Mercan: “What’s Going On Here Is Incredible” – Parallels Between Mourinho And Elgert

Fenerbahce-Profi im Interview

Levent Mercan played at FC Schalke 04 until 2021 and then switched to Turkey. He has been wearing Fenerbahce jersey since last summer, where he has now regularly collected missions after starting difficulties and a change of position. At the transfer market, he talks about José Mourinho, the Süper Lig championship race, Norbert Elgert and the royal blue.

“If Fener wants you, there are no two opinions. You have to do that. It was a great honor for me that you asked my old club. Everything went smoothly and that’s great. For me it is a top transfer,” emphasizes Mercan, for whom the Istanbul Top Club was transferred to the city neighbor Fatih Karagümrük. “All about the family are always for Fenerbahce. My father in particular was very fanatic in the past. The older generation is almost on the way. So it is quite good that I am now playing there,” says the Recklinghäuser native.

He says about the difference between the two clubs: “It is a completely different experience than with Karamgümrük. With all the respect, I owe you a lot, but what is going on here is incredible. The fans, the around, just played everything around. I have already played for a horny club in Germany and now I can experience something like that at the biggest club in Turkey again. Weekend, whether home or away, are the fans there. “

Mercan wanted to build where he stopped Karagümrük. However, that only worked to a limited extent. “I came here with a lot of euphoria and of course imagined it a little differently. But because it is my first year, I don’t put pressure on myself. Team, teammate, coach, everything is new,” says the 24-year-old, who was only on the pitch twice for his new club until the turn of the year. He was not reported for the European Cup: “I would have liked to have been there, but it is not always easy to put together the list for Europe. There are other rules. It is a shame that it went that way.”

Levent Mercan comes to playing time after changing positions

However, the situation changed in the new year. Which is particularly connected to a system change of the trainer, none of Low than José Mourinho. The Portuguese switched from four to a triple chain and left-back Mercan moved to the defense center.

“The coach wanted someone who can also go out of the triple chain. I play a whole role than the classic central defenders in our squad. We are different types of players and I take over the more offensive part. The interior defense was an unusual position for me, but I understood the idea and it works well,” explains Mercan, who is now in ten inserts and with the market value update of the Süper LIG on Something granted on Thursday – around 200,000 to EUR 2.5 million. “Better take small steps than none at all,” Mercan reacts to his new taxation with a grin. He wants to “naturally” climb up, but is also sure that this can be done by itself if he shows more games and performance.

For him it was a “huge” to work under a trainer like Mourinho. “He is technically and humanly great, but it is not without reason called ‘The Special One’,” says Mercan with a smile. He meant it positively, Mourinho is “just in dealing with the players and how he leads the training”. Then Mercan makes a comparison with Norbert Elgert, his coach in the U19 of FC Schalke 04. Elgert and Mourinho are similar types, they would expect a lot from you. “The most important thing for me is that I meet the expectations of the trainer and implement what he wants to see from me. I would say that Mourinho also gave me a chance for this reason. Sometimes I have the feeling that the kind of Norbert Elgert has prepared me for moments like Mourinho,” he explains. It didn’t hurt “to have experienced it in a way”.

Turbulent time at Schalke 04

In the summer of 2021, Mercan had only loaned his training association Schalke in the summer of 2021 after seven professional missions (one goal) and the following year towards Karagümrük. Looking back, he says, be it with the ups and downs in the Bundesliga and the 2nd league: “It was not so easy for us young players at the time. It was really turbulent times. This is why a loan came into question for me at all. Schalke is my club, I would have liked to play anywhere else. But at the time there was no other option. And if I see today, it went well for me.”

He continues: “In retrospect, it can be said that it was the right step to switch to Turkey at the time. But I would not say this. Karagümrük took his time until it went well. I always stepped on the gas and was also lucky that Andrea Pirlo had the idea to train myself to the left. Only from that moment it was really the captain in my last year.”

The former DFB junior can imagine returning to Germany one day. “I grew up there and learned to play football. But at the moment it’s not an issue for me,” he emphasizes. He only focuses on what is in front of him and wants to collect as much playing time as possible. And then there is the dream of the championship that Fenerbahce recently won in 2014. In the last three seasons, Galatasaray has ahead and a similar picture is emerging in this season.

But Mercan does not think about giving up: “Gala still has some difficult games in front of us, so we shouldn’t stop believing in ourselves. Our sporting goal is clear and we have an outstanding quality in the squad. Everything is possible in football, we will see what it looks like. I hope for the club and the fans that we can do it for everyone who always supports us.”