Former FC Barcelona star receives unwanted attention as manager after awkward interview with club's TV presenter

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Former Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Turkey midfielder turned coach Arda Turan has found himself in the headlines for a slightly strange reason, as social media picked up on an awkward pitchside interview following a Shakhtar Donetsk match. Arda Turan in only three months into his role as head coach of Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk.
Turan, who joined the Ukrainian giants only a couple of months ago as he looks to find his footing at the managerial level, was seen by cameras looking slightly shifty and uncomfortable while he was being spoken to pitchside by Ukrainian reporter and TV presenter Daria Bondar Savina.
This interview followed Shakhtar's victory over Turkish club Besiktas in the second round of UEFA Europa League qualifying at the end of last month, as the team won comfortably 6-2 on aggregate over the team from Turan's homeland. However, their aspirations for a spot in the group stages was stymied in the subsequent final qualifying round, as they lost on penalties to Greek outfit Panathanaikos after a pair of goalless games.
Fans wondered whether Arda's awkward nature had to do with his wife Aslihan Dogan, who is a media personality in Turkey and married the footballer in 2018. In fact, to make the situation just a little more awkward, reporter Daria Bondar Savina is also married to someone who plays under Turan at Shakhtar, that being Ukrainian national team centre-back Yeriy Bondar.
Nevertheless, video of the interview shows that Arda still answered the questions posed to him in a confident and straightforward manner, perhaps depicting that he is growing into his young career as a manager well thus far. Before his role at Shakhtar, Turan was the manager of Eyupspor, who he guided to the Turkish Super Lig after earning them promotion in his first season in charge.
During his playing career, Turan represented Turkey a hundred times on the international stage, showing he is no stranger to the spotlight given his importance to a football-crazed nation for a large part of his career. He served as captain of Turkish giants Galatasaray at the age of 22, before earning a move to La Liga with Atletico Madrid.
He played and made a name for himself in Diego Simeone's midfield, before earning a jewel-in-the-crown move to FC Barcelona, where he played alongside names such as Lionel Messi and Neymar during the prime of his career.