My sister, Nazlı, had a very difficult life. She broke her leg at the age of 5. She then underwent 12 consecutive surgeries to fix her leg, which wouldn’t heal properly. As her older brother, I took care of her every step of the way for 20 years. From school to her surgeries, I was there for her through her most critical moments, guiding her life and doing everything I could for her.
Ultimately, while Nazlı was studying at TED High School, she struggled to attend school due to her leg, so she was constantly missing out on classes. I was looking for a private tutoring center to fill these gaps. While chatting with my girlfriend at the time, she said without hesitation, “You should take your sister to Fatih.” Fatih had become a significant part of her life, and she had taken math and geometry lessons from him while preparing for university.
First Meeting and Developing Friendship
This is how I met Fatih about 15 years ago. I went to his tutoring center in Moda with Nazlı and explained the situation. Fatih understood the situation immediately and got to work without delay.
She managed Nazlı very well for many years. Despite all of Nazlı’s emotional ups and downs and some unruly behavior, in addition to teaching her personally, she ensured that she got along well with the instructors at the tutoring center, helped her catch up on her shortcomings, and improved her grades. We are grateful to her for this.
Our friendship has been strong from the very first day, and we met occasionally even after Nazlı finished her job. Of course, over time, as I moved to the European side of the city and started my own business, we didn’t see each other for long.
Years Later, a Surprise Encounter
Until, after moving my office to Çekmeköy, I made the radical decision to move there myself, and we met again, unexpectedly, in the gym of my housing complex. Fatih saw me in the living room and called out to me, and the following conversation unfolded between us:
- Serhan! What are you doing here?
- Come on, what are you actually doing here?
- Well, my school is here. You remember, after the prep school in Moda, I opened a school called Modafen in Çekmeköy.
- Oh, okay, you’re right. I heard about it, but I never found the time to visit you.
- (Smiling) So, you moved to Çekmeköy too. You know, we’re in the same neighborhood now! Where do you live?
- I live in this complex.
- We’re neighbors then. So, why don’t you visit us? I’ll be waiting for you at both school and home.
- Okay, I’ll definitely come. What a wonderful coincidence.
- Look, let me introduce you to my wife. Ceyda, this is Serhan. My old friend. We hadn’t seen each other for a long time.
- Wow, congratulations, my brother. Congratulations to you too.
- (Fatih’s wife) Thank you.
- (Me, seeing that she’s pregnant) How many months old is the baby?
- 6 months old.
- Is the gender known?
- It’s clear, it’s going to be a boy.
- I wish your baby a beautiful and healthy life in advance.
- (Ceyda and Fatih) Thank you very much.
- Let’s cook dinner one day.
- Of course, let’s definitely organize it.
After confirming our phone numbers, we exchanged greetings and continued our sports activities.
As promised, we began meeting almost every week after that. During one of our meetings, Fatih told me about his projects. Among these projects, he had also established a sports club at the same school, having culminated his successful career in education with his school. They place a special emphasis on sports at Modafen. He continued these efforts by establishing a soccer club called Modafen FK (Soccer Club).
Modafen Soccer Club’s rapid rise and championships
Starting from the bottom of the amateur league, they have achieved great success in this field, winning six championships in the last seven years. Last time, they won the championship in Group 11 of the Regional Amateur League (BAL), beating established clubs like Çanakkale Dardanel, Edirne, Kartal, Yeşilköy, Tekirdağ, Çerkezköy, and Çorlu. As a result of these conversations, I personally attended a few of their games this season. What might seem strange to outsiders about these games but seemed quite normal to me because I know Fatih well, was that club owner and president Fatih also served as manager, personally managing the team on the field.
During Galatasaray’s rough weeks, Modafen FK’s games were a welcome relief. Finally, I attended the championship game yesterday. Modafen lived up to everyone’s expectations, beating Kavaklı, a town team from Kırklareli, 4-0, and becoming champions of Group 11.
Here are the final standings from Group 11 of the BAL League.
Poor play at halftime, leading 1-0 with a penalty, didn’t satisfy anyone. They recovered in the second half, with two substitutions and a Fatih-style boost, completely transforming the team’s complexion, and Modafen showed its true strength. They scored three more excellent goals to win the game by a 4-0 margin.
My expectation of a double celebration with Galatasaray and Modafen
Of course, speaking of Galatasaray: Modafen FK’s season this year is very similar to Galatasaray’s. Modafen entered the final three weeks in second place, five points behind, and thanks to the unfortunate fixtures, Edirne lost their third and second-last games, winning all their games to clinch the championship. I wish Galatasaray the best, and I reiterate that Galatasaray is the biggest contender for the title this year. (I was saying this even when we were eight points apart in the second half of the league: I have complete faith in my team.)
I want to experience double joy this year with Galatasaray winning the championship and Modafen being promoted to the 3rd League.
In the meantime, I’d like to share the images I took before, during, and after the game below, so you can visualize it.
A photo we took with Fatih before the game
The official stands where we watched the game
The teams entering the field
The teams greeting each other
The kick-off whistle
The music was incredible during the game
The first goal was scored from a penalty
Families who came to the game with their children added color to the game
The final goal after a magnificent pass and the final whistle
The captain’s attack on the Modafen players, who were celebrating their championship joy, and the incidents that were calmed down (we are sick and tired of this disgrace)
Championship celebration on the field
The dancing of the celebrating players
The final of the celebrations
Fatih on the field with his son
A photo after the game
Picture 6: View of the field…
A photo we took with Modafen’s Russian player after the game
Modafen FK will now play promotion games in the first week of May. According to the status established in the BAL League, nine of the 11 group winners will be promoted to the TFF 3rd League.
I won’t delve into the technical details of these promotion/qualification games, which involve a complex method and consist of several stages. I wish Modafen a successful draw, and I believe that no matter what the draw results, they will repeat their past successes and continue their journey to the TFF 3rd League and now as a professional soccer team.
Continuing to provide successful services in different fields
I understand Fatih’s ambitions and vision very well. That’s why I support him in every way. We want to see quality soccer in Turkey now. We hope that women and children can watch games alongside men as a festival. We want our players to not only play good soccer but also receive a good education to develop their knowledge, experience, and manners, and to set an example for society as high-level individuals. For these reasons, I say to Fatih, “May your path be clear, brother.” We will both continue to serve humanity, our homeland, and our nation in different capacities.
NOTE: I will write the second part of this article after the team, God willing, is promoted to the TFF Third League. In the second part of my Modafen article, I plan to share various details and some technical information about soccer.
Tag: health
