Fenerbahce reach new heights

(CNN) -- When Fenerbahce last featured on these pages last June after celebrating their centenary by winning a record 17th Turkish title, it was suggested that the next goal facing the Istanbul club would be to establish itself as a serious challenger for European honors.

With Wednesday's 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Sukru Saracoglu in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Fenerbahce may be on the brink of achieving that goal. A place in the last four of Europe's premier club competition would constitute a remarkable achievement for a team which last season failed even to survive the qualifying stages.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Canaries took a big step towards defending their domestic crown last weekend with a 2-1 win at fourth-placed Besiktas, with Brazilian playmaker and captain Alex de Souza scoring both goals for the visitors.

That result kept them two points clear of Galatasaray with six games left -- though with a trip to their archrivals still to come at the end of April the title race is far from decided.

Coached by the legendary Brazilian Zico, it has been in the Champions League that Fenerbahce have impressed this season, beating Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow en route to the knockout stages and then eliminating Sevilla on penalties in the last 16 after a thrilling two-legged tie finished 5-5 on aggregate.

On Wednesday, Chelsea became the latest side to discover just how hard Fenerbahce are to beat at home. Despite dominating the first half and going ahead through an own goal by Fener's Brazilian forward Deivid, the London side were left stunned by two second half strikes; the first from London-born Kazim Kazim -- formerly Colin Kazim Richards of Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United -- and the second a thumping 30-meter drive from Deivid that made amends with interest for his earlier error.

"It was very important for us to win this game and now we have the advantage. Yes, we have to go to Stamford Bridge, but of the three possible outcomes of that match -- win, lose or draw -- two of them will take us through to the semifinals," said Zico, as rival coach Avram Grant searched for words to explain his side's defeat.

"I don't know what to say," said the fuming Chelsea boss. "This is the way football is -- we deserved to win but didn't. In ideal conditions the game could have finished 3-0 or 4-0 to us but, in the end, we lost."

While Grant will take comfort from knowing that Chelsea still have the advantage of their home leg to come, Fenerbahce's unpredictable mix of battle-hardened Turkish internationals and experienced Brazilians make them a very difficult team to finish off -- as Sevilla, who squandered a two-goal lead before eventually losing to the Turks, have already discovered to their cost.

With Alex given a free role to orchestrate from midfield, Deivid and Serbian striker Mateja Kezman -- formerly of Chelsea -- developing a useful partnership up front, and a defense that includes an ageing but still inspirational Roberto Carlos and the rock solid central pairing of Brazilian Edu and Uruguayan Diego Lugano, Fenerbahce are no longer outsiders from the far side of the Bosphorus, and Zico at least believes his players have the quality to go all the way.

"From the beginning, our ultimate goal has always been the final," he said. "At the moment, all we are thinking about is the game in London and getting to the semifinal, but we are getting there step by step and we want to be in (the final in) Moscow." E-mail to a friend