Yılmaz Vural Highlights the Dominance of Score Culture in Turkish Football

Coach Yılmaz Vural stated that football in Turkey is not sufficiently supported by scientific training, facilities, and management culture. He also pointed out that the foreign player rule and the financial problems of Anatolian clubs are among the fundamental issues in Turkish football.

Scraper SystemJune 12, 2026, 08:21 PM

Yılmaz Vural Highlights the Dominance of Score Culture in Turkish Football

ISTANBUL – Coach Yılmaz Vural discussed the fundamental problems of Turkish football. According to Vural, the young population potential in Turkey cannot be fully utilized because football has not been integrated with scientific training knowledge, education, and a healthy management culture.

Vural, who said "There is a score culture in Turkey, but no sports culture," made striking evaluations on many topics ranging from the foreign player rule and the economic deadlock of Anatolian clubs to patronage relations in football and debates about foreign coaches. This summary was prepared by artificial intelligence and reviewed by an editor.

One of the most experienced coaches in Turkish football, Yılmaz Vural, answered questions from Emir Berke Yaşar. Having coached 31 different teams since the 1980s, Vural emphasized that football in Turkey cannot be explained solely by what happens on the field.

He stressed that the technical, physical, psychological, and educational aspects of football must be addressed scientifically and highlighted that one of Turkey's biggest shortcomings is the failure to establish a "football system managed by knowledge."

Explaining success in football not only through on-field struggle but also through scientific and institutional foundations such as "game technique, conditioning, game intelligence, and game psychology," Yılmaz Vural said, "Football is a game played by the same rules in Uganda, Germany, and Turkey. To apply this game, an important game technique is needed."

Vural emphasized that one of Turkey's greatest deficiencies in football is the inability to institutionalize knowledge: "Unfortunately, in Turkey, we do sports with our hearts and emotions, but not by acquiring the knowledge. Since school and sports are not integrated, most of our athletes cannot receive education."

He noted that success in modern football cannot be explained solely by talent or chance: "Athlete psychology is very different from normal human psychology. The athlete's ability to desire, appetite, and psychological resilience are very important. Without these factors, you cannot compete ideally. You might achieve something by chance or just by playing, or you might not."

Yılmaz Vural stated that Turkey does not utilize its potential in football: "Turkey has great dynamism. In terms of population density, we rank 18th or 19th in the world; we are a country of 86 million. There are about 21 million children aged 7-17 attending school. Europe does not have this; Europe is aging. Turkey is also aging but still has a large youth potential to utilize.

To harness this potential, people to train these youths, facilities to work in, economy, and management are needed. Turkey is very lacking and behind in this regard. Turkey has the money, time, and dynamism to do this. But our sports administrators lack vision on this matter.

They are unaware of what is missing; or they are aware but do not act." Are coaches in Turkey evaluated with the right criteria? Is a coach's knowledge, education, and effort on the field sufficiently understood? In Turkey, no one is really in a position to supervise who knows what. There is a problem stemming from the inadequacies of those responsible for supervision.

In Turkey, this work is mostly done through popularity. There is a score culture but no sports culture. If you get two good results, you are recommended to the best places. But whether you can continue that success is a big question mark. Most of the time, they do not know what I know or the importance of education. You try to do something with the opportunities presented to you.

But you cannot always pull a rabbit out of the hat. Coaches are evaluated as much as they are known, as much as they appear in the media, and as much as they are popular. That is why sometimes well-educated people are left out of this business. In Turkey, people try to learn by experience, not by education. They lose a lot of time.

Those managing the country's sports need to work more effectively with people who have experience in the field. Because experience, trial, seeing results, and trying again are very important in this business. Is it difficult to advance in coaching in Turkey with knowledge? It is a very aggressive market. At times, politics, businesspeople, or other power relations come to the fore. No one easily reaches a place with the knowledge they deserve here.

I am one of the rare people who have advanced with knowledge. I do not have backing or connections, nor do I seek them. Our phone rings; we talk, and if we agree, we work. Today, if you want to be a coach in Turkey, power shifts in the context from time to time. Some gain strength through politics, some as businessmen, some in other ways.

If you have a connection at those times, you are called "one of us." This is largely the situation in Turkey. How does the press pressure coaches? How do you evaluate this pressure? A coach who does not know how to stand against pressure should choose another profession. Everyone may want to pressure you; it can be with good or bad intentions.

Your response should be to act uniquely. If you cannot do this, you cannot be an important coach. Unfortunately, our administrators and many institutions in football are heavily influenced by what social media or the media want from them. I did not act like that. I think, "Mind your own business; why do you read newspapers or watch TV?"

You act knowing what you do is right. If it is not right, why do it? I acted like this, and as a result, if a few coaches are counted in Turkey, our name is mentioned. "Everyone in Turkey thinks they play 10 against 10, but actually, they play 1 against 1" How do you evaluate the tactical situation of football in Turkey?

Systems have evolved over time; today, formations like 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, three-man defense, and different game setups are discussed. But what is done in Turkey mostly does not go beyond imitating what exists in Europe. Because coaching experience and lived experience are very important. You apply, observe, and think it would be better this way. The football field measures 105 by 68 meters internationally, which equals 7,140 square meters.

There must be a mathematics to this. You need to share and narrow the field correctly to apply football principles. The concept of levels, proximity, and intervention all relate to using the space properly. Everyone in Turkey thinks they play 10 against 10, but actually, they play 1 against 1. Players are very far from each other. Therefore, the concept of levels is not applied.

Very simple defensive mistakes are made, and an attractive style of play does not emerge. Turkey is far behind in this regard. Everything in our country is imitation. They try to apply what others do, but nothing unique emerges. As Yılmaz Vural, I have worked with big clubs like Trabzonspor and Bursaspor; most of the other teams I worked with were Anatolian clubs.

These teams had limited resources, limited squads, and limited economies. If my name has reached a place in football coaching today, it is because of the results achieved with these teams. What I do is not easy. It is not easy to be one of the few coaches remembered in Turkey after working with those teams. "There are problems throughout Anatolian clubs" What are the unique challenges of working with Anatolian clubs?

There are problems throughout. Their facilities are inadequate, their economies are inadequate. The goals of incoming administrators are usually political or commercial. When they stray from their goals, they leave the club stranded. They leave such a mess that those who come after cannot handle it. We never discuss why many clubs have closed. Why did the federation allow this until these clubs closed?

A club tells the federation, "Coach, you are like a father to us; we cannot apply elsewhere." Then you must prevent behaviors that will cause me to close. You must say, "Stop, you cannot do this." How do you view the foreign player rule and the development of Turkish players? What pains me is this: This season, permission was given to play with 10+4 foreigners.

That means 10 of the 11 players on the field can be foreign, and four foreign players can be on the bench. Since 11 players are on the field, very few Turkish players remain. We do this sport for Turkish youth to play. I do not find it meaningful for our big clubs to represent us abroad in this way because there are very few Turkish youths among them. Every country first gives this chance to its own children.

When insufficient, they turn to foreigners as much as needed. In our case, almost everyone starts by signing 10 foreigners. Both relegated and non-relegated teams do this. An Arda Güler does not come again. You say Kenan Yıldız, he came from abroad. Hakan Çalhanoğlu was trained abroad, Can Uzun likewise, Ferdi too, Orkun as well. When you look at our national team, the kids...

Yılmaz Vural Highlights the Dominance of Score Culture in Turkish Football