Ceremony held for Christoph Daum at Cologne Stadium

A funeral ceremony was held in Germany for German coach Christoph Daum, who left his mark on Turkish football and passed away on August 25.

The ceremony at Cologne Stadium was attended by Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç, Fenerbahçe General Secretary Burak Çağlan Kızılhan, Fenerbahçe Board Member Hulusi Belgü, former players Volkan Demirel, Tuncay Şanlı, Selçuk Şahin, Can Arat, Recep Biler, and many other figures from the football world.

"WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIS LOYALTY TO FENERBAHÇE"

Speaking at the memorial service, Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç stated that Christoph Daum left a lasting impression on Fenerbahçe and Turkish football. Ali Koç said, "Today we have all gathered to bid farewell to a great leader. Most importantly, he was a person who made history in his profession and touched many people's hearts with his professionalism.

Daum’s career in Turkey was full of successes. In a total of 7 seasons serving at 3 clubs, he won 3 league championships and 3 cups. Under his leadership, our club experienced consecutive league championships during his four seasons, and he also lost two championships dramatically in the final week matches.

In short, Christoph left a mark on Turkish football that it deserved and strongly etched his name into the history of Fenerbahçe. He was a true leader with extraordinary qualities as a coach. He was an extremely hardworking, dedicated, passionate, and disciplined coach. He had the ability to bring out the best performance both from his staff and individually from his players.

Today, some of the players from the period he coached Fenerbahçe are here to bid a respectful farewell to their legendary coach," he said.

"DAUM WAS A MENTOR AND A GREAT TEACHER"

Stating that Christoph Daum was a coach who embraced values such as teamwork, resilience, and honesty, President Koç said, "He was a mentor and a great teacher. He had unconventional methods and approaches to motivate the team and bring out the best results, especially in very important matches. But beyond his great career, he also had great leadership and, above all, amazing stories. He was loved and respected by the Turkish people regardless of which team they supported. So why was he loved so much? Because he was dedicated to Turkey. He was committed to our country's values, he knew our history, and he understood our people. He made an effort to speak Turkish and sang our National Anthem. Whether he was working in our country or not, he always stayed connected to receive all the developments from Turkey. He was a true friend of the Turks, and our people held him in a special place. The most important thing that set him apart from everyone else was his love, respect, and unwavering commitment to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, one of the greatest leaders in world history, and his values," he expressed.

"HE WAS IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH FENERBAHÇE"

Stating that the yellow-navy fans had great respect for Daum, Ali Koç concluded his words as follows:

"He was in constant communication with Fenerbahçe in our country, which was his second home. I was a board member during all four seasons he served at Fenerbahçe. Later, I became president. We continued to stay in touch. I saw him in Germany, and we spoke on the phone. He was so attached to Fenerbahçe that one of his last social media posts was about Fenerbahçe.

We had an election at our club this past June. I was competing against Mr. Aziz Yıldırım, who was the president during the period Christoph worked at Fenerbahçe, and he had made a post wishing us both success and stating that he was happy to see us together.

We had both a personal and professional relationship. Believe me, if I could, I would have loved to see him as the Fenerbahçe coach for a third time during my presidency. Whether as a board member or as president, we will always remember his friendship, his loyalty to Fenerbahçe, and his invaluable guidance.

Christoph, you will always be remembered by Fenerbahçe fans for your greatness, your magnificent victories, your championships, your cups, and also for your wonderful human qualities. May you rest in peace. I wish the Daum family patience and strength during these difficult days."