Ardaturanismo? Barcelona will have to wait and see in January
Just before the assembled photographers, many of whom had flown in especially from Turkey, began to melt in the baking heat, Arda Turan strolled out of the Camp Nou tunnel. Bearded and grinning, he began to launch balls into over 3000 fans who had come to watch him be presented as a Barcelona player. His first ball dropped onto the decking of the pitch side restaurant at the Catalan club's famous home, but the next seven or eight balls found their target. Each one was enthusiastically fought over by fans young and old, sporting Barça, Galatasaray and Turkey shirts. Back on the pitch, Arda was clearly enjoying his new surroundings.
"There were many offers, but if there is a proposal from Barça, you have to reject everything else," the Turkish international had said a short while earlier in the club's press room. His agent, Ahmet Bulut, confirmed to SPORT that two of those offers had come from Manchester United and Chelsea. Arda, though, only had eyes for one club, even if that meant taking a break from competitive football until January. "It will be difficult for six months," he admitted, "but it will go quickly and I will soon be wearing the Barça shirt, which is a dream for me."
Ah, that old line. It's trotted out by 74 percent of players these days that it's a dream to play for their new club. However, in the case of Barcelona and Real Madrid, we should probably afford the newbie the benefit of the doubt — who doesn't want to play for one of La Liga's giants? In any case, what can't be disputed is Arda's joy at completing a 34 million euro move from Atletico Madrid to join up with Luis Enrique's side.
During his introduction, he spoke exclusively in Turkish. At one point, he was asked if he could respond in English or Spanish, but he ignored the request, choosing to answer the question in his native tongue once again. There was nothing rude about his desire to stick to what he knew best, though, even if he has been living in Spain for four years. Given that his signing has been grumbled at by some of the candidates in Barça's ongoing presidential elections and that he could still be sold back to Atletico (he won't), it was perhaps natural he didn't want to be misquoted or tripped up.
Luckily, Luis Enrique was keen on forcing the transfer through, regardless of the fact Barcelona do not currently have a board in place to make transfers. "Luis Enrique called, which I was really happy about. He said we can work together, which I like, he wanted me here in the team," Arda said. "He's special, too, he won three titles last season and I am looking forward to working with him. I am going to try and live up to his expectations; I won't let him down. [Andres] Iniesta also sent me a message, I loved that."
Arda also called Iniesta his "idol" and said he hopes to play in a front five alongside him, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar completing the quintet. His praise for Messi was predictably effusive, but despite the language barrier, there were clear signs that he will add plenty of character and charm to this Barça side both on and off the pitch — as he did during his four year stay with Atletico in the Spanish capital.
"Throwing the boot was a mistake!" he admitted, in reference to the last season's Copa del Rey clash against Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon, when he felt it apt to launch one of his size nines at the assistant referee. We can file that incident under 'character' for now, or maybe it can be squeezed in with #ardaturansimo? "That's my philosophy, my culture, my way of thinking," Arda explained about the slogan which now has it's own hashtag. "It's a lifestyle."
As an Atletico fan caught the last ball Arda punted into the crowd — "if I am here today, they have to be credited for that," he said of his former side — the 28-year-old made his way back down the tunnel. #ardaturansimo will be confined to the dressing room and the training pitches for now; in January, Barça fans can look forward to seeing it spill into competitive football.
