Filipe Çelikkaya: “The gap between Europe and MLS is not so big anymore”

Filipe Çelikkaya’s connection with the United States dates back almost two decades. In 2008, he moved to Connecticut to study and play college soccer, beginning a relationship with American soccer that would eventually bring him back to the country as a coach with Chicago Fire.

Today, Çelikkaya is working on a new project with ZTE in Hungary, but his experiences in Portugal, Ukraine and the United States — including his time at Sporting CP and Benfica — have shaped a coaching philosophy strongly focused on player development, mentality and long-term growth.

Daniel Sobis:

Your connection with the United States goes back much further than Chicago Fire. You came to Connecticut in 2008 to study and play college soccer. What do you remember from your first experience in the US?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

First of all, thank you for having me.

It was a long time ago, but it was the beginning of something special. It was not only about soccer. It was also about getting to know a different culture, making new friends and studying, because that was my first objective.

Of course, playing Division I soccer was also one of my main goals at the time. I had that opportunity for just one year, but I really enjoyed my time in the United States.

Daniel Sobis:

Since then, you've learned to separate “soccer” and “football,” because many players still mix the two terms. Was that something you had to get used to?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

Yes. When you're in a country that calls it soccer, you can't use the other word because the other word means something completely different.

When I'm in Europe, I can speak about football because that's the only football I know.

Daniel Sobis:

Almost 20 years later, you returned to the US as a coach with Chicago Fire. What surprised you most about American soccer after all that time?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

It's evolving. It's a totally different structure now.

When I spoke with Greg at the time, we felt a very good connection. We didn't know each other before, but we got along very well, and our families did too. We were even neighbors in Chicago, so we had the opportunity to build something that I think can become very special for MLS.

The game itself is evolving. The players are getting better every day. The international players coming into the league are bringing knowledge and experience, and the younger players — including those who were born and raised in the United States — can learn from that.

Football is always evolving, and now the gap between Europe and MLS is not so big anymore.

The investment they're making in stadiums, facilities and coaching — including bringing coaches like myself to the league — is an investment from the clubs. I think it's going to be great for the country, and hopefully they continue doing it.

That's my wish for my friends there. I still miss all of them, but for sure, American soccer is going to continue growing.

Daniel Sobis:

You've worked with Greg Berhalter during that period. What was your experience like working with him? And can you see Greg Berhalter working at a European club in the future?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

I know that he's very happy in the city and doing his job. As for his future, that's really his decision and depends on his own dreams and expectations.

What I can say is that we were working hard to put Chicago back on the map. I think we did it.

Now they have a very good position and very good players. The investment from the ownership is also great, and the new stadium will make Chicago a massive team.

Daniel Sobis:

I have to ask you about the transfer of Robert Lewandowski. Maybe you can tell us something we don't know — I'm Polish, so I would definitely like to know! What was the process of signing Robert Lewandowski, and what do you think he can bring to Chicago over the next couple of years?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

I think it's not just about football.

Lewandowski will bring a lot of fans to the stadium, especially the Polish community in Chicago. As you know, there are a lot of Polish people living there.

So I think it's a good move not only on the field, but also from a marketing perspective and in terms of bringing fans into the stadium.

With the new stadium, I don't have any doubts that it will be full for every game.

We had an average attendance of around 22,000 per game when we were there. Maybe now it's closer to 32,000. I think it's more than in the past.

He's also going to raise the demands inside the club because he's a top player. It's important for our players to see how someone at that level behaves and works. The standards will be higher.

For me, I just wanted him to help the club because there are a lot of hardworking and honest people there. They made me and my family feel at home, almost as if I were an American citizen.

I really enjoyed my time there, and I think he's going to be great for the club during the duration of his contract.

It was a long process to bring him to the club, just as it has been with the other stars and Designated Players who have come to MLS. He's at that level — like Messi, Suárez or Busquets.

I'm very happy for them, and hopefully they can win something this year.

But even if they don't, it's about taking things step by step. When we arrived in Chicago, the team was in a very bad position. In our first year, we made the playoffs, something the club hadn't done for a long period.

Success shouldn't be measured only by trophies. Of course, we want to win championships, and they want to win championships, but success is also about taking steps forward and building an organization that can remain successful over the long term.

I think they are on the way to achieving something great.

Daniel Sobis:

Can you see Chicago winning a championship this season, or is it going to be difficult?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

It's not difficult, but it's not impossible either.

When you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. Last year, we beat Orlando and then Philadelphia, who were very strong.

MLS is capable of producing a great season and then a completely different season the following year. But I believe Chicago will fight for something.

The expectations in Chicago are high, and that's also what motivates the players to do great things in the playoffs. I think they can do it.

Daniel Sobis:

Before Chicago, you worked at clubs such as Benfica and Sporting, alongside coaches like Luis Castro. How have those different experiences shaped your football philosophy?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

I think every experience I've had throughout my career has shaped me — not only working with Luis, but also with many other coaches.

I came through youth football and had the opportunity to work with and develop players such as Rúben Dias, who we now know at Manchester City, as well as many other players.

Working with different coaches and at different levels has made me the coach I am today.

From the lower leagues in Portugal all the way to the Champions League, you need to work a lot. When you're young, you probably see everything differently because you cannot see the future. It's impossible to know what the future will bring.

You need something that gives you motivation and purpose. For me, that was always the work.

My work was recognized during that period, and I had the chance to be involved in the Europa League, the Champions League and then MLS. I didn't expect to have that experience so early in my career, but I was fortunate to have those opportunities.

