World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

(Antfer) #1

One of hisfirst movesatDemispor
was to sign former Manchester United
midfiedeAnderson. TheChampions
Leaguewinnerma minimal impact,
retiing at theclublastSeptembe,
but thegauntethad beenaid down.
Lastseason, experiencedduo
Auelien Chedjouand Gokhan Inler
werebrought in,and thebar has
beenraisedevenhigherthissummer.
Aongside BaotelliisMoroccan
playmaeYones Behanda and
exTottenham Hotspurutility man
BenjaminStambouli.Other notable
additions includeNoway right-back
n Z), LucasCastro
Fati ri
on Mancheste


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TURKEY

themalonewon’t guaranteesuccess,”
saysDemirsporsupporterBoraUluturk.
“Especiallywith theirfiery histories;
theymightevenhinderthesquad
morethanhelpit.”
It’sbeen 11 yearssinceBalotelliwon
theGoldenBoyaward.Hispasttwo
seasonshaveconsistedof failingtokeep
BresciainSerieA, followed by notbeing
abletofireMonza into it.Lasttermhe
didn’tevenrankamongSerie B’stop
40 goalscorers.
Suchdelusionsofgrandeurwere
hardlyhelpedwhen thenotoriously
outspokenSancakannouncedthat
BalotellihadcometoDemirspor to
gotonextyear’sWorldCupin Qatar.
WiththeAzzurriwinningthe European
Championshipjustdaysafterthestriker’s
signing,you have to saythatlooks
fancifulatbest.
PerhapsDemirspor’stheory is thatby
pairingBalotelliwith hisoldteam-mate
Belhanda,theyearsmightrollback to
whenthe duofired Nicetothirdin
Ligue1 in 2 01 6- 17.
TheMoroccanplaymakerhasalso
arrivedona free,havingbeensacked
byGalatasaray in Marchforcriticising
thestateoftheirpitch.Hisdeparture
wasmetwith indifference by fans,many

ofwhomfeltBelhanda hadbeen
performingbelowparfor sometime.
Theimpact othersigningswill have is
alsosomethingofa mystery. Stambouli
is 31 andcomesinasdamagedgoods
onthe backofSchalke’srelegation.
MeanwhileSvenssonspentpart of
lastseasonout with a thighproblem.
Thebiggest quandary thoughishow
Demirsporhavemanagedtoaffordsuch
deals,especiallywith theTurkishliraat
itslowest-everrate.Balotellihas penned
a three-yeardealthroughto 2024 , by
whichpointhe’ll be nearly34.ADShad
alsobeenlinkedwithsigningDavidLuiz
ona€4 million,two-yeardeal,following
hisreleasebyArsenal.
Sancak’s closetiestopresidentRecep
TayyipErdoganandhisrulingAKP party
mayprovidea clueastohow theproject
isbeingfunded.
InJune,Mafiabossturned YouTube
whistle-blowerSedatPeker claimedthat
Erdogan’s son-in-law,BeratAlbayrak,
wasstayingatthe Demirsporpresident’s
house,awayfrompublicview after
resigningasfinanceminister.
Meanwhile,Sancak’scousinEthem
alsohasclosetiestoErdogan.Underhis
ownership,thenewspaperStarGazetesi
tooka strongpro-AKPline,while he

oncedeclaredhewas in “spirituallove”
withErdogan,andthathisentire family
wouldbesacrificedfor thepresident.
Bothcousinsarenowinvolvedwith
BMC,acarmanufacturerthathasalso
beentreated favourablybythe regime.
BMCwas granted23.7millionfeet
ofpublicland by Erdoganfor future
investment,andawardeda€9 billion
contracttomanufacture Turkey’sfirst
domestically-assembledtank.
“Itdefinitelysmellsveryfishy,”
UluturktellsWorldSoccer. “InTurkey
whensomethingseemstoogoodto be
true,there’susuallysomeshadinessor
corruptionbehindit.”
Demirsporfansdonotneed
remindingofsuchreality. In August
2010 , formerpresidentandlifelong
supporter BekirCinarcommitted
suicideafterhisdreamofreturning
DemirsportoSuperLigplunged
himinto heavydebt.
Onewayofavoidinganothersuch
tragedycouldbeDemirspor’snewYeni
AdanaStadium.Thiswasbuilt at acost
of 14 0 millionTLandishostingcrowds
forthefirsttimethisseason,having
openedinFebruary. Like many new
buildsinTurkey, it is ownedby thestate.
The 33 ,500-seaterstadium, which is
sharedwithbitter rivalsAdanaspor, offers
Demirsportheopportunitytogenerate
funds.Sancakhasannouncedthatan
executive boxwillcostaminimumof
5,000TL(approximately€490),in
linewith othertop SuperLigclubs.
Timewilltellif thisaloneisenough
topropupSancak’sDemirsporproject.
However, as a manwhonarrowlyescaped
anapparentassassinationattemptin
2015 , he doesn’tneedtobetoldlife
isfor living.
Whilstit is unclearwhere themoney
forsigningshascomefrom,themere
opportunitytoseeDemirsporback in
SuperLigissomethingtobecelebrated.
Whateverhappensoffthepitch,after
a quarterof a century away,fanscan
enjoytheirmomentbackin the
notoriouslyhotAdanasun.

Newboy...Sancak
welcomesLucas
Castrototheclub

Overthepast 15 seasons,Demirsporhavelostin
promotionplay-offsonnofewerthannineoccasions...
manysupportersbelievedtheirteamwascursed
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