Kayacik: 'Achieve the maximum in all areas'

Furky, you've now been at Bayer 04 for around two weeks. What are your first impressions of the club? 
Kayacik: They were full of emotion and aroused great anticipation for the time ahead: I was at the BayArena for the Werkself home game against BVB and the atmosphere absolutely knocked me down. The stadium is really fantastic and I received a really warm welcome from everybody. It was incredibly great fun. And it was also a bit of a funny story because the game brought me full-circle...

How's that? 
Kayacik: I'd only been to the stadium once before in my life. I was eight years old and – by coincidence – I saw the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 and Borussia Dortmund. I can't really remember much of it. That's why it was a very special experience for me this time. And when I saw the pitch I just felt like putting on my boots and getting involved in the game.

You are known as a professional eSports player. What's your ability on a real pitch?
Kayacik: I played for the youth team at Kassel and wanted, like every young boy, to become a professional player. But I picked up a very complex hip injury at the time. I wasn't able to play again without pain. Then at some point I thought: Come on, you're much better at playing computer games...

And now you're an eSports player with the Bundesliga club. What made you decide to make the move to Leverkusen?
Kayacik: For me, the discussions with the management were crucial. I had offers from other Bundesliga clubs but at Bayer 04 I saw the biggest chance of developing personally and at the same time meeting the job profile. My first impressions have definitely been positive.

You entertain more than 73,000 followers with gaming content on the FIFA football game on your YouTube channel 'Furkyplayz'. What was your motivation to get involved in that?
Kayacik: My brother got me involved when FIFA 19 came out. I was always the best at FIFA in my circle of friends and he made the suggestion I should stream it while playing. I did that and over time it has developed into me sitting here today and being able to wear the Bayer 04 shirt.

What do you think makes you different from other YouTubers? 
Kayacik: I'm not a comedian but I tried to entertain people and play well at the same time. I do a lot of commentary and I'm very interactive. When I'm streaming, I talk to a lot to the people who are on the chat function. And there I really try to cover everything.

In future, you won't just play for Bayer 04 on FIFA in all competitions but also work as a content creator for the #B04 eSports team. What are your targets for the forthcoming tasks?
Kayacik: I'd like to achieve the maximum in all areas. My target is to make as many people as possible, who are interested in FIFA in Germany, aware of the Bayer 04 channels and to provide them with information. On my YouTube channel, I'm already doing a lot of promotion for the coming season in the Virtual Bundesliga. We definitely want to go a long way there as a team. In addition, I'm aiming to take part in the world championships and to perform well in every game for Bayer 04.

Talking about the Virtual Bundesliga: The preview version of FIFA 22 has been available for a few days. Have you been able to train on it at Bayer 04?
Kayacik: Not yet but I will this weekend in Leverkusen. Then we will hold a joint boot camp where we will train and play against each other. There are a number of changes with FIFA 22, which is normal for a game that comes out year after year. I think the game is really good and has great potential. I had loads of fun with it in the first few days – which isn't the case with every FIFA game (he laughs).

And finally: Is there a Leverkusen FIFA card you particularly liked playing in the past? That is your all-time Bayer 04 favourite player on FIFA.
Kayacik: There is one – and he's a legend on my YouTube channel. It was FIFA 19 in my first year and there was a future star card for Kai Havertz. He was incredible. When he came into my team it was clear who would score the goals and provide the assists. He scored an incredible number of headed goals and it felt like he won every game.

Click here to watch the presentation of Furky on Bayer 04 TV.