We can also ask this question in the following way: “Why are we not at the level we aspire to be in football despite placing so much importance on it?” In the past, approaches such as “not giving the necessary importance to youth development” were discussed as original ideas. Today, however, they have become a cliché that everyone is familiar with and that has lost its substance. The question, then, can be asked as follows: “Why do we not, or more accurately, why are we unable to, give the necessary importance to youth development?”
There is a development that can help us focus on the problem more accurately, as well as the famous “talented generation” myth invented by self-proclaimed football authorities that collapsed at this World Cup. If you believe this view, talented athletes emerge collectively in certain periods, then quietly disappear, and countries are left hoping for the emergence of a new talented generation. According to the authorities, “our boys” had finally enabled us to find the talented generation we had been waiting for. However, 10 of the 26 footballers in this talented generation were born abroad. We have produced 10 footballers from the 6.5 million Turks settled in Western Europe, compared with only 16 from the territory of Türkiye, a country with a population of 86 million.
The Player Pool and Conditions
At the 2026 World Cup, there were 99 footballers born in France, a country with a population of 67 million; 42 born in the Netherlands, with a population of 18.5 million; 25 born in Germany, with a population of 83.5 million; and 11 born in Belgium, with a population of 11 million. Even looking only at these figures reveals that the expression “talented generation” is a fallacy. According to Simon Kuper, the Dutch city of Leiden, with a population of 250,000, has 22 adult football teams and seven under-8 football teams. There is a football pitch within 1.6 km of the home of every Dutch citizen.
These figures provide a very clear indication of what we are fundamentally doing wrong. In these countries, football is seen as more than a sport; it is regarded as a way of life. All girls and boys play football, the families who accompany them develop friendships, and many mothers and fathers with a sporting background receive serious structured technical and pedagogical training and coach children in their respective age groups. Exceptional talents selected from such a broad pool are evaluated within a separate structure and continue on their path.
For the vast majority of children involved in this journey, what they experience becomes a collection of valuable memories in their lives, while the mental and behavioral characteristics they acquire throughout the process accompany them throughout their lives and contribute to their success. Children who join this journey from the age of five, regardless of their level of talent, learn to arrive at training on time, listen to their coach, and benefit from the feedback they receive. They do not stay out late with their friends at night; they go to bed early and get enough sleep. They avoid consuming fast food and maintain a healthy diet. When they make a mistake, they do not dwell on it; similarly, they forgive their teammates’ mistakes. They experience the joy of winning together and the disappointment of losing, and learn from both. In short, they learn through experience that discipline means consistency, and they pass this understanding on to their children. In this way, they become good citizens while also contributing to a society made up of conscientious people.
What Is Done and What Is Not Done
Municipalities do not make meaningless expenditures on a team that will play in the Third League and carry the name of the town. They do not create employment by giving the title of “coach” to a former footballer from that town who lacks pedagogical training and technological literacy. They stay away from exploitative negotiations over player transfers and do not engage in activities that would transfer municipal resources to private individuals.
Instead, they build football pitches wherever possible, take responsibility for their maintenance, and employ academy-trained coaches while supervising them. They open the way for young people who rise through this selection process and reach the elite category to play for professional teams at various levels across the country. In this way, these athletes generate substantial sums of money for the teams that have invested in them through the international transfer market.
Talent Scouts (!) and Missed Opportunities
Another important reason for the stagnation of football in Türkiye is the low standard of the talent scouts, known as “scouts,” involved in player selection. Diomande trained with Fenerbahçe for a period in 2021 but was deemed insufficient and sent away. This player first moved to Leganés, then Leipzig, and finally transferred to Real Madrid for €125 million. Similarly, after Sadio Mané was deemed unsuitable at Fenerbahçe and sent away, he played for Metz, Salzburg, and Liverpool before moving to Bayern in 2022 for €32 million.
It is said that Salah was recommended to Beşiktaş through agents in 2010.
Stephan Appiah was not accepted at Galatasaray and subsequently moved first to Juventus and then to Parma.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s approaches to Galatasaray and Trabzon also came to nothing. He first continued his career at Bayer Leverkusen, then Milan, and later Inter. The greatest loss in this regard fell to Galatasaray. Ribéry, who could have been a jackpot for the club, was not provided with the contractual conditions, and the player left the country without any difficulty. He subsequently played for O. Marseille, Bayern Munich, and Fiorentina, reaching a value of €50 million in 2010.
The true list of talent losses, of which we have listed only a few examples here, is undoubtedly much longer. The most important reason for this is that scouts and coaches lack technological literacy and therefore evaluate players in an entirely subjective manner based on their eyes and experience.
Conclusion
Up to this point, I have tried to offer a perspective beyond the conventional explanations for the reasons underlying such a significant gap between us and Western European countries. In doing so, I have tried to show that it is possible to avoid waiting hopelessly for a talented generation and then experiencing great disappointment when that generation is finally believed to have been found.
The subject of the next article will be the reasons behind the 2026 World Cup.
