by Tuğsal Moğul is a doctor, actor, director – and football fan. He grew up as the son of Turkish immigrants in Beckum, North Rhine-Westphalia, and was socialized into football there. Next summer he will present the play “Our Eleven – A Slightly Different National Anthem” at the Hanover State Theater as part of the European Football Championship cultural program.
ONLINE TIME: Mr Moğul, Germany is playing against them Türkiye? Who are you for?
Tuğsal Moğul: Difficult … (considered) I think the Turkish team is very good at the moment, it has improved a lot. But there are both souls in my chest. I also think İlkay Gündoğan is great. I can’t decide, I’m in favor of both.
ONLINE TIME: How representative are you in this disunity among the millions of German Turks?
Tycoon: Many will be more likely to support the Turkish team than the German team. This is this football fanaticism. I’m always surprised, many are still fans of Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray or Besiktaş. I always think: hey, it’s okay, I’ve been a Borussia Mönchengladbach fan since I was a kid. But there are also people like me. The community is very divided on this.
ONLINE TIME: What relationship do you have with the German team?
Tycoon: For years I wished Germany would lose. I was born here, my native language is German, but for a long time I couldn’t identify with this team.
ONLINE TIME: Why not?
Tycoon: I don’t know. Maybe they were too bio-German for me and I didn’t see myself there. In 1986, in the World Cup final between Argentina and Germany, I was very happy that Argentina won 3-2. I was 17 at the time, I have no idea why. Of course I knew the German players better than the Argentinians, but that feeling didn’t exist. I would never have worn a Germany shirt.
ONLINE TIME: Does it seem like this changed at some point?
Tycoon: For the 2006 World Cup, the so-called summer fairy tale. There was a lot of euphoria in this country and the team seemed friendly too. It was more diverse and configured differently. But also the sporting aspect, a few years later Mesut’s legs and Mesut’s style of play, I thought was excellent. For me he was one of the best and Jogi Löw never wanted to be without him. I then bought my first Germany shirt.
ONLINE TIME: In Mesut Ozil?
Tycoon: Yes, the one from the 2014 World Cup. The funny thing is that I even bought it in Turkey. It was my World Cup final birthday, so I sat in front of the TV with my shirt on and watched the game with bio-German friends and neighbors. That was exciting. I wish Özil had scored the decisive goal. But even that probably wouldn’t have prevented what happened four years later.
ONLINE TIME: They say: everything seemed to be going well. In 2010 he had a photo with Angela Merkel and Mesut Özil in the locker room, in 2014 he became world champion. He now has a Gray Wolves tattoo. What just happened?
Tycoon: Özil still managed the bambi integration. With him, many young people could have been involved and further promoted integration through his example. But he was also the wrong person for this. He never aggressively addressed the issue of integration. And then the about-face he made after Erdoğan’s photo and his dismissal via Twitter, perhaps also whispered by false friends and advisors. But I also think there was a lot of racist resentment towards him. It’s a mystery to me why the dislike for him was so great before.
ONLINE TIME: For example?
Tycoon: It has been said for a long time: he will not sing the national anthem. But in 1974 no one sang the national anthem, so that wasn’t a problem at all. He also once said that he prays during this time to focus. Yes, so he will do that. What’s so bad about that? I still don’t understand this. I’m a child from East Westphalia, I feel very Westphalian, but at the same time I always have the feeling: it’s never enough. Even with a name like Mesut or Tuğsal, which is always pronounced incorrectly. The ğ in my name remains silent, but it is said constantly, even after explanation, Tugsal. But now there are other letters that also belong to Germany. We are a country of immigration and we are the children. Germany has to get used to these faces, these eyes. This is Germany.
Tuğsal Moğul is a doctor, actor, director – and football fan. He grew up as the son of Turkish immigrants in Beckum, North Rhine-Westphalia, and was socialized into football there. Next summer he will present the play “Our Eleven – A Slightly Different National Anthem” at the Hanover State Theater as part of the European Football Championship cultural program.
ONLINE TIME: Mr Moğul, Germany is playing against them Türkiye? Who are you for?
Tuğsal Moğul: Difficult … (considered) I think the Turkish team is very good at the moment, it has improved a lot. But there are both souls in my chest. I also think İlkay Gündoğan is great. I can’t decide, I’m in favor of both.
