It's been more than a quarter of a century since Fenerbahçe last lifted the Turkish Cup, but they can take another step toward ending that drought Thursday.  The Yellow Canaries host Bursaspor at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul Thursday night in a Ziraat Türkiye Cup quarterfinal.  Kickoff is scheduled for 20:00 local time (1 PM EST in the U.S.; 6 PM in the U.K.). 

Fenerbahçe coach Christoph Daum has made the domestic league and Turkish Cup a priority, and he's well on his way to making history at Fener.  Despite their league and European success, the Turkish Cup has largely eluded the giants of football.  The Canaries haven't raised the cup since 1983, when some of the team's current footballers were not yet born. 

For all of the trophies and accolades that the club has accumulated since 1907, the Turkish Cup has belonged to Fener only four times since its inception in the 1962-1963 season.  While several previous managers have spoken of the need to claim the trophy, Christoph Daum has made it a sincere priority this year.  The team now find themselves in the quarterfinals of the competition, where the task gets much more difficult. 

While Fener are hoping to make it a Turkish double by winning the cup and the league, Bursaspor are making a run at their first-ever league title.  The Green Crocs are currently third in the table and feeling confident ahead of Thursday's match.  Even a draw in Istanbul could put the ball in Bursa's court next week in the second leg at home. 

While Bursa have never won the league title, they have tasted success in the Turkish Cup.  In fact, they've done so more recently than the Canaries.  Bursa won the trophy in 1986 - their first and only championship.  While many doubt the Crocs can do it again this season, Ertuğrul Sağlam has his squad playing balanced football this year.  The Crocs' manager knows that while the odds are against his team, strange things have happened in this competition. 

“We will be playing several times against Fenerbahçe in the near future, so we are ready for this,” Sağlam said Tuesday.  “The 3-1 home victory in the league over Eskişehirspor is a thing of the past, and we are now focusing all our attention on the Fener match in Kadıköy. And I wish to inform all of you that we will be going there with a berth in the semifinals in mind. We have no injured and suspended players,” he told reporters earlier this week. 

Bursaspor press secretary Ferruh Nayman also told reporters that his squad will be looking for success against Fener in the near future. “Three of our next six matches will be against Fenerbahçe; two away and one at home,” he said. “For us, the opponent is not important because we play with the same zeal and enthusiasm anywhere and everywhere. To attain our goal, we have to come out of these six matches unscathed,” Nayman said. 

Christoph Daum's side are coming off a triumphant 5-1 beating of Sivasspor last weekend, a feat made more remarkable by the number of Canaries that were absent.  Midfielder Emre Belözoğlu, defender Diego Lugano and Brazilian stars Andre dos Santos and Cristian Baroni were all suspended, while striker Dani Güiza missed the game due to injury.  Daum should have a squad at nearly full strength Thursday, although Güiza is expected to miss the match as he is still recovering from injury. 

Even with his squad returning to fitness and playing well, Daum knows the importance of Thursday's match.  “We have tough games ahead of us, and the match against Bursaspor is one of them. We have to treat every match like a tournament final, take every game seriously and guard against complacency. The cup is one of our major goals and we have to make our fans happy this season by trying to win anything that is winnable [the league, cup and Europa League],” he said. 

Fenerbahçe and Bursaspor have already faced each other once this season in league play.  The Canaries prevailed 1-0 on September 13th in Bursa behind a 42nd-minute goal from Alex de Souza.  Bursa have won just once against the Canaries in their previous six meetings.  Thursday's meeting brings added importance, however, with a trip to the semifinals on the line.  It could come down to a matchup of Fener's depleted defense against Bursaspor superstar striker Sercan Yıldırım with the Turkish Cup in both teams' sights.

Fenerbahçe and Bursaspor meet Thursday night in a Ziraat Türkiye Cup quarterfinal.  Kickoff from Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul is set for 20:00 local time (1 PM EST in the U.S.; 6 PM in the U.K.).  Fans can watch the match live on TRT-1 and online at www.digiturkwebtv.com.