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The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Arda Turan: ‘When Real and Barça went on tours Atlético ran in the mountains'
Arda Turan knows the question is coming. How has the firebrand who thrilled and exasperated during a successful, sometimes wildly controversial, playing career become a manager with the temperament to take on one of Europe's most delicate jobs? It comes down to taking a breath. 'When there is something going on, right now the first thing that comes into my mind is thinking rather than reacting,' he says with a grin. There will be plenty to occupy that fizzing brain at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he was appointed head coach in May. His competitive debut comes on Thursday, against the Finnish side Ilves, but it is a Europa League first qualifying round tie and the Ukrainian giants are not used to that stage. This is only their second year since the turn of the century without any form of Champions League football and they have rolled the dice by asking one of Turkey's greatest ever footballers to set them straight. Across those playing days Turan won 13 trophies, including two league titles apiece in La Liga and his homeland, and is a rare example of a Turkish export who achieved staying power at Europe's summit. In the first half of the 2010s there were few better, more varied attacking midfielders around. None of it came by chance and the aim now is to have a similar effect from the dugout. 'It's a special opportunity for me,' he says. 'Of course some things will take time. We need to regain the league title first and then we can think of getting Shakhtar to play games that have 'final' in their names, just like they did 16 years ago'. He is talking about their now almost unthinkable Uefa Cup win in 2009. Turan has not come in cold: the chance to think big was hard won after a two-year spell overseeing the rise of minnows Eyupspor, a little-known Istanbul club who he guided to a first top-flight promotion in 2023-24, narrowly failing to crown that with a European spot last season. It was impressive work by any measure of a first managerial role. 'Improvised football' and 'automatism' is how he terms the style behind their breakthrough, although in reality there is plenty more behind his methods. Much of it owes to time spent under a string of garlanded managers at Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, his beloved Galatasaray and the Turkey national team. Among them were the contrasting styles of Diego Simeone and Luis Enrique, while he also points to the likes of Fatih Terim, Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard. Turan was hot-headed but says he was always listening, too, and storing ideas for future adaptation. He captained Galatasaray aged 22. 'Management was always somewhere in my mind,' he says. 'I always observed the interaction between coaches and players: what the coach did and how the players were responding. 'If you've ever worked with Simeone you'll always have certain football ideas in your head. You'll directly implement them because he was so impressive. Luis Enrique always had great face-to-face communication with players and incredible attacking solutions. I really believe they were very important. 'But it's not copy and paste, I have my own football ideas too. With Simeone and Luis Enrique I had very valuable chats and discussions. They were excellent teachers but I also believe good students should improve on what they have been taught. I have a lot of positives in my pocket and now I'm trying to put them into practice on the pitch.' He points to the blend of magic, tight-bound brotherhood and extraordinary physical prowess that saw off Real Madrid and Barcelona to earn Atlético that most scintillating of La Liga wins in 2013-14. Simeone's team could play but, before everything, they were taught humility. 'I always give this example: when Real and Barcelona were going to the US or the far east in pre-season with their sunglasses and everything, we were taken running in the mountains in Segovia,' Turan says. Perhaps harnessing the steel of Simeone with the lyrical approach of Luis Enrique would reap dividends. In extensively outlining what separates the elite from everybody else, Turan repeatedly comes back to the topic of physicality as a platform for expression. He believes it helped Eyupspor face up to Turkey's giants and wants it to shift the dial in Ukraine. 'In the big five leagues, 24 players out of 24 have the top physical quality,' he says. 'In the other leagues only five or six players in each team have that quality and this creates the imbalance. Look at Nuno Mendes, the left-back at PSG: he loses many balls, but the point is that he reacts straight afterwards. Tactics and correct positioning are important but you can't implement them without physicality. 'I was an offensive player, always wearing 10, and eventually didn't like to run. But it's the first step to achieving certain things. You can see how Ousmane Dembélé has been transformed, starting the high press. If we want to reach the highest level with Shakhtar we need to fight like this. If you are ready, you will feel you can compete with anyone.' Turan's aggressive edge has overspilled in ways that cannot be ignored. In September 2019 he was given a suspended jail sentence, which has now expired, after a brawl with the singer Berkay Sahin. It resulted in a broken nose for Sahin and culminated with Turan appearing at the hospital, firing a gun at the floor during the ensuing confusion. He later apologised. Turan is also alleged to have abused a journalist on Turkey's team plane after a match against North Macedonia in 2017, briefly retiring from international football afterwards, and in 2018 received a 16-game ban for shoving an assistant referee while on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion At 38, and with managers' behaviour far more closely policed, those old ways will not get you anywhere. 