You might say Yusuf Karasayili went from clinging to a dwindling empire to leading a more modern city-state.

“Our first two attempts we were season champs but failed to win the playoffs,” explains FK Istanbul’s sniper extraordinaire, the same man who cut his teeth in this league managing the aforementioned FK Ottoman. “This year, I decided to form a team with a healthy mix of youngsters and older players, which has helped raise the maturity of the entire squad.”

After an admittedly tough start, FK Istanbul seem to have finally lined their tactical ducks in a row, and currently hold top spot in the C1 Division on the strength of a four-game unbeaten streak. Karasayili credits the addition of Zakaria Friha, a “fantastic” player who’s added valuable offensive and defensive qualities to the mix, as well as players like Mehmet Cocceli, Hasan Uzun, Ibrahim Keskin, Ergun Kinali et Amadou Bah for forcing the team’s young ins to be that much better.

His own stunning 25-goal contribution (the best in his division by a mile) cannot be overstated. And still Karasayili knows it won’t mean scratch if FK Istanbul can’t get by Bombonera or Rouge in an eventual playoff encounter.

“There are some very good teams in our division, which means we’ll have to be ready to serve up some high performance matches to stay in the regular season race and, most importantly, win in the playoffs. I know I’ll personally do my best to help us get there.”

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