Back
25.04.2020Bayer 04

Bastürk: ‘It was great fun that day’

The 2-2 draw for the Werkself at Manchester United on 24 April 2002 definitely counts as one of the most legendary games in the club’s history. One player who really impressed was Yildiray Bastürk. In an interview with bayer04.de, the former Bayer 04 midfielder looks back at that special night at Old Trafford 18 years ago, recalls the magical season of 2001/02 and talks about his relationship with coach Klaus Toppmöller.
Yidiray_Bastuerk_220802.jpg

Yildiray, what comes to mind first when you think about the 2-2 draw at Manchester United?
Oh, there’s loads of images that still come to me. First, there’s the exceptional stadium. And I remember incidents in the game like it was yesterday. It was a fantastic match with both teams having lots of chances. Man United were a bit better in the first half but we moved up a gear in the second half and absolutely deserved to get a point in Manchester. Crikey, the Man United line-up was incredible: Barthez, Blanc, Scholes, Veron, Giggs, it was full of world starts. And one of the biggest of their’s was definitely the striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Michael Ballack once said he had goose bumps when he went onto the pitch at Old Trafford. What was the atmosphere like for you back then?
It was truly breathtaking. We’d played Arsenal at Highbury and Liverpool at Anfield before that. And the atmosphere was incredible there too. But at Old Trafford, Michael was right, it was even more intense. That made a real impression on you as a player.

You were the Kicker Man of the Match, and they gave top marks. Did you think you’d done that well?
(He laughs) Well, I was involved in lots of good moves going forward. I did a lot of dribbles at pace and was involved in both goals. The equaliser at 2-2 from Olli Neuville came from a deflected shot on goal from me. It was a lot of fun that day! I think you could see that in the way I played.

But you were very committed in challenges…
That’s right. I was a midfielder who worked back a lot. And particularly in this game it was necessary to be aggressive in challenges. Above all in the first half, we really had to stand and be counted and get stuck in. I wanted to lead the way.

Where does this game rank in your top ten games ever?
Definitely in the top three - it really means a lot to me to be man of the match in that game. Even Sir Alex Ferguson singled me out after the game. And our coach Klaus Toppmöller too. It was a really successful night for me.  

Your impressive performance was even applauded by the Man United fans. You don’t experience gestures like that every day.
It was really top drawer! It’s typical for England to get applause from the opponents if you play well and fairly. They appreciate that in England. And we were on equal terms with that top team on the night. We didn’t have to sit back because we had lots and lots of great players in our squad. And the Manchester United fans knew we’d knocked out some great teams along the way.

 

 

 

crop_imago01922563h.jpg
Yildiray Bastürk (r.) played for Bayer 04 against Manchester United (here: Juan Sebastian Veron).

In spite of the great performance and the good situation, it got really tight in the return game with the 1-1 scoreline.
Oh yes, that was a very hard-fought game. The spectators at the BayArena didn’t see the good football from the first leg. It was much more tactical. But the match was at a really high level in terms of commitment.

Roy Keane put Manchester United ahead on 28 minutes then you saw Olli Neuville on the edge of the box in added time at the end of the first half.
I played a short pass to him, Olli controlled the ball, turned and hit a shot from a standing position under the bar. A really great goal. We just wanted to hold on to the scoreline in the second half.

Which would almost have gone wrong just before the shot…
(He laughs) Yes, but we had Diego Placente who headed the ball off the line from Forlan’s shot. I wasn’t on the pitch at that point and I watched the incident from the bench. Of course, the final minutes were really nervy as Man United were throwing everything at us. But we held on and were through to the final. We players and the fans went crazy. But there was one real blow: Jens Nowotny tore his cruciate in the opening stages of the game. We really missed our captain in the final games.

Lets take another look at the other games in the magical season of 2001/02. There were countless highlights in the Champions League. Which games do you particularly remember?
Definitely the 2-1 win at home to Barcelona in the group stage after we were 1-0 down. The first leg of the quarter-final at Anfield where we played really well but ended up losing 1-0. And then, of course, the second leg against thee Reds, our 4-2 win were we produced a truly brilliant performance.

Was there a key match in the Champions League? A game where you though we can go a long way?
Perhaps it was the 2-1 win against Barcelona. That was our first win against a really big team. We were able to compete with Xavi, Kluivert and co when we played with discipline. Then we were able to do the same against the other top clubs.

You had some great players in your team. But was special about you as a team back then besides the quality of players?
So, if I look at our team back then then it was really the case that our first twelve or thirteen players were amongst the best players in Europe. And the lads also got on really well together. All of them had their feet on the ground, everybody helped out and nobody was above doing the hard work on the pitch. That was singled us out.

