Socceroo Aziz Behich wins first league championship with rising Turkish giants Basaksehir
Socceroo Aziz Behich had to keep pinching himself after he became a part of history when his club, Basaksehir, broke the stranglehold of the three biggest clubs in Turkey to win their first championship.
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Driving through an intoxicating sea of flares, fireworks and a deafening motorcade of the club’s swelling supporter base, Socceroo Aziz Behich became instantly aware of the enormity of what his side, Instanbul Basaksehir, had achieved this season.
Not only had the rising power of Turkish football claimed their first league championship, they’d enacted a powershift – having broken up the powerful stranglehold of the city’s big three clubs, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas, who between them had won 34 of the previous 35 Super Lig titles.
Even in a COVID-19 world, with the social distancing and various restrictions it brings with it, the breakthrough win sparked wild celebrations on the streets of Istanbul.
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“It was special – we created history,” Behich said.
“After our last game they had a double-decker bus for us with the roof open, and we had cars driving by with us, motorbikes, guys holding flares.
“In general they’re very passionate people. But this country when it comes to football, it’s really something different.”
About last night! CHAMPS!! 🔶🔷🔶🆠pic.twitter.com/nhIxXA1ZKG
— Aziz Behich (@AzizBehich) July 27, 2020
THE RISE TO POWER
But it hadn’t always been this way for Basaksehir. The club’s rise has followed that of the controversial President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, notably the team’s most high-profile fan and the man whose name adorns the team’s home ground.
Their rebranding, under new ownership, in 2014 – the same year Erdogan was elected president — has been heavily backed by Edogran’s Justice and Development Party and has enjoyed a meteoric rise.
An influx of star signings and a raft of top-four finishes has followed and last week culminated in a maiden title – not just for Basaksehir, but also for Behich.
ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ†ðŸ† pic.twitter.com/DS3Z34tVjm
— Aziz Behich (@AzizBehich) July 19, 2020
When the 29-year-old arrived in May last year, he was sold on the long-term vision outlined by club president Göksel Gümüşdağ who couldn’t have been clearer: winning the league was the only option.
“With our owners and our board, they took over only six years ago and created a good culture here. It only took them six years to win a title,” Behich said. “In Europe now a lot of teams are starting to recognise us more.”
SUPERSTAR TEAMMATES
Behich pinches himself every day at sharing a locker room with the likes of Martin Skrtl, Demba Ba, Robinho and Gokhan Ihner.
“A guy from Melbourne, Broadmeadows, I never really thought I’d be playing with players of this calibre and winning titles with them,” he said.
“These guys have played at the top in the Premier League, Serie A, Spanish league, World Cups. The standard at training is high every day. And we push each other.”
AUSSIES CONQUERING THE WORLD
Behich became the fourth Australian to win titles overseas this year – joining Tom Rogic (Celtic, Scotland), Milos Degenek (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia) and Awer Mabil (FC Midtjylland, Denmark).
“It’s something special. It’s not something that comes around very often for players,” Behich said. “For me, at club level, it’s my first one. I’ve got one with the national team but at club level I had two chances to win a Cup with Bursaspor and I lost both, so that hurt.”
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Basaksehir’s next goal is to take over Europe. They have bold Champions League ambitions, having already secured a spot in next year’s lucrative tournament, and will this week face Copenhagen – having won the first leg 1-0 – with a spot in the Europa League final on the line, where they would likely meet English giants Manchester United.