No Way No Way, Do Not Say, No Way No Way (biography) | Şenes Erzik

I recently completed listening to Turkish Football Federation’s Honorary President, FIFA and UEFA Honorary Member Şenes Erzik's biography book "Don't Say No, No Way" on storytel. Cüneyt Kıran performed the reading of the biography which lasts for more than twelve hours. I learned Erzik's important anecdotes not only about his life but also about the world of football in his biography, which accompanied me while working and walking.

In his biography, Şenes Erzik sends a message that we must be rational for the rest of our lives without giving up. In other words, he tells his reader not to do what we can't do, but to measure it well.

I think it was his first turning point when he took the Robert College exams for high school education with the encouragement and support of his older brother Necati Erzik at the age of 14. The universal education he received in a respected school, the strong connections and network he built, was obviously a good investment for him.

In the following years, he played football and successfully completed his education at Robert College, including a master's degree. Regardless of the challenges that come his way, he has achieved an unprecedented success in our country. Looking back on his youth, it was as important for his brother to make the right choices as it was to send him to Robert College. He was interested in both swimming and football, so he chose the right one and moved forward. In an interview about his book, he later summed it up this way: "Stage one: An opportunity has come before you. But there's also the second stage: you have to be able to use it."

Şenes Erzik explains that football is a team game and that he fell in love with the team game both in his job and in his personal life. When he mentioned that the hydrangeas he looked after his mother at the time caused him to break while playing football, he stated that the hydrangeas were broken in his personal life when necessary, but that one could not be alone, that he did not like loneliness at all, and therefore chose football, which is a team game. For example, when he explained that he did not continue swimming alone because he was so successful, he stated that the important thing was to be together, to share his pain and sweetness.

Şenes Erzik, who wrote the details of his life dedicated to Turkey and football in order to set an example for young people, emphasizes that he writes not to "brag" but to "be known".

As for how I felt when listening to the book, besides all, Mr. Erzik adapted very easily to the environment he was in thanks to his strong social skills. That is how he always manages to succeed when he changes things in his life and career. He worked as a professional manager in the leading institutions of the country such as Industrial Investment and Credit Bank, Roche, Sandoz Turkey, Pimaş, ENKA. He served as a Member of the Sandoz Council of the Republic of Korea with the leadership of the FAO / UNICEF Projects of the United Nations. He gained different experiences and improved himself because he was always open to experience in what he thought was the right decision. This gave him opportunities that other Turkish people did not have. And when he makes the most of it, you know the result.

Erzik, who was Turkish Football Federation President, UEFA Vice President and member of the FIFA Executive Committee in his career as a sports administrator, showed today's younger generation and future generations that nothing is impossible in life. And our last take-away from his success story is to be inspired and keep on working.