BRIGHT Osayi-Samuel admitted four years in the white-hot pressure cooker atmosphere in Turkey took him close to the edge.
Famed for an on-field scrap after he was attacked by irate supporters, the winger-turned-defender also learnt to live with Jose Mourinho before heading back to Blighty.
He described seeing out his time with Fenerbahce as ‘a crazy achievement.’
And anyone who has sampled footballing life in the Turkish capital – with three clubs – Besiktas and Galatasaray are the other two – knows that defeat is never taken kindly.
There is pressure to succeed at Blues – but it’s nothing like being under the microscope in Istanbul.
As Osayi-Samuel – who turned down interest from Besiktas to come to St Andrew’s – revealed.
He said: “Quite a few English players go there – and it’s difficult to cope under the pressure.
“When you aren’t from there and you don’t know the language, you don’t know what people are saying about you, I feel like that was big for me.
“We didn’t win the league. And every year that went by, the pressure was higher.
“For me to spend four years there was a crazy achievement because so many players sign for one year – and then they’re gone – and that’s because of the pressure.”
The tinderbox atmosphere never feels far from exploding.
And one day, it did.
As Blues’ new full-back explained: “The maddest thing that happened to me out there – I think everyone in Turkey knows – was a fight.
“We played Trabzonspor away and we scored in the last minute. We wanted to celebrate on the pitch.
“We had fans from all over the stadium coming onto the pitch trying to fight us.
“There’s a video of me hitting one guy – it was live on television so I couldn’t claim it wasn’t me.
“It was crazy. I didn’t know what was going on.
“But the derby games were just as bad. If you won, it was like winning the World Cup. The celebrations are insane.
“For Fenerbahce fans there was a place called ‘Baghdad Street.’
“If we won, I’d go down there – I was loved down there – I’d get free food. You were treated like a king.”
During his final year, the Nigeria international played under Jose Mourinho – the ‘Special One.’
The Portuguese may have a fearsome reputation but there are far more players who talk well of him, than speak badly.
And Osayi-Samuel is one of them.
He said: “The first time I met him, he gave me a subtle dig. He told me how he had seen me play and he felt like I was good – but that I didn’t run back enough.
“That was literally the first conversation I had with him.
“I had to start running back towards my goal. I had to. I didn’t have any choice!
“He would tell us stories all the time about players – sometimes even minutes before the game – he’s named all of them – Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard – all of them.
“Just things to inspire us. If anyone did anything to annoy him, he wasn’t going to take that. When things are bad, he can come down on you. I really didn’t want to see that side of him.
“But away from the game, he would ask about my family, my girlfriend and my mum who came to the games a lot.
“A lot of players’ families would come to see him – he treated everyone with respect, very welcoming. He was a great guy.
“I really wish we could have won something for him because I felt that would have brought even more out of him.”
Osayi-Samuel’s campaign may be disrupted by this year’s AFCON.
The defender was part of the squad two years ago that saw the Super Eagles go down 2-1 to the Ivory Coast in the final.
Overall, he was a great guy. I just wish they had become champions now.
Has he even considered the prospect of a unique double with the Blues and in the Afcon?
“Before I even signed, I hadn’t thought about it…playing in a team pushing for the Premier League and then the AFCON.
“It was actually my mother who sat me down this season and said: ‘If you get your head down – you can actually achieve so much this season.’
“For example, missing out on AFCON, losing in the final, that was painful. Not winning the league in Turkey for four years, that was painful.
“If I can put those things right by winning twice this season, taking the club back up on its 150th anniversary, it will be a great personal achievement.”
