That puts him in the Europa League. I will have to update my Besiktas gear. Also, depressingly telling that that tweet just mentions non-Turkish European players as his teammates.
Well it includes Gary Medel and Atiba Hutchinson... just players most USsoccer fans would know... looking at the roster I don't recognize any of the Turkish players... sorry.
I've never been in Instanbul for one of the big "derby" or CL/Europa games, but just having tried to get on a tram outside the Blue Mosque on Eid was enough to make me think I've gotten a bit too old for that unless I had the presidential box and a driver. That said, Istanbul is amazing, and probably even better if you're a little famous and little flush.
Damn.... ugh.... I kinda sorta hate this move. It's akin to DMB (my fav Yank of all-time) and all the other Yanks who've gone to Rangers. I don't necessarily hate Besiktas like I do Rangers, though. I have a soft spot for Galatasaray. My best and favorite youth coach was a chain-smoking Turk who loved Gala. That was back in the Friedel had hair Gala days. Anyways, great move for Boyd. Besiktas just hired long-time Istanbul BB manager Abdullah Avci (had spell as Turkey NT manager between two stints at Istanbul BB) and from what little I know his style favors players like Boyd. There's potential for Boyd to thrive. But..... I'm gonna have to root for Boyd slightly from afar and hope Beskitas suck balls. Unfortunately sucking balls for them is finishing 3rd and not winning a title. So I'll take it.
I remember being in Besiktas when Besiktas won the championship in 2016. Was supposed to meet friends for dinner at a nice restaurant.. after i got in the cab, we were mobbed by celebrating fans in the streets. I called my friend, canceled and had to walk back to my hotel. It was wild I will say. But oof, a Turkish Second division derby match between the two Adana teams was always accompanied by riot police. (and yes I have attended second division Turkish soccer league matches... not sure how to think about that fact sometimes).
yeah...you get what i'm saying. my critique is of a way of thinking that is very popular in american soccer circles...a way of thinking that GB just so happens to seem to subscribe to (although maybe not as much as it seems from his first few months on the job...its tbd.) the thought pattern has many adherents. JK, Arena, many others... It goes something like Player X must be slowly integrated into the team....only after many callups can he become someone who actually has a role on the team. player x must play at a high level for several years before "earning" a callup...but players who have already been on the team can do nothing at their clubs and still get called up. also, If it is 1 year before a tourney....no new players can be called in, etc....it all boils down to prior experience and integration trumping almost everything in terms of who is and isn't on the team. It isn't about GB...its about the perception of the USMNT and who and how they can be on the team....and yes by extension....if GB follows that pattern I guess in a way he is included in that ...but he was far from the target of my post. bottomline: just call up anyone who is playing well right now whether they know the team or have played on the team before and see what happens...especially over players who have not excelled meaningfully yet.
And a straight man, and not someone who speaks out for democracy. Turkey is a shithole, and deserves a ton of international scorn for the awful Islamist turn they've taken in the last decade.
This is also true. I have not been in a couple of years, but even then Turkish "secret" police where everywhere (although that is not particularly new - they've been ubiquitous every time I've visited). I stayed at the hotel of a somewhat infamous Armenian-Turkish writer who writes about the Armenian genocide and is constantly being jailed for building violations... hmmm. But Turkey, esp. Istanbul, is also vibrant, cultural, historical and challenging with a wide swath of people who can be incredibly welcoming if you approach them properly... Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk...
Obviously hasn't been to Turkey very often. Contradictory, confusing, disorientating and - occasionally - scary? Sure. But a shithole? Not. At. All. Islamist, or crony capitalism & money laundering economics with an authoritarian grifter in the presidential palace sticking his snout in the trough, using the proles' piety to tickle their psychic erogenous zones and get away with it? Of course, it's never happened in a western country, has it?
Turkey is the country where during one of their National team games they booed a moment of silence for a Paris terrorist attack.
"I speak with American, Turkish & German teams. There are also offers from China. Boyd doesn't want to pursue a career in Guimaraes. Next week, I'm going to Portugal, and I'm going to have the last meetings with Guimaraes. Then the transfer will take shape." - Tyler Boyd's agent pic.twitter.com/MAhXEW93lA— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) June 22, 2019
And not completely wrong either - I think, personally for me, the worst thing is the direction it moving. Sorry to stay OT, but last trip I was there I spent some time with a German-Turk who had been born in Germany and only returned to Turkey a few times growing up. He was there to see if he could handle returning as Germany was getting too "boring" for him - "everyone just wants a civil service job and a 50 in TV" - but Turkey was too backward looking. He and his Hungarian GF (ah the modern EU area...) were heading to Chile instead. Enough of my random old guy musings.... "I want to see Tyler Boyd in this jersey!" (I'll just post two here but there are at least a dozen twitter links to Boyd Besiktas in the last hour or two... so it's for sure got some smoke. TYLER BOYD !SENİ BU FORMANIN ALTINDA GÖRMEK İSTİYORUM 🔥🙏 pic.twitter.com/78jj7gm2Ox— Beşiktaş Transfer Dedikoduları (@dedikodubjk) June 22, 2019 #Beşiktaş,Transfer Gündemi, | Tyler Boyd,Umut Meraş,Transfer Haberleri, @HDSporFutbol, YouTube Kanalımıza Abone Olup bize destek olabilirsinizhttps://t.co/IUzmZdPHo8#TransferHaberleri #BeşiktaşHaberleri #BeşiktaşTransferHaberleri #HDSporFutbol— HD Spor Futbol (@HDSporFutbol) June 22, 2019
Looking forward to watching Besiktas matches on BeIN and wherever else. Turkish League atmosphere, for better or worse, looks like a pretty good high.
Turkish league is underrated. There's a certain excitement to it too you don't see elsewhere. As an aside, people sometimes mention the racism our players could face in places like EE or Italy. There is a similar discrimination a Christian can face in parts of Turkey and at times, it's worse. Istanbul is a global treasure. Other parts of the country are backwards. As for Boyd I like this presumed move. And if he impresses he'll continue moving up the pyramid.
A Christian isn't so visible as a darker skinned person is and as such, they can hide it. I get your point though.