The locker room buzzed with quiet tension before kickoff. In the middle, Orkun Kökçü laced up his boots with slow, methodical care — not out of nerves, but out of focus. His captain’s armband sat ready beside him.

A younger teammate leaned over. “Nervous, Orkun?”

He looked up with a half-smile. “Not nervous. Just calm before the storm.”

On the pitch, he was anything but quiet. He dictated tempo with a single glance, spraying passes with precision, dropping back to cover, then pushing forward like a general marching into battle. His voice echoed across the midfield.

“Shift left! Watch your back!”

Then came the moment. One deft touch to control, another to turn — and he launched a curling ball that split the defense. The assist landed perfectly at the striker’s feet.

Goal.

As the stadium erupted, Orkun simply turned and pointed to his temple.

“It’s all in the head,” he’d later say in an interview. “Football is chess — and I’ve been playing it since I was a kid.”