Yet so far, we have overlooked the foreign relations story that has gripped the nation. It has been left to our colleague Udo Bassey, from the sports pages of Today's Zaman, to show us, ever so gently, the error of our ways. It was Udo who reported the decision of the popular İstanbul soccer team Fenerbahçe to distribute 8 figure checks (we are talking euros) in order to import more Brazilian players. I write “more” because there are already many of them on the team. Andre Clarindo dos Santos and Cristian Oliveira Baroni, both from Corinthians, now join five other Brazilian passport holders on Fenerbahçe. The number of “Samba-ites” (as they are known in the Turkish press) rose to eight if you count Wederson Luiz da Silva Medeiro. Like the renegade soldiers of yore who changed sides and often religions to join the Ottoman army, Medeiro dropped his “w” and took on Turkish nationality to become Ali Osman Gökçek Vederson. This was in a previous incarnation playing for Ankaraspor and the name “Gökçek” was a feudal tribute to the mayor of that city and honorary chairman of the club -- Melih Gökçek.
Read no further if you are expecting an analysis of how this influx of South American talent will affect Fenerbahçe's chances next season. My knowledge of soccer is finite. What impresses me in this context is the total lack of hesitation which the (German) manager of the team displays in recruiting from abroad. To state the obvious, soccer is a passion for many Turks, and while a Fenerbahçe supporter might place God and country above loyalty to the team, only a fool would bet on it.
So why is that on a subject so close to their hearts, the populace is prepared to forgo national pride and yet on other subjects the same people behave with nationalist ardor bordering on the xenophobic? I do not care that much about soccer, but I am interested in archaeology. I'm not the only one, I know, but one has only to look at the destruction done to the historical peninsula of İstanbul to understand that the preservation of cultural heritage occupies a far less important place in policymakers' minds than who will win the cup. Yet rather than import the best people to do the job, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism now insists that there can be no foreign directors of archaeological projects -- or more accurately, that such projects must have a Turkish co-director. The implication must be that foreigners cannot be trusted to work by themselves. Imagine the fuss if the soccer league decreed that when a Brazilian player gets the ball, he can only pass to a bona fide Turkish national.
This fear of foreigners has obviously influenced the Constitutional Court to suspend the law that would allow the outsourcing of land mine clearance on the Syrian border to a foreign, possibly Israeli, firm. Yet if soccer teams are happy to outsource to other nations, why not other fields of endeavor? It is clear that the leader of the opposition is really past his shelf life, doesn't know how to play a team game or pass to other players. And when things aren't going his way he rolls on the ground, shouting foul to the referees in the Constitutional Court. If the Republican People's Party (CHP) can't produce another leader from within their ranks why not import one from, well maybe not Brazil, but Sweden or Estonia? They missed their chance to obtain a candidate capable of beating Tayyip when Hillary Clinton lost the primary to Obama. It's not too late. They could offer the job to Bill as long as he promised to change his name to Baykal Clinton.