'When I was a player, I was only responsible for myself,' he says. 'I didn't have two children. I was more aggressive. I had the right to be more aggressive, and more right to make mistakes. But when you are a manager, you have players to look after and should remain calm in your character. 'I can say I'm more professional now, but if there's something unfair to me then I won't give in and my players know it. Of course I have made mistakes in my past, but I believe some of them came from the right place and I don't regret making them.' He knows man management will be essential in the unique situation he has inherited at Shakhtar, who have flown the flag for Ukraine to enormous credit for more than a decade since Russia's invasion forced them to leave Donetsk. Travel to play European games – whether away or at 'home' grounds such as Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana, where they will face Ilves – eats up endless days on the road. Players and their close ones continue to feel the horrors being inflicted in their country. The task of returning Shakhtar to the top has dimensions far beyond football. 'It's really exciting that we have this opportunity to make so many people happy, to give some contentment when all these things are going on in their country,' he says. 'We will have no excuses at all. The lives and families of my players are the most important thing to me and I've told them I will be supporting them fully in this area. My heart will always be with them. The sacrifices Ukrainian football has made are huge and if I can help Shakhtar be successful I'll be the happiest person.' Turan will work closely with the Shakhtar director of football, Darijo Srna, with whom he sparred on multiple occasions for fine Turkey and Croatian teams. It appears Srna has forgiven him for the dramatic fashion in which Turan's side prevailed in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals, both players scoring in the shootout but Turkey pulling through after the teams had traded goals late in extra time. 'They really crushed us in the eight years after that,' he laughs. 'It was an important game in our history. Maybe without that suffering, they couldn't have bounced back and gone all the way to the World Cup final. I'm happy we shared these moments.' Now they aim to feast in many more. Turan the head coach may be an unlikely figure to those with long memories, but has no qualms admitting that he wants to emulate those heights achieved on the pitch. 'Of course I have this dream in my mind,' he says. 'But I think Shakhtar have every means in place to realise my dreams.' Restoring their past glories would, by some distance, be his greatest feat yet.
The Sun
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Transfer news LIVE: Kudus £55m Spurs deal AGREED, Chelsea defender eyed by Villarreal, Elanga set for Newcastle medical
Besiktas to sign Abraham Besiktas have reached an agreement with Roma for the signing of former Chelsea and England star Tammy Abraham. The Turkish club are going to pay a fee of £17million for the striker, according to Fabrizio Romano. Abraham is understood to be set to fly to Turkey to complete the deal after accepting a move. Abraham spent last season on loan at AC Milan where he scored three goals in 28 league games.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Inter Milan President Confirms Galatasaray Target ‘Has Not Asked Us To Leave'
Inter Milan President Confirms Galatasaray Target 'Has Not Asked Us To Leave' Nerazzurri President Beppe Marotta confirms that Hakan Calhanoglu 'hasn't asked to leave' Inter Milan despite Galatasaray links. Marotta spoke to Italian broadcaster DAZN, via FCInterNews. He addressed the rumours surrounding the Turkish international midfielder's future. Advertisement Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu has been at the centre of transfer rumours recently. Reportedly, Turkish champions Galatasaray are keen to sign the 31-year-old. However, there has not been an offer to Inter yet. At least officially. Rather, reports indicate that Galatasaray have been in direct contact with Calhanoglu and his representatives. The Istanbul giants could aim to convince the former AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder on the move initially. Then approach Inter formally. Marotta: 'Hakan Calhanoglu Hasn't Asked Inter Milan To Leave' MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 11: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on March 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by) Inter Milan President Beppe Marotta updated on the situation with Calhanoglu. 'We're in constant contact with him,' he said of the midfielder. Advertisement 'I don't see any discomfort or unhappiness at staying here on his part,' the Nerazzurri President insisted. 'From a professional standpoint, he's shown great respect. We have absolutely nothing to reproach him for.' Then, Marotta noted that 'rumours are a typical part of the transfer market.' 'And then they're magnified by the fact that we're in this competition. And then other considerations revolve around that.' But Marotta warned that the transfer rumours can become 'specious.'