Now I'm involved in a different project in Europe — a very unique project, not only in Europe but in the world as well — and we believe we can improve a lot and grow as a club.

It's a young project that will grow for sure. We know clubs today such as Midtjylland and other teams that have become established, but there was a time when we didn't know them.

Some clubs started exactly like this.

I'm here to help the club grow, succeed and develop young players so they can become better every day.

Daniel Sobis:

You have a lot of experience at Sporting developing players such as Mateus Fernandes, Renato Veiga, Eduardo Quaresma and Geny Catamo — players who are now performing at the highest level.

Is the philosophy at ZTE similar? Is the idea to bring in young players and develop them into both professional and valuable players?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

Yes. The most important thing is to be demanding with them.

You mentioned names that mean a lot to me because I spent many years working with them, and we were very demanding with them.

I can also mention players like Dário Essugo and Kendry Páez. They were all at different stages and different ages, but because I spent a lot of time working with the second team at Sporting, I had the opportunity to shape them, especially mentally.

Mentality is the hardest thing to change.

You need to put inputs such as commitment, ambition and high standards into the players every day. That's how they evolve, both as human beings and as professional players.

For me, that's the most important thing. Then comes the tactical side.

You need to evaluate where they are and see how you can improve them in different aspects of the game.

It was a lot of work at Sporting. We developed players who generated significant value for the club, and that was one of our objectives.

At ZTE, the philosophy is the same, but we're working with players from different cultures and different backgrounds.

So we need to go deeper into their values, their ambitions and their purpose. We need to understand them so that we can work with them toward the future.

It's not easy. Education and football backgrounds can be completely different. Some players understand the language and the game quickly, while others are still learning the basic principles and how to read the game.

It's a lot of work.

I really enjoy doing it, especially when I see them developing and moving on to the next stage.

The difficult part is that, most of the time, you don't have enough time. When you're coaching in the first division, you also need results.

So developing young players is a long-term project, but we also need results that help the club achieve its objectives.

The philosophy remains the same because the players I coached at Sporting have a similar nature to the players we have here.

I've also worked with many players at Sporting, Shakhtar and Benfica who are now moving on to the next stages of their careers, and I'm very happy to see them developing.

Daniel Sobis:

What was the biggest difference you noticed when you came to ZTE and Hungarian football compared with your previous experiences in Ukraine, the United States and Portugal?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

I think you always have to look at the human being first.

Whether you're coaching players in Sporting, Benfica or here, you're still working with human beings. You need to understand what their purpose is and why they are here.

If they clearly understand why they're here, it becomes much easier to work with them.

This is a small city and a small club, but we have very good conditions to work on a daily basis.

It's not only about the facilities. It's also about the lifestyle. You can go from home to the club, you can walk, and you can focus almost entirely on football.

It's a very unique place where the players can concentrate on football and think about football.

And when they have time, they can enjoy some of the Central European cities nearby. That's important too — seeing other things in life, not only football.

The focus is developing their understanding of the game, their physical abilities and, most importantly, their mentality.

That's the biggest challenge because these players are very young. They still don't see the future in the same way that we see it for them.

It's our job as a technical staff, and my responsibility as a coach, to put in the effort and guide them onto the right pathway.

The objective is to develop them so they can eventually be sold to MLS or move to bigger European clubs — like players who have moved to Basel, Qarabağ and other clubs.

That's the project of the club, and hopefully it will continue for many years and become a reference point for player development.

Daniel Sobis:

You've seen many talented players during your career, especially during your time in Portugal with Sporting and Benfica.

Without giving away the names of the ZTE players, can you see profiles here that could eventually play in one of Europe's top five leagues?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

I can see a lot of quality.

I believe that if these players can learn some of the principles required at the highest level, they can reach that position.

At Sporting, for example, we were playing in the Champions League while our second team was competing at a different level.

Our goal was to put the players into the first team and expose them to the demands of top-level football.

What we tried to do was reduce the gap between the first team and the second team instead of making that gap bigger.

We wanted the second-team players to be ready to become the successors of the first-team players.

That's why we were able to develop players like Geny Catamo, Daniel Bragança, Eduardo Quaresma and many others.

They were all part of a bigger plan — not just a plan focused on results.

At Sporting, we didn't win every championship, but we built the structure of the club in the best way possible.

For us, the objective was very clear, and I think we achieved it very well.

Here, we don't have the same ceiling because we don't have a team above us playing in the Champions League.

Our ceiling is the competitive level of the Hungarian league.

When you play against the strongest teams — the champions and the runners-up — and perform well, you can see the baseline from which you can evaluate your players for the next level.

That's very interesting.

If we can perform well with players who are 20, 21, 19 or even 18 years old, and they can compete, score goals and beat opponents one-on-one, that tells you something.

It tells you they have potential.

Then we need to teach them when to dribble, where to dribble, when to attack the goal, when not to attack the goal and how to make the right decision.

There are so many details that seem easy when we talk about them, but they are actually very complex.

Daniel Sobis:

Finally, Filipe, where are we going to see Filipe Çelikkaya in five years? MLS?

Filipe Çelikkaya:

I don't know. I really don't know.

Predicting the future is always tricky. You cannot put yourself five years into the future.

You can only focus on the daily basis.

Today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow, and then you go from there.

You just need to be humble enough and focused enough to do your best every day.

You cannot control everything.

That's been my focus for many years, working in different leagues and different countries around the world.

I don't want to think about where I will be in five years. I just want to continue working like this and keep moving forward.

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