Erhan Albayrak, the first Turkish footballer to play in the Bundesliga and European Cup in a Werder Bremen shirt, spoke to TRT Deutsch about the memorable moments of his Bundesliga and Süper-Lig career.

Erhan Albayrak, born on 5 April 1977 in Hamburg, played for Werder Bremen from 1993 to 1996. He was the first Turkish footballer to play for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga and the European Cup. Albayrak also played a total of 296 games in the Süper Lig for Kocaelispor, Altay, Gaziantepspor, Fenerbahçe, Ankaragücü, Konyaspor, Çaykur Rizespor and Ankaraspor. He played for Arminia Bielefeld for 1.5 seasons between 2001 and 2002 and won the Turkish Cup with Kocaelispor in the 1996/1997 season.

How did you start your career at Werder Bremen?

I was captain of the U17 team of Hamburger SV, the club of the city where I was born and grew up. I must have caught the eye of the scouts from Werder Bremen, and accordingly my transfer took place in 1993. In the first season I played in the U19 team. In the 1994/95 season, I was part of the reserve team, which also included Otto Rehhagel’s son, Dr. Jens Rehhagel, as well as Frank Rost and Arie van Lent. During coach Otto Rehhagel’s time, I didn’t think I had a chance to play in the senior team, but from the 1995/1996 season, Dutch coach Aad de Mos, who gave young players a chance, came to Bremen as coach. Aad de Mos had the 18-year-old Brazilian Ronaldo (El Fenomeno) play as coach of PSV Eindhoven. Also at the age of 18, I was invited by Aad de Mos to join the senior team and signed a professional contract with Werder Bremen.

Do you remember your first game in the Bundesliga?

Yes, of course. That was on 11 August 1995. As I said, I was 18 years old at the time. It was the first match of the season in the Bundesliga, and the Weserstadion had a huge crowd. Our opponent was Fortuna Düsseldorf. I replaced Andree Wiedener in the second half of the game and stayed on the field for 45 minutes. In the first game of my professional career, I benefited from being in the same squad and sharing the pitch with players like Mirko Votava, Dieter Eilts, Marco Bode or Frank Neubarth, who won the European Cup with Werder Bremen.

How was your communication with your teammates at Werder Bremen?

My communication with Bruno Labbadia, Mario Basler and Oliver Reck was very good. The human and social qualities of all three were very strong. They cared about me and thanks to them I didn’t feel like a stranger. Rodolfo Cardoso and Júnior Baiano were also good friends of mine. Besides these names mentioned, legends like Votava, Eilts and Bode also shared their experiences with me. I am still in contact with them.

How did your move from Werder Bremen to Kocaelispor come about?

When Erol Bulut and Tayfun Korkut won the Süper Lig championship with Fenerbahçe, the interest in Turkish youth players from Germany increased. I had a good offer from Galatasaray, but was brought to Kocaelispor at the insistence of Mustafa Denizli and Hikmet Karaman. My teammate Ersan Doğu, who also played for Werder Bremen, moved to Galatasaray in the same period, but Fatih Terim didn’t give him a chance there

Your first Bundesliga match with Arminia Bielefeld was against Werder Bremen. Can you share your memories of that game with us?

It was the first week of the 2002/2003 season. In the 1995/1996 season I was still a rival of my former coach in the substitute team of Werder Bremen, none other than Thomas Schaaf. We won the match 3:0 and finished the first week of the Bundesliga at the top of the table.

How did your transfer from Arminia Bielefeld to Fenerbahçe develop?

It was during the winter break of the 2002/2003 season. Fenerbahçe coach Werner Lorant wanted my transfer, and on the initiative of football department head Sadettin Saran it came about. On the day the contract was signed, Fenerbahçe and Werder Bremen played against each other in a tournament in Antalya. I was watching the game from the stands at the time. It was an interesting coincidence for me. Vladimir Beschastnykh, my teammate at Werder Bremen, also moved to Fenerbahçe during the same period, and we played together again. Arminia Bielefeld was relegated at the end of the season. My former coach Benno Möhlmann said at the time: “We made a mistake by letting Erhan move to Fenerbahçe. “

You were teammates with Robert Enke. Was there anything about him that caught your attention at the time?

We shared a room with Robert Enke. He was not happy. At that time he left the team after a 3-0 defeat against Istanbulspor. The game against Istanbulspor was also my last game at Fenerbahçe. I was sad about his death.

You scored your last goal in the Süper Lig against Galatasaray but did not celebrate the goal. Was there a special reason for that?

Alpaslan Dikmen used to come to watch our matches when I played for the Turkish U21 national team. He passed away one day before the match we were to play against Galatasaray in Istanbul. I knew him very well. The news of his death made me very sad. The Galatasaray fans commemorated him throughout the match. I scored a goal for Konyaspor and remembered him after the goal. The Galatasaray fans applauded me then.

How were you selected for Werder Bremen’s veteran team? Which other former players are in this team with you?

Dieter Burdenski, who was a goalkeeper for Werder Bremen from 1972 to 1988, organises the veteran team. He had chosen me. Now I have been playing for this team for about 10 years and have won many trophies. I have played in the veteran team with many important footballers like Wynton Rufer, Johan Micoud, Ailton, Fabian Ernst, Ivan Klasnic and Tim Wiese and will continue to do so in the future.

As the current coach, how do you rate Werder Bremen’s chances in the Bundesliga?

I was in the stands at the game against Regensburg and I was very happy. SV Werder Bremen is back where it belongs. In the Bundesliga, a team must now be forged with the best possible transfers for the player positions, in accordance with the club’s financial possibilities, that can maintain its place there permanently. With the right planning, we will see a Werder in international business in the coming years.

Thank you for talking to us!