For those who have not watched the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece yet, "Dr. Strangelove" depicts the Cold War era with both the U.S. and the Soviet Union on high nuclear alert. Kubrick mocks the lunatic generals and militaristic philosophy with utmost absurdity and the comedy arises from the fact that the reality was as absurd as the movie.
Now, when I see Fatih Terim being appointed as the Galatasaray coach for the fourth time, I understand the movie and the irrational fear which it mocks much better. Just like Dr. Strangelove, regardless of the situation of a team, Terim's arrival is always a backward move, both ethically and strategically.
Imagine, Igor Tudor's Galatasaray was just a point behind the league leader Başakşehir but his team played one of the most innovative games in the Super League until his sacking. The Galatasaray administration was never eager to give Tudor another chance despite showing some obvious promise. Rather, he faced harsh criticism from the media, and it seemed that regardless of his success, there were some people who needed room for their unemployed friends.
This reminds me of another movie, "Schindler's List." In Spielberg's take on the dramatic story of Oskar Schindler, we see our protagonist slowly buying the friendship of all German officers to have more influence on them. This validates one of the ugliest truths in human nature, if you do not buy powerful friends, you can be destroyed at any moment despite your success.
Just like all the other foreign coaches in Turkey, Tudor did not understand how powerful the Turkish media is. You will never see them criticize a Turkish coach, especially if they are powerful enough to storm a restaurant, like Terim. Nevertheless, poor foreign coaches do not understand the basic fact about Turkish football that here we do not play football for football's sake, but to take credit for the success.
I also read a strange comment in one of the columns, jubilant about Terim's new job: "President Dursun Özbek took a huge step [for the championship] by bringing the right coach and Mehmet Ağar, who Fatih Terim respects deeply, to the executive board."
Now, for those who do not know who Mehmet Ağar is, Google is always at your service. But the only thing I can say is that Galatasaray made the worst possible move to go backward. It bought the ticket to old Turkey where football was much simpler.
However, the world and Turkey are not the same as they were in the beginning of the millennium, and Galatasaray takes a huge gamble by returning to their old codes. While their rivals, Başakşehir, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş all have progressive agendas, the Lions aimed for short-term and easy success. If the world has not changed a bit and it is as absurd as Kubrick described, maybe we can see Terim speaking in joy at the end of the season, saying: Mehmet, brother, I can walk!
