By Feyza Gumusluoglu
Doha: Midfielder Arda Turan arrived at Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in the summer but has been forced to sit out the first five months of the season due to Barcelona’s ban from registering players until 2016.
He will be available for selection in January and seeks to make an immediate impact when he makes his debuts in the New Year.
The Turkish football player Turan, came to Doha last week on the occasion of the friendly match between Qatar and Turkey.
During his stay in Doha, he exclusively spoke to The Peninsula about his life, football career and future dreams.
When and how did you start soccer?
Answer: I started my football career with Galatasaray academy in 1999, when I was 12. In early 2000s I had signed professional contract thanks to Fatih Terim. Since then I have been making money from soccer. Also I have been playing in the Turkish national team since 2001. My father and uncles were also very talented football players. They were not professional, only played in amateur clubs. So I was already familiar with soccer. I grew up in a small district of Istanbul, called Bayrampasa, playing street football. We grew up with street culture. From Bayrampasa’s streets I joined the amateur club of my district. I was a talented boy, people always appreciated my talent.
Barcelona is the highest level for a player to reach. What now?
Answer: I have always tried to enjoy what I do. Now I am in one of the best and most special football clubs in the world, but there is always next, or more. Now I want to win all the cups for my team, take part in the best players list, and help the Turkish national team win European and World cups. Where I am now is priceless, I try to appreciate this and do my best. I try to develop myself and at the same time share my experience with the young talents in my country.
Have you ever dreamed of playing in Barcelona?
Answer: Of course. I said during an interview in 2012 that I want to play in Barcelona one day. But that time some people laughed, they did not take me seriously, because their imaginations are not big enough. I am so thankful to Allah for granting me what I have been dreaming of.
What brought you here is luck, talent, or something else?
Answer: Everything is from Allah. Faith is important to me, it might be not as important for some, I respect that but I am a faithful person. Second point is working hard. Personally I am a disciplined, hard working man despite people think I am a naughty boy. I never sadden my parents, have always been a pure minded, benign person. I never think of making harm to others, of course I make mistakes but never with bad intentions. I can guarantee this about myself. I believe that Allah is rewarding me for being a good person.
Do you have any regrets in your professional life?
Answer: While I was younger I made some mistakes of course. I threw shoes, head butted, these were all mistakes but I was never ill intentioned. They were just impulsive and unrestrained actions of a young man.
What is your must-do before a match?
Answer: I definitely pray. I do not play without performing ablution. I enter the football field with my right foot. I do not have any mascot for good luck, but before every game I listen to surah (chapter) Yasin from the Quran. I have personal 15-20 minutes of warming up before a game, during this time I listen. It reminds me that football is very important, but there are more important things in life.
What would you be doing, if you were not a soccer player?
Answer: Counselor, minister, maybe prime minister. Actually I really wanted to be a pilot when I was a child but I had to give up on this dream due to eye disorder. I would definitely do something that I can serve to my country, this is the most important criterion for me.
Would you want to go back to Galatasaray one day?
Answer: I grew up in Galatasaray, it is and will always be special to me. I can not claim that I will go back to Galatasaray one day, man makes plans and destiny laughs. Only Allah knows the future, but Galatasaray is very dear to my heart.
You also play in the Turkish national team. They were not doing very well in recent years. Why?
Answer: A new generation was being raised, our brothers were very young. They got to have experience by time and now all are professional players. This brought the success. Turkish people are talented in all areas, we have a population of almost 80 million people, majority is young. We have a great potential actually but unfortunately sport is limited to football, basketball and volleyball. That is why maybe we have the best javelin thrower but we do not know that. When our young brothers mixed their talent with experience, we made it to the European championship.
You have played in the best football clubs in Europe, before Atletico Madrid, now Barcelona. What is their secret? Are they simply more talented?
Answer: The system and mentality is totally different there. In Turkey, we always have a change after daily scores, mainly after failures. In Europe it is not the case. You find tons of employees with 30-35 years of experience in every club. You can not see this in Turkey, we do not have stability, or continuity. “I believe in you, after six months if you are not successful I send you back.” There is no such thing in Europe. There is confidence in a project, there is time, there is patience, and you are sure that all of this will pay back eventually. As Turks, we are impatient. We do not respect the hard work, but only daily scores. This is our main problem.
Is it your first time in Qatar?
Answer: It is my first time in Qatar and I really liked it. The people are very close to us culturally, we share the same values. We visited the president of the Qatar Olympic Committee, HE Sheikh Joan. I was really impressed by his vision for sport. We are very proud that a Muslim country will host the World Cup in 2022. It is not only an honor for Qatar but for all of us. Qatar does not have only money but also vision. Money can not buy vision, spirit or excitement. I saw the spirit in Qatar. This is really great.
How did you find Qatar’s national team?
Answer: We watched their last few games, they barely lost. This is quite impressive. They really challenged us in the match even though it was a friendly one. Of course they need time to improve. It would be very helpful if they make use of experienced Turkish players by bringing them here. Coach Bulent (Uygun) has been in Qatar for instance, he has a great career both as player and coach in Turkey. It is a chance for Qatar to have him. I sincerely think that Qatar national team is very good. They gave us hard time.
The Peninsula
