05.03.2026 16:00
Samet Akaydin, the national stopper of Çaykur Rizespor, made statements regarding the national team and the transfer process in the past. He mentioned that he received offers from all of the big four clubs but preferred Fenerbahçe, saying, "Fenerbahçe weighed more heavily financially."
Samet Akaydin, the national stopper of Çaykur Rizespor, stated that he believes the A National Football Team will qualify for the World Cup by overcoming their opponents in the playoffs. Samet Akaydin, the fourth guest of the "National Pride on the Road to the 2026 World Cup" project, which was brought to life by Anadolu Agency with the contributions of Turkey's Payment Method TROY, made special statements to AA reporter.
''WHOEVER THE OPPONENT IS, WE WILL GO TO THE WORLD CUP''
Samet Akaydin commented on the playoff matches to be played this month in a single-elimination format for qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying, "As a country, we really need to participate in the World Cup. Our country and our national team absolutely deserve to go to the World Cup. We have a very high-quality national team, very talented young players, and our pride. We have brothers playing football all over Europe. We have a national team that is quality, young, and eager for success. We showed this abundantly in the European Championship, and I believe we will surpass that if we qualify for the World Cup. There is also the advantage of playing the first match at home against Romania. I believe we are a more quality team, and I have no doubt that we will comfortably pass the round in Istanbul. Then, we will face the winner of Slovakia-Kosovo. It may seem difficult to play away, but I trust the strength and quality of the team. Whoever the opponent is, we will definitely go to the World Cup," he said.
''WE JOKE, WE TALK AMONG US''
The national player, who stated that they discussed the Romania matchup with his Romanian teammate Valentin Mihaila at Çaykur Rizespor, said, "We joke, we talk among us. Mihaila is really a very quality player. We joke, but I know he is afraid of us, I am aware of that. He also says how strong our national team is. We have players playing in the best teams in the world. Everyone talks about the quality of our national team. Even a player from Romania's national team said, 'We were scared when you came out, we didn't want you to come out last.' We have become such a national team. That's why we need to go to the World Cup; if we do, I believe we can relive the 2002 World Cup," he expressed.
''WE WILL FIGHT IN EVERY WAY, NO PROBLEM''
Emphasizing that they have no concerns about any opponent, Samet Akaydin stated, "To be honest, it wouldn't matter to me. (Regarding the Slovakia-Kosovo matchup) I don't think there is much difference between the two. They are almost at the same level; Slovakia seems to be a slightly tougher team, but we also have player styles that can play both tough and quality football. We have such a wide squad. We will fight in every way. No problem at all. With God's permission, we have no concerns about anyone."
''IF WE GO TO THE WORLD CUP, WE WILL EASILY ADVANCE FROM THE GROUP''
Samet expressed that every national football player would want to go to the World Cup, continuing: "These are not things that happen all the time, not every player gets the chance. My biggest dream is to go to the World Cup. Perhaps after realizing this dream, there will be nothing left for me to look back on and say I should have done this too. That's why I really want to go to the World Cup. I am ready to do whatever it takes for that. Hopefully, we will go there and make our country happy together. We have young players playing in Turkey who want to showcase themselves in the World Cup and go to the best teams in Europe. We also want to play in the World Cup in our final stages. It is very important for us. If we cannot qualify, of course, we will be very sad. Because our national team truly deserves to go. There is great interest in football in our country, and there is no tolerance for failure; we want to go to the World Cup, succeed, and relieve the country. We have seen the teams in the group. If we go to the World Cup, I believe we will easily advance from that group. Therefore, we absolutely need to go to the World Cup; we have no other choice. I always want to play against the best, quality players, the best strikers in the world. I want to play against the best strikers in the world in the World Cup. For us, the European Championship was left unfinished; we could have gone further. We want to succeed in this unfinished story in the World Cup and go beyond the European Championship. Because there is really that potential."
