A former Black Stars left-back, Sam Johnson, has expressed confidence in the ability of Daniel Amartey surviving in the Turkey Super League.
Last week, the 28-year-old defender joined Turkish Super League club, Besiktas, from relegated Leicester City, and Johnson believes it is a good decision the player took as he would fit in well.
Expressing his opinion on the player’s transfer in an interview with the Graphic Sports last Friday, Johnson, who played for Turkish giants, Fenerbahce, advised the centre-back to be strong and play his heart out for his new club if he wants to be loved by the Turkish.
“What I like about Turkey is that they don’t care whether you are a foreigner or not, once you do the job for them, they will love you and even opposing teams will praise you at the stadium,” he said.
Explaining the Turkish league further, Johnson, who played for four different Turkish clubs, said the Turkish league was equally difficult but the pressure at Besiktas was not the same as it was in clubs like Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
He said the only time Amartey would have it difficult is when he did not perform well, especially in the first season.
“But once he proves himself he would be loved by the fans,” he said.
“It could be a problem if you do not do well, but if you do well in the first year you will survive,” he stated.
He also described the move from the Premiership to the Turkish league as a very good one, insisting that this time the most important thing about a footballer’s career was all about money and not name or the kind of league one played in.
Johnson said even if a Ghanaian player would play in a less-fancied league which was not recognised but would make enough money to support himself after his career, he would encourage it because no one would respect you when you retired with nothing.
“It’s a good decision he took to go to Turkey, and I don’t care whichever league a Ghanaian will sign for, because at the end of the day if he ends his career without money nobody will respect him,” he said.
SOURCE: GraphicOnline
