5 assists. It is his free-kick and long range shooting ability, however, that has really put him on the map. alhanolu has scored at least 6 more goals from outside the box (11) than any other player in the Bundesliga in the last 2 seasons. alhanolu seems to have put his past altercation with Gkhan Tre behind him and recently returned to the national team fold where he scored another goal from outside the penalty area in his first start for Turkey.

Enes nal

Turkish football has had a striker drought since the Bull of the Bosporus Hakan kr. There have been a few exceptions to the cause, most notably Nihat Kahveci and Burak Ylmaz but the latest teenage sensation to rock the country could end up surpassing all before him. nal entered the history books last season, becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the Sper Lig at the age of just 16.

The Bursaspor wonderkid has one league goal in 164 minutes of first team football this season and has also provided two assists in the Turkish Cup. nal has an extraordinary international record, hitting the back of the net 24 times in 25 games for the U16s and recently made his first appearance for the senior national team aged just 17.Ozan Tufan

Ozan Tufan is currently one of the hottest properties in Turkish football. The 20-year-old has managed to establish himself as a first team regular in both enol Gnes Bursaspor side and the Turkish national team. The assiduous midfielder has the versatility to play in defensive and attacking midfield roles as he has done throughout the season. Tufan has averaged 2.7 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game but also possesses an attacking threat in the final third. He has three goals and five assists in 24 league appearances. The young midfielder is by no means the finished article just yet but that has not stopped the likes of Atletico Madrid and Liverpool reportedly showing interest. Mehmet Ekici

Mehmet Ekici heralds from the prestigious Bayern Munich youth academy. The German giants loaned him out to 1 FC. Nuremberg in 2010 for a year and he was snapped up by Werder Bremen the following season. Ekici suffered a number of injury setbacks and failed to establish himself in the Bremen team but he has had a new lease of life since joining Trabzonspor in the summer.

Ekici has now scored five direct-free kick goals this season, making him the most dangerous set-piece specialist in Europe. The Turkish international has scored more goals from free-kicks than each of the 17 other Sper Lig teams. In total, the Turkish international has 9 goals and 9 assists and is the highest rated player (7.79) in the Sper Lig.Gkhan Tre

Gkhan Tre is without question a controversial figure. The 23-year-old possesses genuine talent but whether he reaches his potential is really down to whether he learns to control himself. It is worth pointing out that he does finally seem to have calmed down following the infamous gun incident with Hakan alhanolu and mer Toprak.

The former Chelsea academy star offers the national team explosive pace, acceleration and is capable of beating most defenders. Tre on average completes the most successful dribbles in the Sper Lig (2.4 per game) and has 8 goals and 7 assists across the Super Lig and Europa League this season. The fiery winger does, however, need work on his final pass as he tends to over complicate things at times but it is little wonder that a number of high profile European clubs have been keeping close tabs on him.