From PlayStation to Bernabeu: An epic of a Turkish boy s green dream chase

To all the children of my beautiful motherland:

It is time for me to tell you that complete story about dreams and struggles. I often think about where our country that loves football will go in the future. I sincerely hope that my experience can become a beacon, illuminating your path forward, and letting you know that in Türkiye, no matter boys or girls, as long as you have dreams, everything is possible.

Just a few years ago, like you, I was a child with countless dreams. You may laugh when you say it. When I was 12 years old, my desire for a PlayStation was almost crazy. I pester my dad every day just to have "FIFA 17". At that time, although I rarely played electronic games, because the streets and alleys were the battlefields for me and my friends to chase football, the moment my friend took out PS4 and "FIFA 17", my world seemed to be lit up. In the career mode in the game, the story of Alex Hunter growing from an unknown person to a football superstar has made us excited. You may be too young to know this role very well. In FIFA 17's "The Journey" mode, the player plays Alex, from obscurity to being favored by big clubs, and when we see him walking alongside Cristiano Ronaldo into the player channel, our dreams are also ignited. It is no longer a simple game scene, but a future we dream of is presented concretely on the TV screen. From then on, every time I came back from a friend's house, I would urge my father, "I must study hard, just buy me one!"

, but you all understand the thoughts of Turkish parents. My father always said, "Wait a little longer, I'll deal with some things first." Until one day I came home from school, a PlayStation-shaped package lay on the kitchen table. I was so excited that I looked at my dad in disbelief like a child who discovered the treasure. After receiving the affirmative reply, I couldn't wait to turn on the power. What’s even more surprising is that there are many games pre-installed and you can play them without a CD. I even doubted whether my father won the lottery, but when I opened "FIFA", I found that everything was wrong - I didn't have a familiar career mode, I couldn't find Alex Hunter, and the team name was very strange. I wanted to choose the team that Ronaldo played for, but I could only find a club called "MD White".

I went to find my father with confusion, but what I got was answers such as "Shut down and restart" and "maybe it a network problem". In this way, I played in a mess for weeks. Until my friends came to my house, they exposed the truth at a glance: "Arda, what are you doing? Fenerbahce can't find it, your dad was cheated!" Everyone laughed so hard that they laughed, but I didn't care much in my heart. After all, for me, as long as I can immerse myself in the world of football, what's wrong with a "copycat" game? Even if I use stones to build the goal, I can enjoy it. This may be the optimism and tenacity engraved in the core of the Turks.

I am not from a wealthy family, nor do I have the halo of a football family. On the first floor of Ankara's apartment, my mother is a housewife who carries out housework, but the small street corner shop run by my father went bankrupt due to "football". Don't be surprised, in Türkiye, football has such magic and can become a footnote to many stories.

Speaking of my father's love for football, it is almost in the bone marrow. Since I was toddler, he has put balloons on my left, encouraging me to play with my left foot, hoping that I will become a left foot player. His support for Fenerbahce has long surpassed the ordinary fans. He often says that Fenerbahce's yellow and blue color flows in our blood. I remember a derby goal, and he was so excited that he jumped up from the sofa and directly smashed the ceiling light. He missed the championship on the last day of the 2010 league, and he kicked the box angrily, but injured his feet. His funny and sad look was very similar to the plot in a cartoon.

Under the influence of my father, I have become a loyal fan of Fenerbahce since I was born. When I was a child, going to watch a game on site became my biggest wish. But buying tickets online is comparable to "grabbing tickets for Spring Festival travel". I stayed in front of the computer, hung my fingers on the refresh button. As soon as it reached 13:00, before I could react, it was shown that "tickets were sold out" at 13:01. I have experienced such disappointment countless times. Finally, in 2014, when I was 9 years old, I waited for the opportunity. Fenerbahce was suspended and the stands were only open to women and children. After learning the news, our family drove for five hours overnight and stayed outside the ticket office in Istanbul at 5 a.m. The moment I finally got the ticket, I felt like I had the whole world. Stepping into the Şükrü Saracoğlu for the first time is like opening the door to the magical world. Walking up the stairs, every step is full of expectations, until the clear eyes suddenly open, the green grass and boiling voices are coming to the face. Although there were no adult men in the stands, the enthusiasm of the children was enough to ignite the entire court. I even met Aziz Ildirim by chance. I was so excited that I didn't care to tell my mother, so I ran over to see the idol style. As a result, my mother was so anxious that she thought I had lost her for 20 minutes. The enthusiasm in the stadium is in sharp contrast to the embarrassment at home. Near home, my friends and I played football in the basketball court, school playground, and even the parking lot, and my father spent money on breaking the car window. What really put my family in trouble was that I joined the Gençlerbirliği youth training camp. When I was 9 years old, physical education teacher Mahut discovered my talent and convinced my father to take me to the youth training camp. From then on, my father often had no time to take care of the store in order to pick me up and drop off. In the end, we had to close the store that kept the whole family's livelihood. During those days, my friends invited me to eat waffles, and I could only make excuses to shirk because I really couldn't afford it. But luckily, we have never been hungry. Compared to those children who don’t even have a place to live, we are already favored by fate..

Kids, do you still remember the video from the earthquake in 2023? The rescued little boy did not forget to leave me a message on the verge of life and death: "Arda Gueral Abi, I love you, continue to save Fenerbahce, Abi, please tell the coach to let you play." At that moment, I knew very well that what I shouldered was not only my personal dream, but also the hope of countless Turkish children.

So, every Turkish kid with a PlayStation and football dream, pick up the ball bravely and run to the court! There, you will find your own vast world, because we have never been alone on the road to pursuing our dreams.

Sincerely,

—Arda