The era of former Fenerbahçe captain-playmaker Alex de Sousa came to a conclusion on Friday when the beloved clean-shaven Brazilian and his family boarded a plane at İstanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport and returned for good to their native country.
It is true that no empire lasts forever and so Alex was bound to leave Fenerbahçe and İstanbul some day. However, it was his unceremonious departure that has angered friend and foe alike. And the long convoy of buses along with thousands of faithful fans who escorted Alex to the airport on Friday served to show Alex had penetrated the hearts of so many football lovers in this country — Fenerbahçe or anti-Fenerbahçe, male or female.On the eve of his departure on Thursday, Alex was received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the historic Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul, which showed the respect the Brazilian commanded in this country. Erdoğan, a Fenerbahçe fan, thanked Alex for his contribution and the services he rendered to the club over eight years.
Alex played in 245 league matches for Fenerbahçe, thereby becoming the foreign player who has made the most appearances for the team. He scored Fenerbahçe’s 3,000th goal against Bucaspor in 2010-11 and that same season netted against Gaziantepspor for his 100th league goal.
He scored 19 goals in 2006-07 to become the first foreign player to be crowned goal king in Turkey and scored 28 goals in 2010-2011 to be crowned goal king a second time. And with 15 goals in 61 European outings, Alex is the top Fener scorer of all time in Europe.
All in all, Alex scored 136 goals in all competitions for Fenerbahçe — just four short of the 140 that were scored by current coach Aykut Kocaman.
Alex, a statue of whom was recently erected in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district by the Fenerbahçe club, was sacked from Fenerbahçe following disagreements with coach Kocaman. Apparently the clash between the two was not new: Alex said he and Kocaman began having problems soon after Kocaman started as coach. The Brazilian said they had differing views on training, which he feels is necessary for a team to improve itself.
“A boat can’t have two captains,” and the Fenerbahçe club took a high risk in terminating Alex’s contract by mutual consent three weeks ago. The gamble, however, has paid off as the Yellow Canaries won two in a row after Alex’s exit. They bashed Borussia Möchengladbach 4-2 away in the UEFA Europa League and walloped Beşiktaş 3-0 in an İstanbul derby. And so, Alex’s antagonist Kocaman, for the time being, has won both the battle and the war. But “no condition is permanent,” the Africans say.
Sunday’s Zaman wishes Alex all the best in his future endeavors.
Did Alex leave because of Metris?
Fener coach Kocaman, midfielder Emre Belözoğlu and keeper Volkan Demirel paid a visit to Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım, who was serving time in prison because of a match-rigging investigation, in the months following his incarceration, whereas team captain Alex de Souza headed to Metris three months after the others. It is argued that Yıldırım got upset by this and that he decided to sack him then.
On June 26, 2012, Fenerbahçe coach Kocaman made the following statement: “This season, Alex will spend less time in the games.” But Alex was on vacation at the time. Belözoğlu was no longer on the team and Raul Meireles, Milos Krasic and Mehmet Topal had not yet been transferred. Whether Joseph Yobo would stay was not clear. Only Dirk Kuyt had been acquired. In addition, the preseason preparations had not started yet. Yıldırım would get out of prison one week later. Kocaman’s statement was therefore surprising. At a time when Javier Zanetti was still playing in Inter at age 39, the statement indicating that Alex would not be considered as an indispensable part of the team despite the fact that he was 35 raised some questions.
But it was obvious that Kocaman did not like Alex from the beginning. A statement he made right after his recruitment as a coach that “Alex has been here for five years, but Fenerbahçe has won the league title only once” suggested that he was not considering Alex on his team. Was it proper to make such a statement based on the performance of the team and the performance of a certain player? In that season, Alex was benched for the first five weeks.
Halfway through the season, Fenerbahçe was nine points behind leader Trabzonspor. The team showed an incredible performance in the second half, winning 16 out of 17 games and becoming champion in the league. Alex de Souza scored 28 goals in 33 games and contributed extensively to the success of the team by his assists as well. But Kocaman was not able to enjoy this championship because Yıldırım frequently implied that he made the greatest contribution to the team’s performance as he instructed the coach to include Alex on the team. True, Yıldırım interfered with Kocaman’s business and, in the end, Kocaman had to consider this player in his plans despite the fact that he was not so eager to do so at the beginning of the season.
