World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

JamesKellyreports

Inmany waysitall feltsofamiliar.
A figure emerging from theairport
terminal,clubscarfdrapedaround
hisneck,sunglassesprotecting
against a blazinghotsummer’sday.
Outsidea throngoffanswereeager
tocatchaglimpseoftheirnew hero,
whosenametheydeliriouslychanted.
Scoresofphonecamerasrecorded
themoment,asthe playerslowly
trudgedthroughthe crowdtowards
a waitingminivan.
AsDidierDrogba,Robinvan
Persie,RicardoQuaresmaand
plentyofotherscanattest, this
typeofwelcomeforamarquee
signingisthenormin Turkey.
Whatislessfrequentlyseen
though,arethecoloursadorning
MarioBalotelli’s scarf.Theseare
notthe blackandwhiteof Besiktas,
Fenerbahce’s blueandyellow, northe
famousredandyellowofGalatasaray;
rathertheyare theskyandnavyblue
ofAdanaDemirspor.
Basedinthe south of Anatolia,
Turkey’sAsianlandmass,Adanais
onlymarginallyclosertothe capital
ofAnkarathanLebanon’s Beirut.
Withapopulationofsome1.8 million
people,itisTurkey’sfifth-largest
settlementandoneofthe nation’s
mostimportantcities.
Homeofthe famousAdanakebab,
nativesarerenownedfortheirequally
fiery temperament.A perfecthome,
itwouldappearthen,forthe
temperamentalItalian.
“TheysaythatBalotelliiscrazy
butnobodyhasto worry:we are
fromAdana andwewill be able

tomanagehim,” clubpresident

Murat SancaktoldASporuponthe

announcementofthe signinginJuly.

Understandably forDemirspor

fans, Balotelli’s signingisexciting.

Hereisa player whohasplayedfor

someoftheworld’s biggestclubs,

nowpledginghisallegianceto

theirbeloved ADS.

Thesymbolismhoweverextends

beyondBalotelli’s status.Givenhow

thisSuper LigseasonisDemirspor’s

first in thetop flightfor 2 6 years,

itwas a statement:weare back.

Thepast threedecadeshave

beenfull of turmoilforDemirspor

supporters.Sincetheclubwere

relegated in1995,theyhavehad

toendure arguablythe worst luck

ofany fanbase.

Overthepast 1 5 seasons

Demirsporhavelostin promotion

play-offsonnofewerthannine

occasions.Foraclubthathaveone

ofAnatolia’slargest andmostloyal

followings,itgottothe pointwhere

manysupportersbelievedtheir

teamwascursed.

Oneof twoclubsinAdana–

alongsideJoachimLow’sformer

employersAdanaspor– Demirspor

holdthe distinctionofbeingthefirst

cluboutsideAnkara, Istanbuland

Izmirtoplayinthe nationalleague.

Formedin 1940 byworkersof

Turkey’sstate railwaycompany,

whoselogostill adornsthe club

badge,Demirsporhavealargely

working-class,left-wingsupport

base.Livorno in particularhavea

goodfriendshipwith main supporter

eye

witness

TURKEY

Curses,debtsand

marqueesignings

AdanaDemirsporaredeterminedto

maketheirmarkontheirfirstTurkish

top-flightappearancesince 1995