The ‘Football with Legends’ session, where experienced coaches Fatih Terim, Mustafa Denizli and Senol Gunes participated as speakers, was held. The seasoned coaches made significant statements regarding the current football agenda. The ‘Izmir Sports Summit,’ organized in collaboration between Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Izmir Chamber of Commerce, hosted the ‘Football with Legends’ session.
The summit started today at 11:00 at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Center (AASSM). During the opening of the event, speeches were made by Izmir Chamber of Commerce (IZTO) President Mahmut Ozgener, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay, AK Party Izmir Deputy Dr. Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu, and Izmir Governor Dr. Suleyman Elban. Later, several panels on various sports were held. The final session of the event was the ‘Football with Legends’ panel, where Fatih Terim, Mustafa Denizli, and Senol Gunes participated as speakers.
FATIH TERIM: “IF YOU HAVE MONEY BUT NO WISDOM, IT’S USELESS”
Addressing the financial situation of clubs, Fatih Terim said, “If you have money but no wisdom, money is useless. If you have wisdom but no money, that also doesn’t work. You need to use both wisely. Having both together is great. The gap between us and our rivals in Turkey and Europe is quite large. For years, both in the national team and in club teams, we have worked hard to close this gap. It wasn’t easy. The game played, the mindset, and success are the same everywhere. The field is the same, the grass is the same, everything is the same both here and abroad. Europe is a platform that requires more attention. While adopting innovations within ourselves, no one stands still there. We need to combine wisdom with economics. If you are setting a transfer policy for Europe, you must act according to your team without being pressured. From time to time, surprise results have happened to all of us in Europe, and they will continue to happen. You need to establish the same level of consistency in Europe as you do in Turkey. Throughout my life, in all my statements, I have always emphasized that success in Europe is more important than success in Turkey. When we reached the final, I said, ‘Let’s at least take the cup now.’ Because those who win the cup are remembered. I care about Europe more than Turkey.”
FATIH TERIM: “I AM IN FAVOR OF PLAYING MORE MATCHES”
Emphasizing that everything is measured in the new system, Fatih Terim said, “How can sustainable success be achieved? How can this success be achieved in a club structure that cannot institutionalize? It is very difficult. In football, which we divide into technical, administrative, and economic aspects, these need to be sustainable. There is a large group of people who run for presidency with the mindset of ‘What’s the big deal? I can do it too.’ The most important counterpart of an institutional structure is consistency. We don’t experience any of these in our country. I exclude exceptions. A setting where professionalism is most accurately defined, where the manager is not an administrator, where the economy grows every year, and where even in loss, sustainability and continuity are maintained. We need to address these first. We must look at it from the perspective of those who cannot institutionalize. The successes achieved in Turkey have not been easy. Some of our clubs are completely handed over to professionals, while others are not, most of them are not.
If you want to be successful, you have to play at least 60 matches. If you are paying salaries to a 30-man squad, then scientifically, every team is prepared on specific days of the week. I am in favor of playing a lot in Europe. In the year we became champions in 2000, we played around 60-70 matches. Now, many teams in Europe play those numbers. For Turkey, 22 players are enough. Let’s not get the players and coaches accustomed to making excuses. I am in favor of playing more. I played with the most talented national team in history. We were never successful. It made us very sad. Despite this tight schedule, I am in favor of such a situation. Matches can be played every three days, and they should be played. If you’re not playing, it means you couldn’t make it past January, which means you’re also not in Europe.”
MUSTAFA DENIZLI: “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPECT SUCCESS IN THIS SYSTEM”
Criticizing the system, Mustafa Denizli said, “If the conditions in Turkey continue like this, it is impossible to expect success. No matter what, we also had great competition here in Izmir. Look at the budgets spent by Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, and Besiktas, and the football presented. Twenty or thirty years ago, where we stood against European teams is the same situation budget-wise with our rival teams today. Besiktas’ opponent, Frankfurt, is equivalent. The other teams’ opponents are not equivalent. After national matches, people flooded the streets, just as they did after the successes of the three big clubs. These budgets are very high. I built two squads with Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. You cannot clearly say which is more valuable. Maybe you can make up for those match numbers, but there is no standard. Coaches primarily need to build better squads. After these match numbers, it is difficult to recover. The rest periods after such physical exertion are not suitable for the programs that coaches need to prepare. The money allocated to the Turkish football league is a quarter of its value. This is the financial indicator of the downward trend in Turkish football.”
MUSTAFA DENIZLI: “THE SYSTEM IS BASED ON DISTRUST”
Denizli emphasized that the system is built on distrust, saying, “There is always a question mark. People without real courage should have no chance of becoming football players or coaches. If you’re not willing to take on the challenge and the risk factor, you shouldn’t be in this profession. In a system based on such distrust, a coach doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow. They cannot work in peace. You accept the opinion of a manager that doesn’t exist just to continue here. The man who worked for Arsenal for 25 years was champion only once. In Turkey, they can’t tolerate you for 25 months. When I played for the national team, the first thing I would look at was my coach. This is a very important factor. The times I laughed the most in my life were on match days. How many hours has Fatih or Senol slept at night? I haven’t slept more than five hours in the past 35 years.”
