25.01.2025 15:30
Fenerbahçe's 18-year-old center-back Yusuf Akçiçek started in the starting eleven in the UEFA Europa League match against Lyon and drew attention with his performance. Serhat Pekmezci, the chief scout who has been following Yusuf since he was 11 years old and brought him into the yellow-and-navy blue club's youth system, revealed the details about the Galatasaray chapter in the young footballer's career.
Fenerbahçe faced the French representative Lyon at home in the 7th week of the UEFA Europa League. The goalless match was highlighted by Fenerbahçe's young player Yusuf Akçiçek. Serhat Pekmezci, the scout chief at the time who brought 18-year-old Yusuf to Fenerbahçe in the summer of 2019, shared details about the young player's connection to Galatasaray.
"WE NEVER HAD A MENTALITY THAT DISCONNECTS PLAYERS FROM THEIR CLUBS"
Serhat Pekmezci's statements about Yusuf Akçiçek to HT Sport are as follows;
"Yusuf's first budding license after football schools comes from Galatasaray. Just as Fenerbahçe is a great community, Galatasaray is also a great community. We have never had a mentality that disconnects players from their clubs, whether we liked them or not, including Altınordu. During the process, coaches' preferences change, they expect performance, especially at certain ages, particularly between 12-13-14 years old, when their potential should be significant. Some coaches expect performance, but during that period, children's growth spurts, hormonal changes, puberty, and similar situations can sometimes cause their performance to fluctuate. Therefore, whether we want to or not, we follow almost all players' teams and create data. Just in case one day these valuable, talented children want to leave their clubs or are sent away, we want to be informed.
"I RECEIVED A CALL FROM SOMEONE I DIDN'T KNOW: 'COACH, WE LEFT GALATASARAY'"
Yusuf Akçiçek was a player I had been following since he was 11 years old. I knew him from tournaments and local leagues during my time at Altınordu; he was a player I had known since then, but I had no contact with him after he came to Fenerbahçe. I didn't even have his family's number. At that time, I had just started at Fenerbahçe at the beginning of 2019. I received a call from an unknown number... The person said he was a relative of Yusuf, that he knew me from Altınordu. I said I really like Yusuf, I think he has a bright future, and I see him as a star that Galatasaray will gift to Turkish football. He then said, 'Coach, we left Galatasaray.' If I had been at Altınordu, he would probably have come to Altınordu. They expressed their belief that I could place that child in an environment where his value would be recognized. Of course, I didn't say, 'Come on, jump in,' because we have friends, coaches, and colleagues we love at Galatasaray. To confirm this, I called my friends working at Galatasaray. I wanted to know if he really left Galatasaray or if I was being used to evaluate him. They said they had decided to let him go. A civilized conversation took place, and I reported the situation to my superiors, stating that I had known him before, and I reported his physical characteristics and potential. We also determined that his family criteria were suitable for the club because his family was very healthy and did not view the child merely as a financial asset, just like Arda's family.
"YOU CAN'T MAKE THEM SAY SOMETHING THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN, EVEN IF YOU OFFER MONEY"
His career can definitely shape up like Arda's. Mourinho is one of the greatest coaches in the world, and his comments about Yusuf remind me of Vitor Pereira's comments about Arda. The fact that those speaking are Portuguese has a significant impact in the world press. Pereira's statement about Arda, 'I worked at Porto for 10 years and never saw such talent,' is as valuable as Mourinho's beautiful words about Yusuf, which may have been overlooked at the time. Europeans are like that; they don't add emotion to the equation, meaning you can't make them say something they don't believe in, even if you offer them money.
"HE HAS A CLEAN LEFT FOOT; EVEN LIKE A MIDFIELDER"
Yusuf deserves this, just like Arda; I felt that when he was 11-12 years old. It's somewhat related to intuition; this is not just about playing football. He loves to work and has a very clean left foot, even like midfielders. After we acquired him, he didn't play for a while, and I faced criticism like, 'Why did you bring him?' But I was trained at Altınordu, and the same was said for Ravil Tagir there. We said the time would come, be patient, he will give the best performance, and thankfully, we were right.
"I BELIEVE MOURINHO WILL BE FAIR"
He is a child with the quality, will, and calmness to reach the highest level. Perhaps the absence of a left-footed center-back opened up opportunities for him. Arda's path was also opened by Fenerbahçe's early exit from the competition two years ago. Quality players are crucial for the development of quality young talents. The Skriniar transfer will significantly contribute to Yusuf's development. Yusuf has shown that he is not a young player to be sidelined in the upcoming process. I believe Mourinho will be fair in the upcoming process. His performance in the Lyon match, despite not having played for a long time, is actually a testament to how much our children love this job and how passionately they are attached to it, showing that they are more conscious mentally than before. The player he faced was also one of the world's top strikers, Lacazette. Yusuf's future is very bright; I feel that we will watch him in the Premier League at the most suitable and right time in a few years.