Ankara Days of Bruce Djite

There aren’t many football clubs around the world who start off their season by sacrificing an animal.

In this case, a goat was the specific species, taken down to the training ground ahead of the first home match of the campaign.

“I knew I was in Turkey when they sacrificed a goat before the start of the season. I didn’t watch it.

“We had our pre-match meal and I’m like ‘No, I’ll get ready for the game’.”

For Australian striker Bruce Djite, it’s one of the many cultural subtleties that have taken getting used to in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

The Socceroo has been in the Islamic nation for almost two years, attempting to break into the first team at Genclerbirligi - a tough assignment given he has already played under three different managers.

Now playing under former Hamburger and Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Doll, Djite has only managed a handful of appearances this season after a less than ideal start with an early injury.

“It’s been a little bit difficult to break in when the team’s doing well and the coach is always going to stick to those players that are doing the job for him. That’s been the story for the last four of five months [Genclerbirligi are in sixth place, just six points off the league leaders].”

In the meantime though he is in Ankara, where the life of a professional footballer is a stark contrast to the glitz and glamour one might associate with that of the sports star in Europe.

“There’s no houses here, everything’s apartments; I haven’t seen one house in Ankara. The traffic is crazy, people run red lights all the time.

“You see a crash at least three or four times a week. It’s ridiculous; you go to training and then go home!”

Describing Ankara as “Canberra” and Istanbul – Turkey’s most cosmopolitan city – as “Sydney”, Djite begins to paint a picture of a simple environment and lifestyle that ironically reminds him of his time at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

“I remember speaking to Mile Sterjovski and Nick Carle when they were living here before and they said that they came here for the football, not to socialize or anything like that.

“The football is very strong but outside of it there’s not much. I’m one of those guys who doesn’t need a lot to do, the more simple, the better.

“But that’s good as well because you’ve got to take a lot of positives from that, like being able to concentrate on your football.

“I remember when I was at the AIS there’s really nothing to do in Canberra and that was a good thing!”

Having also had to get used to the sound of mosques ringing out five times a day, Djite warns that it takes a strong character to survive as a foreigner in Turkey.

Daily life includes going into the club for breakfast at 8:45 am, training at 10:00 am, having lunch at the club, returning back to the club in the afternoon and perhaps in-between and afterwards spending time at the local shops, a cafe or simply relaxing at home (though that itinerary becomes more limited during a particularly cold winter).

“Nothing too interesting,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone, though not with a sense of regret or frustration.

And while he also admits that the standard of living could be “better” Djite again shows his maturity in appreciating the experience both for its football and cultural merits, making sure he’s “keeping an open mind and enjoying the ride”.

And what of the Turkish people?

“They’re very open people, very kind people, their tradition obviously means they have things like Ramadan but they don’t force it on you.

“They do have traditions and moral values but they’re very peaceful so I think it wouldn’t be right to generalize about Turkey as an Islamic country and put that stigma on them. They’re nothing like that.

“They all follow their religion and that’s a very good and positive thing.”

Listing his favourite dishes as Baklava and Iskender Kebab and his favourite restaurant as ‘Paper Moon’ – which has an Italian feel and crucially for the Australian sells Prosciutto – his most memorable moment remains an away trip to Besiktas.

“I think playing away at Besiktas was the most crazy thing ever. The fans are just fanatic; some clubs have the little fanatic sections behind the goals but the whole stadium was fanatical.

“Sometimes I think [they are] a bit too passionate, throwing things on the field like chairs, if things aren’t going well they become a bit violent. But it shows how much they love the sport.”

It’s a long way from Hindmarsh Stadium.

Chris Paraskevas, Goal.com