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Black Sea Hero: Wakuma aspires to march Trabzonspor to the championship

The Black Sea club has not won a championship since 1984, and the expert in interrupting negative sequences has become a fan favorite since arriving in Trabzon from Be'er Sheva three years ago.

He already has a statue, as does a huge Twitter campaign that requires him to sign a new contract.

Now just need to win the title

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• Trabzonspor

• Anthony Wakma

Michael Yochin

Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 2:00 p.m.

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Summary: Trabzonspor - Cyberspor 1: 2 (Sport 1)

On Saturday, another chapter was written in the legend of Anthony Wakma in Trabzonspor. The Turkish league leader went out for a critical away game in Istanbul against champions Shiktash, who knew three points would be critical in her desperate struggle to retain the crown. The Eagles were better throughout the tackle and sent most of the players forward during the injuries in order to achieve the coveted victory. Instead, they suffered a deadly bursting attack, and the Nigerian winger provided cooking for Danish striker Andreas Cornelius to set up a 1-2 draw for the visitors. A week after scoring the dramatic victory over Rizespor, Wakma again organized the festivities, and the gap at the top has already grown to seven points. With a huge balance of nine wins and three draws in the first 12 rounds, Trabzonspor feels it must be in her hands.

This is the title she has not seen since 1984. The drought has been going on for 37 years, and fans on the Black Sea coast have mostly known disappointments.

Too many times their hopes were shattered when Trabzonspor collapsed in moments of truth, or when the great rivals from the capital "stole" their fame as they defined it.

Particularly memorable is the affair in which Fenerbahce was accused of biasing games in the 2010/11 season, when the two finished with a tie, and the yellow-blues celebrated thanks to an advantage in the direct encounters.

UEFA suspended Pervacha from the Champions League due to irregularities, and Trabzonspor played in the factory in its place, but it did not receive the championship, and the unfortunate streak only got longer.

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With a wide smile on his face, uncompromising commitment and modesty, he was the ultimate hero from the first moment.

Wakuma (Photo: GettyImages, VI-Images)

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This is a unique group.

Trabzonspor sees itself as a legitimate company in the top 4 of Turkish football, alongside Glatsray, Fenerbahce and Shiktash, but the capital does not exactly think so.

Trabzon has tremendous local pride, but it is mixed with feelings of inferiority, the constant need to prove themselves.

To a certain extent, the mentality of the dedicated fans can be compared to that of Hapoel Beer Sheva fans.

Wakuma knows this very well.

In 2016, he was the great hero when the team from the Negev broke a 40-year streak without a championship in the Premier League.

And after adding two more championships to the private collection, Wakma left for Turkey in order to help Trabzonspor perform the same task.

He hopes it will not take Trabzonspor 40 years either.

38 That's enough.

His connection to the audience in northern Turkey was immediate, already in the summer of 2018. Just like in Be'er Sheva, the Nigerian won the hearts thanks to the great performance on the grass and the positive attitude.

With a wide smile on his face, uncompromising commitment and modesty, he was the ultimate hero from the first moment.

Already in the debut season we had 10 goals and 10 assists, and the momentum never stopped for him.

And while other foreign stars came and went, Wakuma remained.

He extended his contract in 2019, making sure to mention in every interview his strong connection to the city and its fans.

The tendency to excel in the big games only intensified his aura.

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"Wakama has a special place in hearts. He always gives his maximum and plays well against any opponent," says Walla! Yakop Sports, Trabzon fan. Another fan, Ahmet, explains: "We haven't had a player like that in a very long time. He is a real trickster who plays for the crowd, abuses defenders and makes fun of them. We are dying for it." "Wakma is calm and confident on the pitch. He's a true leader, and now he's also the vice captain. Every team that wants to win a championship needs a star like him. When it's not going for us, he takes the business on his shoulders and produces something," claims Dogosh, another fan. Soon, he earned the nickname "Mr. Brain", because of his shaved head and intelligence. The club itself also uses this phrase - it has become very much identified with Wakuma.

Even when the team fails, Wakma is able to produce positive headlines. This was the case when Trabzonspor surrendered to Rome in the double encounter in the Conference League qualifiers in August. Despite the 3-0 defeat at the Olimpico, the Nigerian gave a show on the left wing, and Jose Mourinho - who was enjoying himself then in his early days in the new term - decided to run after him near the line to "help keep him going". After the final whistle, the Portuguese approached Wakma, also called his right-back Rick Karsdorf, and asked him with a mischievous smile: "Tell me Tony, are you so good, or is he so bad?". "He's better than me," the Trabzonspor star replied, and everyone burst out laughing.

The ability to excel and lead made Wakma such a central figure that fans raised money to erect a statue for him. The piece was erected last August near a gas station in the center of Trabzon. The initiator of the project, Adam Birsen, said: "We wanted to emphasize our love for Mr. Brain, the smart man so identified with Trabsonspor. The sculptor worked on it for half a year. We love Wakma intense love. He's all for us, and we just want him to keep playing and scoring." .

Will he be allowed to continue next season as well?

This is the question that is very troubling to Trabzonspor fans these days.

Wakuma's improved contract, under which he receives handsome bonuses for every gate and every cook, ends in the summer of 2022, and as of now contacts for the signing of the new document have not progressed.

"I love the city and the country very much, and want to stay here for many more years," the Nigerian said, but also need to move the management in that direction, and not everyone there may be convinced that he should be given a long-term contract - he will already be celebrating his birthday in March. -33.

So to convince the club, the fans went out on a big campaign on Twitter, with a special hashtag demanding to grant him the coveted contract.

In August and September, when reading was widespread across the network, Trabzonspor fans recorded 60,000 tweets on the subject.

"He's an icon. Everyone's gone, and he stays. He needs to stay longer and longer," says Ozgurjan, a Trabzon fan.

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In the meantime, this huge wave of support has not been met, but perhaps - if the public voice and all the donations so far have not been enough - at least the performance in recent weeks will help to give him the long-awaited contract as soon as possible. With five goals and three assists in 11 games so far, Wakma stands out as the most important player on the way to the top. He has very worthy competitors - the Greek bomber Anastasius in the Castas does not stop punching nets, and the Slovak Mark Hamshik who was signed during a surprising move at the age of 34 became a formidable engine in midfield. Still, they are still far from getting a statue - light and sculptural material with the special hat of Ahmet Suet Oziaziji.

Ozizyji is the most important coach in the history of the club who has brought him four championships, including the first in 1976 and the last in 1984. The hat he used to wear is the symbol most identified with Trabzonspor, and it is a huge honor for Wakma that the fans decided to put it on his head in their artwork. For years, Ozyaziji used to visit the team's home games, but at 85 his health does not allow it at the moment. "It is very important for us to break the drought and win the championship as long as he is alive, so that he can predict achievement and be a partner," says Mustafa, a fan of Trabzon.

Wakuma brings the club closer to the state of suffering for this purpose.

Unlike Hamashik, who did not get to march Napoli to the coveted championship during his long tenure in southern Italy, Nigerians have experience in truncating historical sequences.

After his name is written in gold letters in the history of Hapoel Beer Sheva, he longs to do the same on the Black Sea coast, and after the great drama at Besiktas Stadium feel even the most pessimistic in Trabzon - this may really be their season.

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