Kerem Akturkoglu, Making His Club Proud: He is a Brand

Kerem Akturkoglu, who transferred from Galatasaray to Portuguese team Benfica, has his yellow-red and national team jerseys displayed at Hisareynspor, the club where he grew up and competes in Kocaeli Super Amateur League.

The success of Kerem Akturkoglu, who transferred to Benfica at the beginning of the season, brings great pride to Hisareynspor, the team he played for in his youth.

Hisareynspor, competing in Amateur League Group A, operates across all age groups to nurture young talents for Turkish football.

Kerem Akturkoglu’s transfer to Benfica and his international performance make Hisareynspor happy.

Photos of Kerem in signed jerseys from the A National Team and Galatasaray are displayed at the club.

Hisareynspor athletes are inspired by Kerem Akturkoglu and continue to work hard to have similar careers.

“HE HAS BECOME A BRAND”

Hisareynspor’s coach Muammer Akcay told AA reporters that he was also Kerem’s coach in the elementary school football team.

He mentioned that they brought Kerem to Hisareynspor from Golcukspor’s youth team in 2013 by speaking with his father, Omer Faruk Akturkoglu. Akcay emphasized that Kerem has always shown he is a “special player” in both youth categories and the A team.

He continued by saying that Kerem drew attention from many clubs with his performance in the U19 Turkey Championship they participated in:

“I said back then, ‘One day, Turkey will talk about this kid.’ Kerem always came here. Even when he was at Basaksehir, he would come here. Most recently, he came when he was at Anagold 24 Erzincanspor. We would work individually, trying to help him. When I said, ‘If God allows, we will see you in the A National Team,’ he said, ‘Brother, I really want it.’ Many clubs wanted him, including Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas, Kasımpasa… We told him, ‘Fatih Terim will play you.’ He chose Galatasaray. Now he has become a brand. It gives us pride. He visits us when he has free time, he is a student with loyalty.”

“OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE MORE KEREMS”

Akcay mentioned that he recently spoke with Kerem’s father, stating that Kerem is happy at Benfica.

“Our goal is to raise more players like Kerem,” Akcay said, evaluating the situation:

“Kerem is a special player; when his mind is at ease, he uses his abilities better. He could go to Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Liverpool from England. Benfica is also a club that finds good players and sells them to Europe’s top leagues. Benfica fans applaud Kerem, which is a source of pride. I spoke with Faruk, and I asked, ‘Is there any greater pride than this?’ He expressed that he was very emotional.”

Sarp Koksal, a 9-year-old player in the club’s under-11 team, also expressed his desire to become a footballer and shared his happiness for growing up in the same club as Kerem Akturkoglu.