For nearly a decade, one name was synonymous with the midfield in Turkish football: Alex. A Fenerbahce legend, the Brazilian ruled the pitches of Turkey between 2004 and 2012, winning a legion of fans and inspiring a new generation who are now facing off at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™.
This Tuesday, the clash between Real Madrid C. F. and Juventus FC brings together two Turkish midfielders who grew up during Alex’s reign. The meeting of Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz adds an extra layer of intrigue to a showdown between two of Europe’s heavyweight clubs.
“There’s more to the game than those two, but I expect a really lively match, and I hope they can both bring their best, that they can help out their teams as much as possible” Alex told FIFA.
The Turkish midfield duo have lit up the early stages of this Club World Cup. Yildiz has become the focal point of Juventus’ attack and his goal tally tells much of that story. In three matches, he has scored three goals and provided one assist, as well as forcing an own goal by Wydad AC in the second round.
Guler, meanwhile, began the tournament as a substitute in Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid side. Brought on at half-time in their opening match, he has since earned a place in the starting line-up. Playing slightly deeper, the youngster has taken over some of the role at Real soon to be vacated by Luka Modric, who is bidding farewell to the club.
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The bond between Alex and Guler runs even deeper. Growing up a Fenerbahce fan, Guler looked up to the Brazilian as his footballing hero.
“As you know, the No10 shirt is sacred in Turkey,” Guler told The Player’s Tribune a few years ago, after realising his dream of wearing his idol’s No10 shirt at Fener. “It’s not just ‘the creative player’. It’s our saviour. It’s Alex, the real Alex.
“When I put on that shirt for the first time… I don’t even know how to describe it,” he added. “I wasn’t just following in Alex’s footsteps. I was taking on the creative responsibility for the whole team and millions of fans. It was a privilege. An honour. A dream. Arda Guler, Fenerbahce’s number 10. It almost felt like winning a trophy.”
Even from afar, Alex, who is currently in charge of Operario in Brazil’s second division, still keeps an eye on his ‘pupil’, but he’s careful not to draw direct comparisons.
“He was a young lad in Turkey who followed my time at Fenerbahce,” said Alex. “I think the similarities are drawn mainly from the fact that he’s a midfielder, but he has different qualities to me.
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“He’s still very young, so he will probably adapt his game and learn a lot as he develops. The real similarity is that he plays in midfield and is left-footed. But each player has their own way of playing; I had mine, and he has his.”
Long before the rise of Yildiz and Guler, Turkey had already built a reputation for producing quality midfielders. In this Club World Cup alone, the country has also been represented by Hakan Calhanoglu at FC Internazionale Milano and Orkun Kokcu at SL Benfica.
“Turkish football has always had players with these traits,” Alex remarked. “When I played there, there were two left-footed midfielders, Sergen Yalcin and Tumer Metin, both good players and with that style that Turkish fans and the league love. And now we have these two, who are both very talented.”
Guler and Yildiz have Alex’s full backing as they dream of taking Turkey back to the FIFA World Cup™ in 2026, ending a 24-year absence. But before that, the countrymen are set to face each other at one of the World Cup venues, though the Brazilian declined to pick a winner.
He only knows that it will be an unmissable match. “In this Club World Cup, the expectation is that every game will be good,” said Alex. “This one will be no different.”