New York Times
18-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Fenerbahce demand investigation into Turkish FA's ‘hostile statements' in alleged leaked WhatsApps
Fenerbahce have demanded the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) investigate after members of the association's disciplinary committee allegedly made 'hostile statements' about the club in leaked WhatsApp messages. Fenerbahce allege that the messages between members of the TFF's Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK), which have not been verified by The Athletic, have sentiments of 'revenge' and 'clearly violate the principle of impartiality'. Advertisement The club has written to the TFF calling for an investigation and subsequent disciplinary measures, arguing the leaked messages threaten the 'institutional reputation and public credibility' of the federation. A Fenerbahce statement read: 'Our club has made an official application to the Turkish Football Federation in response to the correspondence that has been made public today and is claimed to belong to members of the Professional Football Disciplinary Board. 'We believe that this hostile mentality, which clearly violates the principle of impartiality and is based on showdowns and revenge, has no place in Turkish sports.' The club's general secretary Burak Kizilhan's letter to the TFF continued: 'The fact that members of one of the most important boards responsible for establishing justice in Turkish football make such statements not only renders the concept of 'discipline' dysfunctional, but also constitutes a clear attack on the principles of impartiality and equality in sports. 'As Fenerbahce Sports Club, we will be following up on the issue and will continue our struggle for clean football until the end.' The Athletic has contacted the TFF for comment. Reports in the Turkish media indicated that PFDK president Celal Nuri Demirturk and other members of the board have resigned following the alleged leaks. It marks the latest conflict between Fenerbahce and the TFF, after the club's head coach Jose Mourinho was banned for four matches and fined over £35,000 after comments he made towards the fourth official during February's Super Lig meeting with Galatasaray, and following the match about members of the Galatasaray squad. Galatasaray accused Mourinho of making 'racist statements' and said they intended to initiate criminal proceedings against him, while he subsequently announced he was filing a lawsuit against the club for an 'attack on his personal rights'.
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why Jose Mourinho isn't going to be sacked by Fenerbahce… yet
It was just under a year ago that Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu stadium was full of wild-eyed fans, who had queued around the block to get in and were climbing barriers, burning flares, thoroughly fired up for one of the biggest moments in not just Fenerbahce's history, but Turkish football too. This wasn't for a game, but for the unveiling of Jose Mourinho as their new head coach. Advertisement Actually, unveiling doesn't really do it justice. It felt more like a cross between a coronation and one of those cult rallies where people whip themselves into such a frenzy that they start talking in tongues and pass out. You can see why they were excited. This was one of the most successful managers in the world: double Champions League winner, domestic champion in four different countries, good with soundbites — you've heard of him. Even if his best days are in the past, he was here to end their decade-long title drought. It was a different story last weekend. As Fenerbahce shuffled to a nondescript 2-1 win over Eyupspor, Galatasaray were collecting the required points to retain the Turkish Super Lig with two games to spare. It extended Fenerbahce's title-less run to 11 seasons, which was already a record dry spell for the club, and the fans were done with it. This time, the stands were virtually empty. Only a little more than 10,000 showed up to the 50,000 capacity stadium. Rather than roars of thrilled welcome, most of the noises from those that did turn up were whistles and boos. Most of the opprobrium was directed at club president Ali Koc and the club's board, but this season has been such a disappointment that some of the blame must be apportioned to the man in the dugout. Usually, this would signal the end for Mourinho. Unsuccessful Fenerbahce coaches do not get a second season. They usually barely get one season. Since Koc was elected in 2018, the average tenure for Mourinho's 12 predecessors was a shade under 24 games. He sacked his first manager, Phillip Cocu, three months after appointing him and has never looked back. But Mourinho is staying. Speaking to the media in early May, Koc said: 'We want to continue with Jose Mourinho for stability.' Set aside for a moment any amusement at the idea of Jose Mourinho equalling stability. The question is: why? Why are the club keeping faith with him, after a season that has not just been bad, but at times