You had a really close relationship with the coach Klaus Toppmöller, didn’t you?
Yes, absolutely, he was my mentor. He showed his confidence in me as an 18-year-old from Bochum and he took good care of me. Toppi just knew how to handle me. I’ve got so much to thank him for! 

You were runners-up three times that season. Which second place was most painful to you?
Obviously missing out on the league title. We were top of the table, five points ahead of Dortmund with three games to play and we’d just beaten BVB 4-0 at home. Nothing could go wrong. But it didn’t happen. And that was so disappointing!

That season was followed by the World Cup where you finished third with Turkey. A wonderful finish to a fantastic season.
Yes, that’s right. I joined the Turkey squad at the training camp straight after the Champions League. The World Cup was a great success for Turkey. I was able to repeat my form from the season in Japan/South Korea and I was ninth in the vote for World Player of the Year (Ballon d’Or, ed.) - no other Turkish player managed that after me. I’m proud of that too.

What do the three years at Leverkusen mean to you?
It was a great time. Of course, my first season was the most successful of my career. I was sidelined for a long time due to injuries in my second year. We battled to avoid relegation and made it at the last moment. Overall, the years at Leverkusen were definitely amongst the best in my career.

crop_imago39881550h.jpg
From the football pitch to the property business: Yildiray Bastürk, former Werkself player.

What job do you do now?
I’m the director of a property company in the Rhine-Ruhr area.

Do you still follow Bayer 04?
Yes, but not as intensively as back in the early years. But I’m still very interested although I rarely go to the BayArena. But I did see the 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid this season. And I keep in contact with Carsten Ramelow and Jens Nowotny by phone.

Personal details for Yildiray Bastürk:
Date of birth:
24.12.1978
At Bayer 04: from 2001 to 2004
Appearances for Bayer 04: 114
Goals for Bayer 04: 9
Assists: 22
Other clubs: Sportfreunde Wanne-Eickel, SG Wattenscheid 09, VfL Bochum, Hertha BSC, VfB Stuttgart, Blackburn Rovers
International appearances: 49 caps (two goals) for Turkey
Honours: Champions League finalist, Bundesliga runner-up and DFB Cup finalist with Bayer 04 2002, World Cup third place with Turkey 2002

Related News

Alonso
Bundesliga - 18.05.2025

Werkself Review #M05B04: Strange start, positive ending

They had their hands full in the VAR centre in Cologne: eight goals were scored at the MEWA Arena on Saturday afternoon, but only four of them were allowed in the end as the Werkself and 1. FSV Mainz 05 closed the season with a 2-2 draw. It means Bayer 04 end the 2024/25 campaign as runners-up with 69 points, representing the fourth-best season in the club's history. What's more, the Werkself are now unbeaten away from home in two whole Bundesliga seasons, with their last away defeat coming exactly two years ago on Matchday 34 of the 2022/23 season at VfL Bochum. The Black-and-Reds can continue the record run next season - albeit without Alonso and Tah. Read what else the eventful final game for the head coach and the defensive leader had to offer in the Werkself Review.

Show more
Werkself end 2024/25 with away record | 34th matchday
Werkself-TV - 17.05.2025

TV highlights of 2-2 draw at Mainz 05

Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-2 draw at Mainz 05 on the 34th matchday of the Bundesliga 2024/25...

Show more
Letzter Spieltag
Bundesliga - 17.05.2025

Werkself end 2024/25 with away record after 2-2 draw in Mainz

Bayer 04’s final game of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season saw VAR drama and produced a new record for away results with a 2-2 draw in Mainz. The hosts had several goals ruled out before Paul Nebel put them ahead. Patrik Schick’s brace then turned things around in the second half before Jonathan Burkardt’s penalty levelled the game again. It means Leverkusen have now gone 34 away games without defeat in the Bundesliga, which no team has ever done before.

Show more
Bayer 04
Bundesliga - 17.05.2025

Matchday news #M05B04: 3,500 travelling supporters for final game

The Werkself bring down the curtain on their 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign with a game away at Mainz on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CEST). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 34 meeting at the MEWA Arena.

Show more
Gracias Xabi Alonso | Abschieds-Interview des Trainers, der in Leverkusen Geschichte schrieb
Werkself-TV - 16.05.2025

Xabi Alonso’s farewell interview after making history in Leverkusen

Xabi Alonso is leaving Leverkusen at the end of the season. In his final interview as Werkself coach, he talks about his two-and-a-half years at the helm, the greatest moments of his historic tenure and his appreciation of the connection with the fans and players throughout their remarkable progress together.

Show more