Arda Turan and Emre Belözoğlu Face Off Again in the Champions League

Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Arda Turan and Fenerbahçe's new head coach Emre Belözoğlu will meet again, this time not in the Süper Lig but in the Champions League. The match will be played on Wednesday, 25 November at 23:00 at Stamford Bridge in England.

Speaking after Shakhtar's 1-0 defeat to Sporting, Turan said he and Belözoğlu would enjoy a Champions League-level encounter. He described Belözoğlu as a friend who holds a very important place in his life, and with whom he developed a brotherly bond during their playing days.

Turan said the Fenerbahçe match would be exciting and noted that since his childhood, the team he has most wanted to compete against is Fenerbahçe. He said he does not hate them and that he experienced the greatest excitement of their rivalry against this club. Regardless of the score, he said, the match would be one of the most beautiful memories of his life.

Belözoğlu made 227 appearances for Fenerbahçe, wore the captain's armband, and won the Süper Lig, the Turkish Cup and the Super Cup twice each with the yellow-and-navy club. He began his coaching career as interim head coach at Fenerbahçe. At the end of the 2020-21 season, in 10 matches under him, the team recorded 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat. Most recently, he took Kasımpaşa to 5th place after Week 10, one point ahead of Fenerbahçe.

Last season, in Week 37 of the Süper Lig, Arda Turan's Eyüpspor beat Belözoğlu's Antalyaspor 2-1 at the Kasımpaşa Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium. During the match, when a reporter began with “Your ages are close, but...”, Belözoğlu replied, “Don't say our ages are close, don't upset him.” Turan responded, “You look better than me,” and Belözoğlu answered, “It burns you on the outside and me on the inside.” Turan jokingly remarked, “They'll edit this and put music behind it.”