farcical? Fenerbahce will finish the season second in the Super Lig: not the end of the world, in most contexts. But when you're finishing second for the fourth season in a row, three of which have been to your fiercest rivals, and you haven't won the title since 2014… it might as well be nowhere. There could have been some mitigation in other competitions, but they lost to Lille in the Champions League qualifiers, then rather embarrassingly to Rangers in the Europa League second round. And then they were knocked out of the Turkish Cup by… well, yeah, obviously it was them. They have played Galatasaray three times this season, losing twice, with the other a 0-0 draw. Maybe even worse than not beating their hated rivals is that Galatasaray have become so comfortable that they've indulged in some pretty intricate banter at Fenerbahce's expense. After a particularly lively derby in April, they put a South Park-style cartoon on their social media channels depicting Mourinho as so obsessed with them that he ended in an asylum wearing a straitjacket, with the caption 'Galatasaray delirtir' — 'Galatasaray makes you crazy'. A post shared by Galatasaray (@galatasaray) They were at it again in the aftermath of sealing the title, with another cartoon mocking Mourinho, depicting him as a down-and-out feeding pigeons in the park as Galatasaray celebrate their league title. 🎬 İncelikle kurgulanmış Gala Park Sezon Finali ile karşınızdayız. — #5YıldızlıŞampiyon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@GalatasaraySK) May 18, 2025 In his defence, results haven't been horrendous across the board. They have a points-per-game tally that might have won the title in previous seasons. There have been emphatic victories and dramatic ones. They've only lost in the league three times, but even that's a double-edged sword: those three defeats have been to Galatasaray and their other big Istanbul rivals, Besiktas. Advertisement Results are one thing, but the quality of football is another. Under Ismail Kartal last season, as well as racking up a record total of 99 points, they were attractive to watch and at least gave the impression of a progressive team. Under Mourinho, that hasn't been the case, and has led to increasing amounts of disquiet among the fans. The team has, in parts of the season, been so bad that the paranoia and conspiracy theories that most fanbases in Turkish football are prone to, have been rendered irrelevant. Sure, you can complain about bad refereeing decisions and think it's all a plot against you… but would it have made a difference? Mourinho has tried to weaponise that paranoia, but that has merely served as a distraction from the actual football. 'The management encouraged him to constantly talk about the alleged system set up against Fenerbahce off the field,' says Emrah Tunay, lifelong fan and head of the Fenerbahce Volunteers Association — remember the name, he'll become more important shortly. 'As a result, Mourinho focused not on football, the formation and development of the team, or the opponents — but on this set-up against Fenerbahce.' Then you have the classic Jose antics. In some respects, you might think Mourinho has simply leant into the adversarial and chaotic nature of Turkish football, and his constant complaints about referees certainly fit with the general vibe, but there have been moments that scandalised people even in that context. Two of them came against Galatasaray: in February, he was accused of racism after declaring that Galatasaray's coaches were 'jumping around like monkeys' in an attempt to influence the officials — he denied the accusations and later said they 'boomeranged' against Galatasaray, but still received a two-match touchline ban. Then, after a Turkish Cup tie in April in which four players were sent off, Mourinho was given another three-match ban after grabbing the nose of his opposite number Okan Buruk, who (somewhat theatrically) threw himself to the floor. Advertisement And so, we return to the question of why Mourinho is staying. Fenerbahce's perspective is that not much good has come of chopping and changing coaches over the last decade, so they might as well give consistency a try. There is an understanding within the club that it is challenging for a foreign manager to adapt to the unique pressures of Turkish football in their first season, so the hope is that having become acclimatised, success will come next season. There's also the trifling matter of how much it would cost to sack Mourinho. He signed a two-year contract with an annual salary of around €10million (£8.4m, $11.3m), so they would need to hand over that amount to cut ties with him, which wouldn't be ideal. That said, Koc has already burned through enough money over the last seven years, so what's another €10m? Perhaps a bigger reason is that Mourinho is just too closely tied to the embattled president. Koc was elected in 2018 and the longer his tenure has gone on without a title win, the more desperate he has appeared, and the further his popularity has fallen. 