Years later, here’s the confession: “I hit Arda Turan before an Istanbul derby, I needed chaos”

Brazilian footballer Cristian Baroni, who played for Fenerbahçe for 5 seasons and is a fan favorite, returned years later to the tension he had with Arda Turan in the derby against Galatasaray

The Brazilian footballer scored 20 goals in 137 matches in his spell at Fenerbahçe between 2009 and 2014. Cristian Baroni would part ways with Fenerbahçe in the 2014-2015 season due to the restriction of foreign players in the Super League: he won the Superleague in 2010-2011 and in 2013-2014. Again with Fenerbahçe he won the Turkish Cup in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Cristian Baroni contributed to its success by winning the Turkish Super Cup in 2009 and 2014.

The 32-year-old, who most recently played for Corinthians, retired from football in 2017 due to injuries. Baroni is etched in the memory of fans with tears after scoring goals for Fenerbahçe. Although he has a tough footballing style as a midfielder, he has only been sent off once as a professional.

The derby episode he recalled these days concerns a pre-derby warm-up between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray: “We were warming up before a derby. Arda Turan, one of the idols of Turkish football, passed by me during the warm-up. L “I pushed right away. There was nothing, but sometimes you need things like this to charge yourself and to charge the environment. I wanted to warm up a bit. Then I looked at him and he came back to me. It hit me “I pushed it, but suddenly there was a mess. There are always little tensions and bickering in derbies. That’s the beauty of derbies. Sometimes we footballers need a slightly tense environment like this.” .

Arda Turan wagged a finger at Cristian and shouted “Be a man”. Other players tried to calm down Arda Turan, who was quite angry. The grandstands suddenly flared up. Describing the incident to Ayhan Akman, Arda said Baroni pushed him out of the blue. Fenerbahçe won the match 3-1.