Gokhan Inler's Beşiktaş confession: 'I was gently pushed aside' | Zaniolo on Galatasaray & Udinese equation

Gökhan İnler, the sporting director of Italian team Udinese, said that Hasan Arat's management did not give him that chance when he could have contributed to the team as a professional manager after his football career at Beşiktaş.

The Turkish-born Swiss football man, who wore the jerseys of Aarau, Zürich, Udinese, Napoli, Leicester City, Beşiktaş, Başakşehir and Adana Demirspor during his football career, received his sporting director's license from the Italian Football Federation in January 2025.

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Gökhan İnler made statements to AA reporter about his role as sporting director, the championships he won in England and Turkey, Nicolo Zaniolo, who plays for Udinese, and the A National Football Team.

Explaining that he is working intensively, İnler said, "This is my second season, I have Master for International Players (MIP) training, which I started two years ago. I finished it this year, it is an important diploma. It is a very proud thing for me to be a part of UEFA, and in Italy you have to get a sporting director's license. It was not as easy to learn immediately after football as it was at school. I took those grades with an intense pace and now when we look at it, it's going very well. It's an intense process with the team, the coach, the president. You don't only look after yourself anymore. You look at all the players, the staff... You want to cooperate with everyone and bring this team to good places."

Giving information about his role as sporting director, İnler said:

"Everyone can make transfers, but I think the most important thing is to prepare the player for the future. It doesn't only end with a transfer. You also need to prepare the player. Since I come from football, I need to explain them in the right way. Today's sporting directors are very modern. They look inside the field, outside the field, training and the match. These things are very important in Italy. All my focus is on Udinese now. I am in a very important place in Europe. The dynamics are different in football but as I said, if I do my job, I always do it 100 percent. When I see something, I stand behind it. Udinese wanted it that way too."

'THEY KINDLY PUT ME ASIDE AT BEŞIKTAŞ...'

Gökhan İnler stated that Hasan Arat, who took office after former president Ahmet Nur Çebi, did not give him the task he expected.

Inler gave the following answer to a question about the failure of the black-white team to achieve the desired success in recent years:

"I was at the club, it was my last year as a player. As a footballer, I could see the inside and continue as a sporting director in the future. Then when the management changed, they kindly put me aside. I was there, so in the end I wanted to help the club, but I didn't get that chance later on. I wanted to help Beşiktaş with my experience. It's not just football, you need organization, team, positive energy. I attach great importance to these things. I don't know why it didn't happen. I was a footballer and I wanted to finish my last year there and get my first job at Beşiktaş, but unfortunately it didn't happen. What needs to change? How can it be better? Why doesn't it work? You have to discuss it. No one is a magician."

ZANIOLO'S FUTURE...

Gökhan İnler stated that the purchase option of Italian attacker Nicolo Zaniolo, who was transferred to Udinese on loan from Galatasaray at the beginning of the season, depends on his performance.

Explaining that he spends time with the players every day, Inler said, "We are always in contact with Zaniolo. Because he is a special and great player. Of course he has his own goals. I already knew him before, he is very mature, very professional. Being at Udinese is also his chance. We meet every day. If he has a problem, we discuss it immediately. He's doing very well now. He came here ready. Serie A is a very physical, very tactical league. He scored his goal, I hope he will do even better in the future."

Emphasizing that Udinese have a purchase option for Zaniolo's transfer, Inler said, "Zaniolo's purchase option depends on us, the player and the performance. We can decide this at the end of the season. If the player performs well, the clubs say 'OK' and the player wants, he can be transferred, but right now he is on loan. Udinese has the option to buy," he said.

'I WOULD LIKE TO PERSUADE THE PRESIDENT AND BRING A TURKISH FOOTBALLER TO UDINESE

Gökhan İnler stated that Turkish footballers are very talented.

Reminding that two foreign players without European passports can play in the Italian Serie A teams, Gökhan İnler said, "There are very talented players in Turkey. There are a few young ones but I can't name them now. The most important thing for me is my experience in Turkey. The youngsters there are very talented but there is a problem for Italy. Right now our team is full. That's why this situation is a bit troublesome, but if we have a place tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, of course I would like to convince the president and bring a Turkish footballer to Udinese."

'TURKEY WILL HOPEFULLY GO TO THE WORLD CUP'

Gökhan İnler stated that he wants the Turkish national team, which is competing in the 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers, to go to the championship.

Explaining that there are very young players in the team, Inler continued his speech as follows:

'KENAN YILDIZ GROWS DAY BY DAY'

Gökhan İnler spoke highly of the national footballers competing in Serie A.

Stating that Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Kenan Yıldız and Zeki Çelik are special players, İnler said:

"All three of them play for big clubs. Kenan Yıldız is growing day by day. He is a very good player. He performs very well and they even gave him the captaincy. This is a very big thing and the club sees that he is a special player. The club gives everything for him. Kenan also plays very well and gives everything back to them on the pitch. I think that's how much he is worth. He is a very special player. I hope he continues like this. He has come to very good places. He will reach even better and bigger places. We met Hakan Çalhanoğlu during the matches. He has also had a very good career. He is a solid player, a solid leader. I saw him very well. We also met Zeki Çelik in the last match. He is also happy. He says, 'When we look at France, Serie A is very, very different. Serie A is a really tough and difficult league. It is an honor to see three national players there."

