While Turkey is shaken by a betting scandal, the tremors are passing Fenerbahce Istanbul by. Sportingly, Domenico Tedesco’s team is setting exclamation marks. The German-Italian is providing calm within the club.
Turkish football is experiencing one of its darkest chapters. The association has now referred over 1,000 players to the disciplinary commission for alleged betting offenses, and 149 referees have been suspended. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating several referees; one referee is said to have had over 18,000 betting transactions, according to the Turkish Football Association.
The consequences are serious: amateur matches have been temporarily suspended, and affected clubs are struggling to completely rebuild their squads. The tremors extend to the Süper Lig, the country’s highest league.
Domenico Tedesco has been the coach of Fenerbahçe since the beginning of September
The scale of the scandal is also causing a stir internationally. For former Turkish national player and former Borussia Dortmund offensive player, Erdal Keser, the extent is not just a Turkish phenomenon.
Keser: “This problem exists everywhere”
“I am sure that there are similar problems in all other countries. As long as betting providers are legally accepted by the associations, this problem will exist everywhere – only covertly or tacitly tolerated in some countries,” says the 64-year-old to SPORT1 .
One club that remains unaffected by the allegations and is shining in sporting terms is Fenerbahce Istanbul. On the last matchday, the team won 5:2 in Rize and consolidated second place in the Süper Lig.
Remarkably, Fenerbahce seems stable like never before precisely in a phase where chaos prevails in many places. No player of the club appears in the investigations – a point that Keser expressly emphasizes: “Fenerbahce is one of the most important football cultures in Turkey, besides or after Galatasaray, and is rightly kept out of this unnecessary discussion.”
Tedesco gives Fenerbahce a clear line
The man behind the new stability is Domenico Tedesco. As a coach, the German-Italian has given the team a clear structure and mental calm. He has tactically tightened the team in a short time, disciplined it, and formed it into a cohesive unit for the first time in years.
The fact that this change is anything but a matter of course is shown by looking back: Not even four weeks after taking office, Tedesco was already heavily criticized. The 40-year-old came as the successor to José Mourinho, which raised expectations enormously.
Internally and externally, the question was asked whether a methodical, analytical trainer like Tedesco fits into an emotional environment like Istanbul.
Tedesco believes in basic idea
The fact that this question is no longer an issue is mainly due to the fact that Tedesco did not give up his basic idea – and the club management showed him the necessary patience.
“It’s not easy on the Bosphorus – the people there are all crazy about football,” says Helge Leonhardt to SPORT1 . The former president of Erzgebirge Aue has known Tedesco since his early coaching years and sees himself as his mentor.
In 2017, Tedesco worked in Aue, where he stabilized the team in a difficult phase. Leonhardt describes him as a “coach with head, heart, and attitude.” A crucial factor here is trust.
Domenico Tedesco (l.) and Helge Leonhardt in 2018
“Good that he got time from the president and the management to settle in,” says Leonhardt. “Now he has proven that he is the right one.”
Companion warnings: “Over time, this effect wears off”
Keser sees Tedesco’s influence as imperative, but also qualifies: “Tedesco is always very successful in the first year at the club because he was able to inspire the players with his technical and theoretical knowledge. Over time, however, this effect wears off.”
There are enough examples of this. With Schalke 04, Tedesco became runner-up, but had to leave the following season. With RB Leipzig he won the DFB Cup before being dismissed a few months later after a botched start to the season.
As coach of the Belgian national team, Tedesco also got off to a dream start in March 2023 with a series of 14 undefeated games in a row. But in 2024, the tide turned: the Red Devils won just four of 14 games.
Internal conflicts complicate Tedesco’s work as national coach
In addition, there were conflicts off the pitch: a dispute with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois culminated in the interim resignation of the veteran, while the German-Italian also had to accept open criticism from star player Kevin De Bruyne.
Tedesco basically does not lack experience in dealing with great personalities – at Leipzig he worked with stars such as Emil Forsberg, Christopher Nkunku or Timo Werner.
Whether the recurring slump in performance will also occur in Istanbul remains to be seen. The fact that Tedesco’s approach basically works is due to a combination of structure, communication and a clear tactical idea.
Derby against Galatasaray as a special test
In the short term, the full focus is now on arguably the most important game of the season so far: the Istanbul derby against Galatasaray on Monday evening (6 pm in the LIVETICKER). The table situation – Galatasaray leads the table with a one-point advantage – gives the duel additional explosiveness. It is a special test for Tedesco.
Leonhardt is convinced that the coach’s path is not yet over: “Maybe he’ll end up back in the Bundesliga at some point. Bayern or BVB would be realistic goals.”
And with a wink, he adds: “No matter where he ends up: A piece of Erzgebirge Aue will always remain in him.”
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