Cenk ready for full throttle
HAVING played over three seasons in Istanbul where derbies are just as likely to end in a haze of teargas as with a referee’s whistle, Cenk Tosun will not be fazed by today’s clash with Liverpool.
The Everton striker smiles when asked to recount details of the first match this season between Fenerbahce and Besiktas in September which ended 2-1 after six yellow cards, five reds, and two goals in the last five minutes.
“It was only really four reds,” he says dismissively. “Ozyakup [the Besiktas midfielder] was sent off inside the changing room after the game.
“Sometimes in Istanbul derby games players can forget it is sport. In comparison, English derbies are calm.”
Tosun, 26, might have made his debut in a Merseyside derby had his paperwork gone through in time for the FA Cup clash in January but, as it is, that first taste will come this lunchtime at Goodison Park.
And while the start to his Everton career was slow, four goals in his past four games as well as some encouraging chats with former Toffees striker Duncan Ferguson, now an assistant coach there, have left him champing at the bit.
He said; “Everyone I speak to, everyone who asks for a photograph, they always say, ‘You have to score against Liverpool!’ So I know the importance of this game. And yes I have spoken to Duncan.”
Mention of Everton’s assistant coach sees a smile play across Tosun’s lips.
“He is a legend here. He is very well known and he proved himself, but he was a crazy kind of player – I am not sure I am that crazy. I heard he headbutted a few... is that right?”
It was pointed out there was also throttling, elbows and the odd punch. “Nice,” Tosun adds, nodding. “Yes I like that. I like players who give everything for the team and the supporters.”
Yet Tosun admits he struggled to adapt physically following his move, when he had to carry the burden of being Sam Allardyce’s statement signing.
But the engaging striker insists that after extra training sessions, a few goals and buying a house on Merseyside which he and his wife will move into later this month, he is beginning to feel at home. “It was a difficult time when I signed as maybe some people saw me as a saviour,” he says. “I was trying, doing my best to take that role.
“But now we have got so many points since, we have got 40 points now and my teammates supported me a lot.”
Tosun name-checks Seamus Coleman as a particular help and his chats with the longserving full-back have backed up Ferguson’s motivational talks stressing the importance of the Merseyside derby.
Three days after Manchester City were overwhelmed by the noise inside Anfield in the Champions League, the gauntlet has been laid down for Goodison to create a wall of sound.
Tosun insisted they will have to go some to beat the supporters of his former club Besiktas, who were so loud during a Champions League group game in September that Leipzig striker Timo Werner wore ear plugs but still asked to be substituted after 32 minutes with “hearing issues”.
“Very, very loud. They break the decibel records,” says Tosun proudly. “I also spoke to Mario Balotelli about it. He said the night after when we [Besiktas] beat Liverpool [in the Europa League in February 2015] he still couldn’t hear properly.”
Tosun and Everton fans will hope Liverpool can be left in a similar head-spin for all that recent history suggests a mountain to climb.
“I signed a four-and-a-halfyear deal here and I want to become a legend,” says Tosun. “Centre-forwards are important to any team but I know that at Everton it is important for the centre-forward to score goals and have a bond with the supporters.
“The goals I have already scored make the bond between me and the supporters better. But I know what it means to the supporters so, God willing, I will score this weekend and become a true Evertonian.”
I heard that he headbutted a few