“I’m a coach with emotions; I’m a coach who lives in the game. Holon gives me something that I missed. Maybe I’ve had this in Gaziantep. People here love the team. Just fight and win; they don’t care how and which way. The atmosphere is amazing. I don’t know if you see the videos on YouTube; they are amazing fans. We also have amazing facilities, a brand-new gym; there were 5000-6000 fans every game. I can say it’s similar to Karşıyaka. No football teams at the top league, so they live for the basketball team.
For my character, it’s amazing. When supported by the fans, my emotions are covered because they are crazier than me. I look normal when they are yelling. Holon covers my weaknesses and shows my strengths, contrary to Bahçeşehir. Hüseyin [Yücel] and the guys that do this project are amazing, they invest a lot of money, but there is a different story there. I still gave my heart there, but Holon is something amazing. People are happy. Even in lockdown, 300-400 fans come before the games to support us. This is the reason I signed last year and extended my contract for this year.
I’m also happy with the organization. They’re amazing, very smart people; they understand me. I have nothing but to say I’m very satisfied, and they’re very satisfied with me. That’s a great fit.
Even if they can’t come to the games, the fans are doing crazy things. For example, they go to players’ homes, 200-300 of them. They go in the cars without police knowing, make a mess in the area; they live for the team. You can feel their presence. Holon is not 10 players and the coaching staff; Holon is something really big for them.
It’s good news that from next week on, we’ll start to have 300-400 people. They opened the arenas for Balkan League and the BCL, I think we would have 500 people allowed. People in Turkey would see [the atmosphere].”