Ayman Abdel Aziz's Malatyaspor will clash with FC Basel next Wednesday. The first match ended in a home defeat for Malatyaspor by two goals to nil, which makes Ayman's mission in Switzerland extremely difficult as his side must defeat their opponents by three goals in order to go through to the next round. Despite this, the coach Ziya Dogan told the Turkish press today: "Everyone thinks that we are out but we still have 90 minutes to play. It is not over yet and we can shock Basel on their home ground".

The 'Yellow-Reds' lost the first leg 2-0 to Basel in Malatya through golas by the Turkish-Swiss Yakin brothers of FC Basel. The team is not on high morale in this competition after the bad result, but they have had some good performance in the league. FC Basel was the first UEFA Cup opponent for the club in their history, and Malatya does not have much experience in matches like these.

The team has worked hard in preparation for the second leg of their Uefa Cup tie. The league matches were postponed because of the international games at the weekend and this helped Malatya in their preparations. Though the Malatya supporters and the sporting media may believe otherwise, Malatya coach Ziya Dogan still believes his team can do more.

'The tie hasn't finished yet. They havent won the second match yet. We'll go to the last point. We may lose again but I can say we will do the best for our country. We have no stress or pressure on us because everyone thinks that we are already eliminated. I know Basel has a big advantage but that's football. Everything can be.."

Malatyaspor have a good squad but they have no experience. It was bad luck to get drawn with Basel in the first round, as the Swiss club had a worthwile Champons League experience last year, and they didn't miss thier chances in the first leg in Turkey. Malatyaspor lost a very big advantage and maybe the competition but they will try the hard adventure. The team will go to Switzerland tomorrow and will meet their opponents on Wednesday.

Ayman Abdelaziz's team has little hope, but the club is separated in two now. Firstly a group believing in "a big loss coming up again", and a second clinging to a hope that "we may have a surprise for Basel". The Turkish media is looking upon Malatya as the first Turkish casualty in Europe, due to their inexperience.

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