Fortuna Sittard still has to get used to the whims of superstar Yilmaz

• Oscar van der Horst

  Editor NOS Sport

Burak Yilmaz to Fortuna Sittard is by far the most wonderful Eredivisie transfer of this century. During his presentation, ten chosen fans are even allowed to touch him, perhaps also to confirm that it is really him.

After a short introduction by the Turkish striker, panic immediately breaks out. Burak is lost.

He was last seen in the brasserie, where he was playing table tennis with one of his daughters. The rumor that he would have left after that is soon confirmed. Everyone is dumbfounded.

Press secretary and host Jurjen van Geel promised to be home early just this day, for his son’s birthday. Does he have this again?

They still have to get used to the whims of a superstar in Sittard. When Fortuna seemed to be dying a few years ago, Burak in China earned an annual salary that was more than three times the full club budget of the Limburgers.

What does this star in Sittard have to do, everyone would have liked to hear from his mouth. But then the day takes a sudden turn.

Burak returns for a while, to clear up all the mystery surrounding his person. When he was asked earlier in the day during a short interview when he would first appear on the training field, he answered laconically: “After that.”

His smile shows that Burak himself can’t say anything about it either. Because first he still has to get his work permit, a procedure that can take a few weeks in the worst case. But being fit at the kick-off during the start of the competition at home against Ajax on August 6, that is his big goal.

Burak is the best striker Turkey has ever had after Hakan Sükür. But unlike Hakan, Burak has already been successful beyond its borders.

According to him, Turkish supporters also could not believe that someone of his stature was going to Fortuna Sittard, after all, there was enough interest from larger clubs. But that’s what they thought when he went to Lille, with which he eventually became champion of France against all expectations and played in the Champions League.

In the shirt with number 17, he hopes to enrich Fortuna’s history in his last two seasons as a football player. In the previous four seasons at the highest level, no fewer than seven players have played with the same number on their backs, but Jordan Botaka, Thibaud Verlinden, Dimitrios Emmanouilidis, Djibril Dianessy, Carlos Faya, Alessandro Ciranni and Amadou Ciss have almost been forgotten.

Burak says thanks to former teammate Wesley Sneijder that he has already been updated about the club. He is impressed by the players who grew up there. Fernando Ricksen, Kevin Hofland and Mark van Bommel, he certainly knows those big names.

And on the same fertile ground, Burak, who turns 37 today, hopes for a second youth.

The streets around Fortuna’s stadium have names such as Milan Street, Barcelona Street, Madrid Street and Lisbon Avenue. Named after cities that Burak mainly knows from the top clubs he often played against in his rich career.

And then Fortune. Shortly after his landing on Wednesday, Burak was taken almost undercover to the sports park where his new club practiced against Team VVCS, made up of unemployed pros. Hidden among the reserve players, he was barely recognized.

To avoid misunderstandings, he was better able to explain what he found there in his native language. The interpreter says that Burak’s practice matches say nothing at all about the level, but he had seen a number of “skilled colleagues” at work.

Fortuna is aiming high on the transfer market this summer, thanks to the successful businessman Isitan Gün, who also realized the unlikely arrival of Burak to Sittard with the right connections.

Jokes are already being made about the transfer-free Mesut Ozil, after all, the club is still looking for a playmaker. However, the German technician with Turkish roots already has another club within a day of the termination of his contract with Fenerbahçe.

Moreover, enough craziness in Limburg for a moment. For trainer Sjors Ultee, the arrival of Burak also causes some uncertainty in the preparation. Because when is he really there? And certainly in view of the attacker’s poor English, it seems desirable to him to be given the time to fit in this attraction.

Because no matter how it ends, the Burak phenomenon just stirs something up with its presence. Sittard seems to fit him perfectly, says Burak. His daughters can continue to receive French-language education nearby. And when the spark spreads to the team from full stands, he knows for sure that great things can happen.

Turkish scenes, but not yet. Apart from all the invitees, no one came to the presentation at all. There is no dog to be seen outside the stadium.

And inside, Burak tells those present that his smile clearly shows how satisfied he is with this new adventure, before he disappears again like a thief in the night. They hope not for too long.