MUSTAFA DENIZLI: “IZMIR USED TO BE A CITY THAT PRODUCED FOOTBALL PLAYERS FOR YEARS”
Touching on the football scene in Izmir, Mustafa Denizli said, “I don’t know if this group will ever come together again. I played for this city’s team for years. For many years, this city was a hub that produced football players. Today, that is no longer the case. The club where I was raised produced many players over the years. Today, that opportunity doesn’t exist in Izmir. How many foreigners were in Galatasaray’s squad when they won the championship? How many foreigners did they have when they reached the semifinals in Europe? It’s not directly proportional to money. Today, Turkey gets back only a tenth of what it spends on football. The Turkish league is divided between those at the top and those at the bottom—after the 9th position, any team could be relegated. You can’t build a great team by bringing together the best with big budgets.”
SENOL GUNES: “YOU CAN’T STOP VAR DEBATES”
Commenting on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, Senol Gunes said, “You can’t stop the VAR debates. If there is this much doubt, then intentions are questioned. At first, a goal happens. You celebrate at first, then feel disappointed. We always look at successful teams with suspicion. Football is a rich phenomenon. VAR is still viewed with doubt. We had a lack of trust in ourselves, now we’ve started questioning bad intentions. I’m not going to make excuses, I’ll fix my game. The referee comes onto the field and doesn’t know the running zones. Such a referee shouldn’t be in the league. Being well-intentioned isn’t enough; you need to be successful and knowledgeable. If the VAR system is going to use technology, the referee doesn’t give the position he sees right in front of him. You’re interrupting the flow of the game, why don’t you let it continue? You cancel the goal, but you don’t cancel the corner. If we have the technology, let the referee say, ‘This is offside, this is a foul.’ There’s no need to show this to the audience. Solve the issue before VAR. There is an atmosphere of distrust, and we will continue to debate this.”
SENOL GUNES: “WE ARE AT AN ADVANTAGE COMPARED TO THE PAST”
Addressing both the shortcomings and the advantages, Senol Gunes said, “We had some challenges in the past as well. Coming from there to where we are today is an advantage for us. If we can correct the excesses, things will be much better. It’s not right to see football as just a game. Izmir should be a football hub for the Aegean and Mediterranean regions. In the past, there was Izmirspor. There were great teams like Goztepe, Altay, and Karsiyaka. If given the opportunity, success can come. Let’s criticize ourselves but not ignore what we have. Even without the opportunities, we became coaches. In later years, I think our players had more confidence. We also gained confidence in ourselves and then in each other. I don’t think enough importance is given to youth development. That’s why I am considering coming to Izmir. More players can be developed here.”
Highlighting the education system, Gunes added, “Sports and arts are areas where people can breathe. In the past, there were no facilities or equipment. Today, the question is why things aren’t working with this mindset, but it can’t be solved that way. Football is a game—you have to live that spirit. You don’t look at how much a player earns, you look at them as a player. Today, the corporate structure of clubs is flawed. We make mistakes when transitioning from associations to companies under the associations’ law. In the past, big teams also made transfers. It’s the same today. After Trabzonspor’s championship, they made transfers. The main purpose should be playing football and developing players. Generally, the competition among the big teams seems sufficient. No matter what, big teams are always big on the world stage. But in France, both Monaco and Lille became champions. While all this is happening, there needs to be financial sustainability. If Turkey transforms into a corporate structure and those who produce also profit, maybe things can change. We misuse the increase in foreign players. If you bring in foreign players without producing Turkish players, no one will produce. There must be production alongside competition. Clubs are under pressure to move to this system. Today, it is not right for clubs to compete by accumulating debt. Relevant organizations should have a role in regulating this.”
Addressing the system in Turkey, Gunes concluded, “Bursaspor was the champion, but today they are elsewhere. Now they play in front of 40,000 people. If those 40,000 people had been there when they were relegated from the Super Lig, they would be in the top five today. Goztepe fills its stadium. Most of the teams in Anatolia have empty stadiums. In Germany or England, second division matches are packed. We are not competing with money, we are competing with footballers.”
“ICARDI OR OSIMHEN?” QUESTION ANSWERED
Fatih Terim: “They are two different types of players. One is a player inside the box, and the other is both inside and outside. Icardi is one of the world’s top players because of his talent in the box. Osimhen is a player who can score unimaginable goals.”
Mustafa Denizli: “If you have two goalkeepers and two strikers of the same quality on a team, problems are never far away.”
