Nico Ercan

Central Midfielder - Umraniyespor
7 Nov 2029
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Nico Ercan

168 Edition

The Umraniyespor Post

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Murat Eser

There were 11 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

No end in sight to Umraniyespor's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Umraniyespor has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Nico Ercan asks to leave Umraniyespor

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Only the photograph left for Diago Guzmán

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diago Guzmán will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Umraniyespor the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Kaan Ayhan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Umraniyespor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Tomás Olivarez wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Umraniyespor know it.

Squad

Mehmet Feyzi Yıldırım gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Barış Ekincier in the eights

A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Umraniyespor share the spoils with Galatasaray

A 1‑1 draw with Galatasaray leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

In brief

Back issues
165 Edition

The Umraniyespor Post

24 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Emir Dadük keeps Umraniyespor in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

No end in sight to Umraniyespor's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Umraniyespor has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Alper Özdemi̇r hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Umraniyespor can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Alper Özdemi̇r has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Umraniyespor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Umraniyespor

Kaan Ayhan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Alejo Ayoso runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

A bad afternoon for Umraniyespor against Basaksehir

0‑1 to Basaksehir, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

No hiding place for Bisnat Mbala

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bisnat Mbala, and the manager let it.

Squad

Enes Demirtaş signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Enes Demirtaş commits to Umraniyespor for another 3 years.

In brief

163 Edition

The Umraniyespor Post

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Tomás Olivarez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Umraniyespor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Nico Ercan hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Umraniyespor can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Murat Eser

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Tempers go at Umraniyespor

Kaan Ayhan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Barış Ekincier

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Mustafa Eser

Marked 8.72 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Match

Umraniyespor and Sivasspor take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Serkan Göksu gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Awab Qurashi Mukhtar keeps on missing

Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

119 Edition

The Umraniyespor Post

6 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Umraniyespor's wait for a win

11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Umraniyespor has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Nico Ercan hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Umraniyespor can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Kaan Ayhan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Umraniyespor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Umraniyespor count the cost of losing Tomás Olivarez

28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

Jason runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Darko Gojković stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Darko Gojković and Umraniyespor agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

No hiding place for Emir Dadük

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emir Dadük, and the manager let it.

Match

Umraniyespor come up short against Fatih Karagumruk

Fatih Karagumruk left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Barış Ekincier

A mark of 5.44 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief

103 Edition

The Umraniyespor Post

17 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Tomás Olivarez puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Umraniyespor, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Umraniyespor

Kaan Ayhan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Nico Ercan stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Nico Ercan and Umraniyespor agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

85 Edition

The Umraniyespor Post

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Umraniyespor sink to position 17

19 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Engjëll Hoti asks to leave Umraniyespor

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Tempers go at Umraniyespor

Oğuz Aydın was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief