Now everyone talks about them with dissatisfaction and anger. Everyone considered the Turkish national team as Azerbaijan's national team. This has been the case for years. Here, the feeling of brotherhood prevailed more than the love of football.
The Turkish national team defeated this love, this belief in America. Of course, there is no owner of defeat. If they had won, completely different conversations would be going on today. The issue is not losing, but how to lose, what to show on the field.
The Turkish national team could not play football in America. They appeared as the weakest team, were disgraced, and sent home like a bride with her head shaved. It is a great disappointment for all of us. The Turkish national team drowned our expectations in the Pacific Ocean.
Azerbaijan has been a fan of the Turkish national team for years. Therefore, we have the right to protest. We do not look at the Turkish national team from the outside; we are people who have given our hearts to this team. Therefore, we are very disappointed that the Turkish national team could not play in America.
The World Cup is now heating up. The real football competition is just beginning. At such a moment, Turkey is at home. The Turkish national team will sit in front of the TV like us. However, millions of people wanted to see them on the field.
When one sees this incompetence, one inevitably remembers the Turkish national team from years ago. One recalls the team led by Şenol Güneş. That team had a system and discipline. Every footballer knew what to do. There was collective intelligence; the team was stronger than individuals. There was emotion, character, a life-and-death struggle.
It was under the leadership of Şenol Güneş that the Turkish national team achieved one of the greatest successes in its history by taking 3rd place in the 2002 World Cup.
Şenol Güneş's place is visible. Now, the Turkish national team's unified team management is not visible on the field. Unfortunately, today we saw random attacks, unplanned play, and scattered defense instead. Football requires intelligence as well as talent. Turkish football demands Şenol Güneş.
The head coach of the Turkish national team is Italian Vincenzo Montella. Honestly, we couldn't see him on the football field. There is no trace of him, no face of the team, no distinctive style. It is not even known what football philosophy the Turkish national team plays.
The most dangerous point is elsewhere. Turkish football has started to hide behind individual talents in recent years. Everyone talks about Arda Güler, and one or two other footballers. But football is not a game of individuals. Football is a collective game. When there is no team, talents cannot be seen. Just as Arda Güler and one or two good footballers were disgraced along with the Turkish national team.
I don't want to dwell on individual footballers. In football, the result is not attributed to individuals; it stamps its mark on the team. The responsibility for this defeat was not only on the players on the field but also on the management, technical staff, and planning.
Football is the greatest politics. Football is considered the showcase of a country. People in the world often recognize states by their football teams. Therefore, the failure of the Turkish national team did not remain within the stadium; it lowered the country's image.
Turkey's game in America was not an ordinary defeat. Turkey dealt a blow to its football prestige. It could not live up to the great expectations it had created in the world sports community. This is the heaviest defeat.
Every defeat also contains a lesson. Turkish football must return to itself. Political interventions in football must be stopped. A system must be re-established, and a team spirit must be created. Football does not forgive coincidences.
A footballer's jersey is the hope, joy, and pride of millions. Those who wear that jersey must understand this.
When Turkey loses, millions of people in Azerbaijan also do not smile.
Do you know what the most painful part is? The spirit of Turkey, of the Turk, was not seen on the field. We are more saddened by this.
The result can change, but it is very difficult for a lost spirit to return.
