“I’m safe in Russia”: interview with a Turkish legend who settled in Kazan

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Turkish and Russian football star Gökdeniz Karadeniz told in an interview with Sport why he so wanted to return to Russia, whether he dreams of a Russian passport, how to boost Russian football under sanctions and when to expect Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Kazan.

«Why not get Russian citizenship»
— You built a magnificent mosque near Kazan. Is this your home now?

— Before the mosque, I played football in Kazan for a very long time and lived here. With Rubin I won trophies and achieved great success; this is what connected me most with the city and the republic. Of course, after the construction of the mosque, I became even closer to Kazan.

— There has not been an official opening yet. Are you waiting for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

— Yes, there were such plans, but it is too early to talk about it now. Of course, we wanted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to open the mosque, so there has been no official opening yet, but it is already working around the clock. If Erdogan is in Russia, we want — and we are negotiating for this — for him to visit our mosque and officially open it.

— Are you comfortable in Kazan in terms of faith? Both Muslims and Christians live here, is there no misunderstanding?

— Representatives of many religions actually live in Kazan: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. They are in their religion and do not put any pressure on others. Not only do I feel comfortable from a religious point of view, but so do all the residents of Kazan.

— You did not remain indifferent after earthquakes in Turkey and organized a collection of humanitarian aid in the mosque, and also sold their T-shirt at auction for donations. Do you often get asked for something?

— Yes, we provided assistance after the earthquake. And requests for assistance are always coming in, including from Turkey. I try to pay more attention to global and large-scale situations and help whenever possible.

— Did you help the football players?

— As you know, I am the head coach of the Rubin-2 team, I help them, namely, I share my experience and knowledge, and not only on football topics. But I can’t say that any of the football players asked me for anything. Maybe someone is just embarrassed.

— Gökdeniz, why did you decide to connect your life with Russia after finishing your football career?

— I played here for 11 years, and there was a lot of success. I had two children here, this plays a big role. When you are respected in the country, loved by the locals, you yourself begin to love and respect them. There is nothing special why I decided to live here. I just feel very comfortable here.

— Why do you like it so much in Kazan, Russia? Now many foreigners, including foreign football players, are trying not to come to our country due to the geopolitical situation, but you have returned. When you agreed to head Rubin-2, were there any safety concerns?

— No safety concerns. I didn’t look at the legionnaires who were leaving Russia. I always had contacts here, and I always knew that everything was fine here. When the offer came from the management of Rubin, I immediately agreed, because I knew that they would help and support me here. Moreover, Türkiye is not far away; planes fly constantly. I feel safe in Russia.

— Do you feel like a relocant?

— I can say with confidence that Kazan is my second home.

— We didn’t think so, where will you spend your old age? In Turkey or in Kazan?

— I’m still far from old age, so I didn’t think about it. Now I'm thinking about how to win a lot of trophies, that's my goal for the coming years. When I win all this, then I will think about what to do in retirement.

— Then what about obtaining Russian citizenship?

— Until today, I didn’t think about it, but on the other hand, I never received such offers. I now notice that many people are receiving a second citizenship. You can think about it, why not get it.

«I would like to go into a duel against Semak's team»
— After finishing your career, you were not invited to Rubin, although you really wanted to. But when the leadership changed, the invitation came. Was it the old management? Did you have any conflicts with Rustem Saimanov?

— This was the past leadership. What happened and what didn’t happen, I don’t want to talk about this topic.

— Do you keep in touch with your former teammates?

< br>— Sometimes we communicate. We talked with Semak several times, sometimes I see Kuzmin and Bukharov here.

—What is Semak’s secret? Six championships! Still, coaching talent or the financial capabilities of the club make the difference?

— In recent years, Semak has been one of the best coaches in Russia. Yes, the club has great financial opportunities, but without the professionalism of the coach there would not have been six championships.

— Would you like to compete with Semak? Go out to a duel against him.

—Yes, of course! I think this will happen someday.

«The reason for the poor level of football in Russia is sanctions»
— They say that in Turkey a lot is tied to management rivalry, when one boss competes with another, one buys a star, then another. Because of this, old coaches work, and there is no serious result in Europe, although there is money. Is this really so?

— In Turkey, everyone loves football very much: both politicians and artists. Everyone talks about football, it is sometimes criticized, sometimes praised. And there is really a lot of competition between the teams, and rightly so. I do not agree that our clubs only lure star players; young, promising foreign players also come to us. In recent years, Turkish clubs have been performing well in European competitions. Yes, these are not quarter-finals or semi-finals, but overall they show the level of play. Our team qualified for the Euro. I believe that there is a trend for development and improvement.

— Do you see a trend for improvement in Russian football?

— There are some reasons why Russian football has fallen so low in its level. The main reason is that Russia was suspended from international tournaments. I think this has a strong impact on development, there is a deteriorating trend. But there may be a good point here. You can take advantage of this situation and focus on the education of your players. You can now focus on academies, build a system, while sanctions exist, this will definitely be beneficial in the future.

— Do you think FIFA and UEFA are acting fairly when they suspend Russian football players? Do you understand why they do this?

—I think this is wrong. This decision is unfair. From the very beginning I didn’t understand why this was necessary and I still don’t understand. This is politics. My opinion is that sport should not be politicized, sport should be separate from politics. Athletes should not be punished with sanctions because of politics. Nobody has the right to this.

— What do you think about this opinion, in particular that of the head coach of the Russian national team Valery Karpin, that young Russian players should go to Europe and play there in order to progress faster?

— I support Valery Karpin’s opinion, it’s right. Playing in foreign championships is a big boost to a football player’s career, and it will also help develop the Russian championship.

— What’s the difference between a Turkish fan and a Russian fan? How can we bring back the fan movement in Russia that was once so active?

— There are some good fans in Russia too, for example, in Krasnodar, Zenit and Moscow clubs. There is one rule here: if a team plays well, is successful and shows beautiful football, then there will be fans. But when talking about Turkish and Russian fans, we must understand one thing: in Turkey, football is in first place, there are no alternatives. Even in the first league, teams play in front of 40 thousand fans. And in Russia there are many popular sports. For example, you have a lot of people watching and going to hockey, perhaps in Russia hockey is in first place.