'As soon as Ali Koc took office, he erased the club's entire institutional memory,' says Tunay. 'He has failed to achieve any sporting success and has not fulfilled any of his promises.' There is a slight element of positivity towards him (at a recent meeting of the club's honorary members, someone read a poem in support of Koc), but before Mourinho's appointment he looked almost certain to lose last summer's presidential election to his predecessor Aziz Yildirim, who claimed that he had agreed terms with a big name manager should he be elected… Jose Mourinho. The timeline of events is a little fuzzy, but Yildirim met Mourinho in London and Rome in the spring of 2024, and, according to him at least, reached a broad agreement. However, Koc then dispensed with Kartal and pulled the simple but devastatingly effective move of agreeing terms with Mourinho himself, terms finalised when the Portuguese was in London to attend the Champions League final at Wembley. Mourinho was then flown to Istanbul and that remarkable unveiling the following day, which simultaneously scored the big name for the club and took Koc's opponent out at the knees. Koc maintained that he had made contact with Mourinho months before, predating Yildirim's interest — which may well be true, but from the outside it looked like ruthless politicking. Either way, he won another three-year term at a canter, which wouldn't have been possible without this marquee, Hail Mary appointment. 'He won with the wind of Mourinho,' said one figure close to the club who, like all consulted for this article, wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships. Advertisement Koc was gambling on Mourinho the perennial winner: actually, not so much merely gambling as pushing all of his chips, plus his car keys and whatever else he had in his pockets, into the middle of the table. The failure of that gamble, so far at least, slightly counterintuitively provides another explanation for why Mourinho is staying. Because short of persuading Pep Guardiola to come to Istanbul, where can Koc go from here? There's no flashier upgrade, no more glamorous rabbit to pull from the hat. 'If he were to sack Mourinho, who he sold to the public as a Messiah last summer, there would be no bigger name to sell,' said an executive at another Turkish club. But this leads to another complicating factor in Mourinho's future. Technically, Koc should be in place for another two years, but his unpopularity is such that an emergency election will be held this year. The question is: when? Koc wants it to happen in September, a time deliberately chosen because that will be after the summer transfer window closes, meaning there is time to sign a few exciting players and strengthen his hand, while at the same time weakening any potential rival who might come with transfer-related promises of their own. However, there are moves afoot for it to happen much sooner, which is where Tunay comes in. He has led a campaign to force an emergency election this summer, well before September. The club's constitution states that if someone can gather the signatures of 20 per cent of the club's paying members, backing what amounts to a vote of no confidence in the current regime, then an extraordinary congress of the members will be forced and a fresh election held. 'We have launched a petition campaign to bring this situation to an end and fulfil the wishes of the fans,' says Tunay. 'Our greatest hope is that Fenerbahce will elect a new president as a result of the election and that this dark period will finally come to an end.' For various reasons, it's slightly tricky to ascertain the exact number of paying members, and thus the number of signatures required, but Tunay and his team think 12,000 will comfortably do it. Koc has previously said he wouldn't run if that happens, but most observers suspect that ultimately he will. Either way, if Yildirim decides to run (he has yet to publicly say either way, but the expectation is that he will) he'll be the favourite to win and return to the presidency that he lost to Koc in 2018. And assuming he does run and does win, will he keep Mourinho? At present, that's unclear: on one hand, Mourinho is the manager he wanted anyway, but on the other he's now associated with a) Koc and b) failure. There is also the possibility that Mourinho will go of his own accord. He recently admitted meeting another club in January (reportedly a team in Saudi Arabia), and when asked by the media about his future, he was non-committal. 'I am not speaking about next season. I will speak internally, not to the media. If there is something, out of respect to the president and the board, I will not bring it into the public.' Advertisement When Mourinho was appointed, it felt in some ways that he and Turkish football was a perfect union, a coach who thrives on chaos and disruption going to the home of those things. Ultimately, it has proved very imperfect, but the way things look at the moment, we could be in for a lot more of it. (Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