Emphasizing that Serie A is an important stepping stone for young players, İnler said, "We have been in contact with Semih recently. We played against Cagliari before the national break and Semih is very happy. He has adapted and of course he is waiting for his chance. He is younger and the coach is a coach I know, an ex-footballer. The coach is also happy with Semih. The competition is high in Serie A. I don't see any problems, he needs to work continuously and give his all. They have to live for football, they have to respect it. In the end, they play on the field. We can't play, but we help them as big brothers."

'CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATIONS ON THE BOSPHORUS...'

Gökhan İnler spoke highly of the celebrations on the Bosphorus of the championship won by Beşiktaş in the 2016-2017 season.

Explaining his transfer to Beşiktaş after Leicester, İnler said, "It was a very special feeling for me to come to Beşiktaş, the team I have been rooting for since I was a little boy. It was a new page and in the first year, Beşiktaş won a great championship with the super fans. Playing for the team I've always wanted since I was little and lifting this trophy... That championship has a very special place for me. The championship celebrations on the Bosphorus. I think that was something that doesn't exist in the world, it was amazing."

'IT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT PERIOD OF MY CAREER'

Gökhan İnler has described the 2015-2016 season with Leicester City, when they won the title, as "the most difficult period of his career".

Explaining that Italian manager Claudio Ranieri convinced him to join the project at Leicester, Inler continued as follows:

"I played in Italy for 8 years and then I changed countries and went to Leicester. No one knew Leicester City. It was a small club at the time, but it was a family club with loyalty. Thanks to Claudio Ranieri, he called me. He convinced me to the project. I saw a really close-knit team there. Maybe there were no big names but we were very strong as a team, as a spirit and I can honestly say it was the most difficult period of my career. When you look at it, I played very few games, in England you usually play close to 40 or more games. That period was really difficult for me. Because Ranieri wanted me but he was testing the players. I came late, I didn't camp with the team, I came late and they played a few games. They kneaded the dough of the team a little bit."

Reminding that they were defeated only three times in the league in the season in question, İnler said:

"I struggled a bit, it wasn't easy for me, but then I looked at it and the duo of N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater were super matched. I had no chance either. I was always giving 100 percent in training, so I was ready, they did a great job. Really everyone deserved it and I watched football a little bit from the outside, not from the inside. I had a hard time. I lost the national team, I lost my captaincy in the national team, it wasn't easy. I said to myself, 'This is an experience. I have to, there are two ways. Either you finish or you fight. So I chose the second one to fight and in the end I won the Premier League, one of the most important trophies in the world. I know there was a lot of sacrifice. There was a lot of sweat. There was a lot of stress, but in the end I accept this win. That's how Leicester was. Everyone was really healthy in the team. Everyone respected each other. In the end we won the Premier League with that energy. It was awesome."

'1ST LEAGUE IS A DIFFERENT LEAGUE'

Inler, who reached a happy ending with Başakşehir in the Super League and Adana Demirspor in the 1st League, talked about those times with the following words:

"As you know, Başakşehir was a newly established club. There were star players. We made history at Başakşehir, we won the first championship. I had special days there too. I was able to experience this championship at Başakşehir with a really good organization, from the facilities to the technical team. Adana Demirspor always wanted me very much. 1st League is a different league, it is very difficult. It is really difficult to play there and to get out. I felt that feeling, I felt the fans. I saw it in sporting terms, not in financial terms. I accepted Adana Demirspor's project. In a project, there is a club that has not played for 26 years. I knew it was difficult, but I like challenges, so I chose Adana Demirspor and we came first after one end. That period was amazing. We made Adana Demirspor the champion after 26 years. All four trophies in my career are important. I think they all have a special story, but obviously in terms of value, I think the Premier League is one of the biggest trophies."

 

 

 

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'EVERY MATCH IS DIFFICULT IN SERIES A'

Gökhan İnler stated that the competition is very high in the Italian 1st Football League Serie A.

Stating that they started this season well, Inler said, "Udinese is a story that has been going on with the Pozzo family for 40 years. For 30 years they have been fighting in Serie A. They always give youngsters a chance, develop them and then sell them to bigger clubs. I was at Udinese from 2007 to 2011 and then I transferred to Napoli. Good players come every year. Then of course the big clubs snatch them. We don't put stones in their way, we help them. We haven't started badly this year. Every game in Serie A is very difficult. Everyone can beat each other. The competition is very good. It's going very well right now. Names like Buksa and Zaniolo have just arrived. They are also very professional and they are working very well. Players are developing, time is needed."

'IT IS SAD THAT ADANA DEMİRSPOR IS IN THIS SITUATION'

Gökhan İnler stated that everyone is very saddened by the difficult days of Adana Demirspor, for which he wore the jersey in 2020-2023.

Explaining that he does not know the reasons for the club's problems, İnler said, "I cannot say anything to the dynamics of Adana Demirspor. I was a footballer there. It was a really big job for me to take that city, that club to this level. I am very sad that they are in this state. There is potential, there are so many young footballers, but unfortunately, the fact that they are in this situation makes not only me sad but everyone sad."