The sentence ‘semi-final guaranteed’ in the World Cup is of course a very ambitious and risky statement.
Especially after the defeat against Australia, where you were the favourite.
Let me say from the beginning that the headline I gave is absolutely not based on scientific data.
Like this;
I watched the 2002 World Cup in a tea garden near SSK Okmeydanı Training Hospital, as it was known at the time.
I was able to find an appointment for MRI at Okmeydanı SSK that same day.
His head is bandaged, his arm is in plaster, his hand is with a cane, his heart is paced; In short, it was full of patients of every color you can think of.
We took the lead with Hasan Şaş’s goal and were beside ourselves.
There were even people who were in danger of death after that goal.
Even though we lost the field 2-1, our Nationals reached the semi-finals and we ranked 3rd in the world.
6 YEARS LATER
This time the 2008 European Championships.
We were once again the most colorful team of the tournament.
The goals we scored in the last minutes are still in our memories…
I was referred to the Sleep Polyclinic at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine.
It may not be your turn at the sleep clinic right away.
Sometimes it takes years for your turn to come.
A patient canceled his appointment that day.
My thoracic surgeon friend called.
He asked me to come to the hospital urgently in the evening.
But there was a national match on the same day.
I had to go to the hospital.
I couldn’t even watch the match this time.
Well, what a shame.
Our Nationals reached the semi-finals in that tournament as well.
We now had the title of 3rd in Europe.
And we come to the 2026 World Cup.
Everything was fine for me.
Until the warning from my doctor in the rheumatology service.
He advised me to see the cardiology service as soon as possible.
Since my stress test was bad, I had an angiogram last Tuesday.
With luck, a stent will be placed today.
In such situations, people rethink some things.
We lost in our first match, thank you dears.
It is a tradition that we always lose our first match in big tournaments.
I was hopeful again because my paths crossed at the hospital just in time for the tournament.
This must be a sign, I thought!
That’s why I gave the assertive title ‘Semi-final guaranteed’.
We need to get at least one point from the Paraguay match, and Our Children have the capacity to achieve this.
America match?
According to my hospital statistics, the result of that match is clear.
Because every time I end up in the hospital in a big tournament, our kids make it to the semi-finals.
Additionally, more than half of the world will be praying for our Miles in that match.
MORALE IS ALSO AN AMMUNITION
During the Gallipoli War, although the enemy ships were out of range, our cannons were fired from time to time.
When asked, “Commander, our cannonballs are limited and the enemy is far from our range, why are we shooting?” The answer of the commander who gave the order is quite meaningful:
‘Soldier morale is needed. The sound of the cannonballs fired from our side gives morale to the Mehmetçik. ‘A demoralized army is doomed to lose!’
The nation also needs morale, guys.
Therefore, every goal you score will boost our morale.
To the citizen who was beaten for demanding his rights, to the miner who sweated hundreds of meters underground, to the mother who sent her child to school with an empty lunch box, to the father who suffered from unemployment…
In short, this nation, which is thirsty for justice and has almost forgotten how to laugh, needs morale.
The victories you will gain may not solve any of your problems.
But a little morale will cause many stories to be rewritten.
There will probably be people who will criticize your hair and mustache because of the defeat.
I advise you not to listen to the criticism that ‘they came from the hairdresser and went to the match’.
The easiest thing for people who are depressed and stressed is to be hurtful.
Do what you know best and play your football player.
MEMORY FROM THE NATIONAL TEAM
The match we lost 8-0 to England in 1984 is the first match I remember and a painful memory that I cannot forget.
I was only 7 years old and our team had conceded more goals than my age.
I had a severe pain in my head.
My migraine is also a memory from those years.
Every victory you gain will be a cure for tired hearts, broken hearts, and hopeless young people.
Good luck guys.
ENJOY ME TO TURKISH DOCTORS
I told you we need morale…
Last week, I saw this at Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital:
Despite the harsh conditions in this country, there are still people who can be a source of morale.
The cardiology clinic of the hospital works like a bee, providing service with a hundred percent occupancy rate for years.
During an angiography last week, I witnessed a team from the doctor to the nurse, from the security guard to the cleaning staff, doing their job seriously and with love.
Clinic Chief Prof. Dr. Kudret Keskin is a physician famous for opening the veins that are considered unopenable.
The sweat on the back of teacher Mert Sarılar, who made a superhuman effort to keep his heart attack patient alive, was like the seal of his effort.
İbrahim Can Aydın’s communication with patients who were afraid of angiography and their anxious relatives was amazing.
Nurse Çisil had a light hand and a smiling face.
The positive energy of Hasan, the security guard of the angiography service, instilled hope in worried eyes.
Thank you all very much.
I’m glad to have you.
The clogged artery of my heart will be opened today.
Now it’s your turn, guys.
Let this country breathe a little.