The match-rigging operation that started on July 3, 2011 was the first stage of the process of Alex and Yıldırım falling apart. The captain was not at the press conference held at the beginning of the operation where leading players Belözoğlu and Demirel as well as coach Kocaman attended. Even though he said they won the title fair and square, Alex only once criticized the judicial process. On May 12, 2012, he made the following statement: “I won’t share my views on the investigation because I believe that I will become a cellmate to the chair if I express my views in my way.”
This was not Alex’s greatest sin. He did not pay a visit to Yıldırım in Metris in the initial days of the investigation. He did not respond to an invitation by Volkan and Belözoğlu on this matter. Alex visited the chairman three months later. This is why Yıldırım was angry at Alex. The chairman, who had protected Alex before, decided to take Kocaman’s side. And the coach was aware of this. In the most critical game of the Super Final last year, he did not include Alex in the starting lineup in the game with Galatasaray in Kadıköy.
Kocaman seemed to have forgotten Alex’s pass to Ziegler in the first game with Galatasaray in the Super Final. Fenerbahçe defeated its opponent at the Türk Telekom Arena thanks to Alex’s great performance. However, Kocaman wanted to win an Alex-less victory. He wanted to do this by keeping Alex on the bench despite the Brazilian player being better in home games. But the team lost the championship.
It was already obvious that the 2012-13 season would be the most difficult. Kocaman was aware that the chairman was no longer supportive of Alex. The ground was all set for an operation against the Brazilian player. However, he was doing everything a professional player should do and was working hard in the camps and exercise sessions. Kocaman started the season with him; Alex was on the squad in the Championship League game with Romanian team Vaslui. However, the next game was in Moscow with Spartak Moscow. Ten days before the game, Kocaman told Alex that he would not be included in the starting team.
A coach was telling one of his players his views 10 days before the game. Moreover, the coach’s excuse was interesting. He was not pleased with Alex’s performance. However, he would include him in the starting team in the Super Cup game against Galatasaray in Erzurum.
Kocaman did not call him in the squad in the game against Gaziantepspor; the fans expressed visible support for Alex in the game between Fenerbahçe and Gaziantep on Aug. 26, where the female spectators chanted in favor of Alex. Chairman Yıldırım for the first time implied that he was no longer supportive of Alex in this game. He took the microphone in his hands and replied to the fans in the stadium. At the beginning of the week, he held a meeting with Alex where he strongly criticized him.
Kocaman included Alex in the team in the second leg of the game with Spartak Moscow on Aug. 30. However, the coach kept him on the bench in the game. Alex was called into the game when Fenerbahçe was 1-0 behind. Alex contributed to the team effort. The result was a tie.
Subsequently, a statue of Alex was erected in Yoğurtçu Park; however, Yıldırım did not attend the opening ceremony but Kocaman was there. In a live program aired on NTV, Yıldırım said Alex was not a legend.
But Yıldırım was not aware that Alex was a legend to Fenerbahçe fans. He was not aware of his model family life, his extensive contribution to the performance of the team via his goals and assists, his professionalism and most importantly his communication with the Fenerbahçe fans in social media.
The attitude of Yıldırım and Kocaman was the picture of the old Turkey. In the past, such things used to take place and the fans used to remain indifferent to it because social media was not so influential. However, in the new Turkey, people are more alert to and aware of what is going on. The Fenerbahçe fans extended support to their captain. Most of the supporters were women because of his model family life. Not only did Fenerbahçe fans support Alex in this process, but so did fans of other teams.
All in all, the crisis started with Kocaman and reached a peak when Alex reluctantly paid a visit to the chairman in Metris. The crisis concluded when the chairman withdrew his support for the Brazilian player. The Fenerbahçe fans did not forget the circumstances under which Kocaman and Oğuz Çetin were fired in 1996; this time, it seems that they will not forget how Alex has been treated in this process and the fact that Yıldırım made the final call in this crisis.