''I RECEIVED TRANSFER OFFERS FROM ALL FOUR BIG CLUBS''
Samet Akaydin, who started football at Trabzon Idman Ocağı Sports Club and has worn the jerseys of Trabzonspor's youth team, Boluspor, Arsinspor, Sancaktepe, Şanlıurfaspor, Keçiörengücü, Adana Demirspor, Fenerbahçe, and Çaykur Rizespor, said, "There is no league in Turkey where I haven't played. I have experienced championships in every league except for the Super League." He spoke about important points in his career:
"We experienced championship at Adana Demirspor, we were promoted to the Super League. We built an incredible team, Balotelli, Belhanda, Vargas… We had a rough start in the first four weeks of the Super League with Coach Samet, we had zero points. During that time, I was entering the squad but not playing; Coach Samet was replaced by Coach Montella, who did not include me in the squad. I told the coach, 'I want to play; they never played me before you, but now I want a chance.' He said, 'I don't know you, I will see; training is important for me.' We talked, and I said, 'You will see, if you let me play, I will take the jersey, and I won't give it to anyone again.' The next week, there was a match against Rizespor; my first Super League match, the first match I played in the starting eleven was against Çaykur Rizespor. I performed incredibly. After that, he played me in every match, and I gained the coach's trust. The next year, I became the first stopper, and I was even given the captaincy. I had the honor of captaining such a quality team. During the winter break, very good offers came from Trabzon and Beşiktaş; they didn't let me go. Coach Montella also didn't allow me to leave, saying something like if he goes, I will go too. After being called up to the national team, offers came from Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. Fenerbahçe was more financially appealing. This time, the coach couldn't say anything because the club was in a bad situation at that time, and they had to sell me. My adventure at Fenerbahçe began."
''I WAS AFRAID OF COACH JESUS''
Samet, who has worked with important coaches like Montella, Jesus, Fatih Terim, and Mourinho, made the following comments:
"Incredible coaches. Looking at the names, not everyone gets the chance to work with such coaches. I have worked with very great coaches. I learned something from each of them; they were all very quality, and I had a good relationship with them; they liked me a lot. Because I am a disciplined player, I only do my job, I do my extra work, and I go home. I don't have a nature that is involved in discussions or arguments. I was disciplined. Coaches also like disciplined players, and I was just doing my job. It was very nice to work with such coaches. They all have a common feature; when they believe in and trust a player, they don't let them go. I was afraid of Coach Jesus. I was seriously afraid of Coach Jesus. Not just me, many people were afraid. If you did something wrong in training, he would immediately shout and kick you out of training.
I was trembling like this, I was trembling with fear while going to Samandıra. We will work on the offside system in training... Working on the offside system is so difficult that it is very hard. When you make a small mistake, it breaks you down, and he gets very angry. But he was a very high-quality coach. I really liked him. He was a very good coach, but as I said, he was very angry. We were afraid of him. "
''THERE ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY NOT BEING ABLE TO BECOME CHAMPIONS IN F. BAHÇE''
Samet Akaydin expressed the following about his Fenerbahçe adventure not going as expected: "There are also psychological problems caused by not being able to become champions in Fenerbahçe for years. The pressure on the audience, the feeling of not being able to become champions, there is a pressure felt by the player. I came to a point where I was transferred the day after Fenerbahçe lost to Galatasaray at home. In fact, I felt that I would achieve a lot, I came with that belief. But some things just don't happen in some places. Actually, the first season didn't go very badly. In the second term, İsmail Hoca had come, and to be honest, we couldn't get along with İsmail Hoca. We didn't really connect in terms of football. There is no such thing as everyone getting along with everyone in football. I wanted to leave, they didn't let me at the beginning of the season, I wanted to leave during the mid-season, I had to go on loan to Panathinaikos. I really wanted to be successful in Fenerbahçe, to experience championships. I went to Fenerbahçe willingly. I went because Jorge coach wanted me very much, but it didn't happen. I wish I could turn back time and achieve better success in Fenerbahçe. People want that, I want it too, but sometimes it just doesn't happen."