The Dortmund symbol shines in Bahrain as a coach: Nuri Shaheen leads Turkey strongly

Friday 17 December 2021

The BVB icon shines as a coach
Nuri Sahin stormed Turkey

Written by Gerrit Klebohemer

When Nuri Sahin is no longer needed in the Bundesliga, he moves to Turkey. Now he is pleased with the Premier League – not as a player, but as a coach. The 33-year-old is climbing in Antalyaspor overnight. Hymns of praise have not stopped since then.

Big lap here, two fists in the direction of the crowd there. Then a cheer across half of the square, another warm hug. If you look at Nuri Shaheen’s Twitter account these days, you will see a young coach who is clearly enjoying his work.

Temporary climax: Şahinsports defeated previously undefeated leader Trabzonspor in the 16th round with a score of 2:1 (1:1). High Flying Coach Abdullah Avci’s team has not lost in the Turkish House of Lords since mid-March.

But the underdog team did not only show morale at home after losing Andreas Cornelius 1-0. Sahin’s side were the better team for extended periods of the game and the favorites were repeatedly forced into mistakes through successful pressing actions. A penalty kick and an own goal by the visitors turned the game around in the end in favor of the hosts.

Sahin, who went to Turkey in 2020 after leaving Werder Bremen to end his career at Antalyaspor, was surprisingly promoted to player coach in October following the sacking of Ersun Yanal. Until then, the club from the Mediterranean capital – with the long-time BVB professional as captain in the center of the field – had scored just one win out of eight matches.

“I started playing very attractive football”

With Shaheen on the touchline, the turnaround was accomplished with 13 points in eight other matches. Since then, the coach, as a homegrown offspring, has captured the hearts of BVB fans, barely able to save himself from the praise. “When Nuri Sahin took office, we started playing very attractive football,” club president Aziz Cetin said after the coup against Trabzonspor. The new coach is attracting more and more spectators to the stadium. “I hope the Turkish press will see the change,” Cetin said. “We are in the process of giving Turkish football a new coach.”

It was also clear to the Trabzonspor coach that the first defeat of the season was mainly due to the former First Division star. “Before the match, I shared my thoughts about Nuri Sahin. His team has grown steadily since he took office,” the former national team coach said.

“Thank you so much for your kind words before and after yesterday’s game,” the critically acclaimed acclaimed, who incidentally, in his first eight matches as the person in charge, has not been replaced alone, replied via Twitter. Additionally, the BVB audience favorite shared a photo showing him with a big smile. It is clear that Nuri Shaheen is enjoying his work at the moment. The next win could already follow on Saturday against Demirspor. With three points, Antalyaspor will overtake ninth place in the table.