Obraniak’s Turkey Adventure
During my loan spell in Turkey, I had the opportunity to work with Hikmet Karaman, known as the Turkish Bielsa, at Çaykur Rizespor. He provided me with one of the most interesting experiences in my football career. With his guidance, I became a box-to-box midfielder. This process was an incredible development opportunity for me. When the season ended, I was about to sign a contract with Beşiktaş, but I experienced some negativities.
Disease and Match Experience
During the preparations for the quarter-final match against Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Cup, I had an unexpected illness. My health was bad all week and I had to take medication constantly. I had recovered a bit but on the morning of the match I felt very bad again. My coach trusted me and thought I shouldn’t miss the match, which put extra pressure on me. However, just five minutes into the match, I realized I couldn’t continue on the pitch. I was out of breath and my head started spinning. Later in the match, this worried the team doctor and they took me to the hospital. At the hospital, they noticed that my pulse was fast.
My Time in the Hospital
I had an electrocardiogram at the hospital and spent some time with many devices attached to my body. At that time, I was exhausted and trying to rest by lying on my back. However, someone secretly took a photo of me at that time and shared it on social media. This situation caused a lot of misinformation to spread on social media. Unfounded claims such as ‘Obraniak had a heart attack’ spread rapidly. This information reached from Turkey to France. However, I had left my phone and all my belongings in the stadium during the match, so I could not reach anyone. When I got my phone back, I was faced with about 300 calls and many messages.
The Real Situation and Aftermath
I later learned that my arrhythmia (heart rhythm disorder) was simply due to excessive caffeine intake. My heart was beating rapidly and this was confirmed by a cardiologist in Bordeaux, who said that my health was fine. However, I felt that Çaykur Rizespor were abusing this situation a bit because they wanted to keep me on the team. My transfer fee was with Werder Bremen and Beşiktaş wanted me, which made the situation even more complicated. Beşiktaş’s interest created some obstacles in the transfer process and I must admit that I never liked this situation in the end. At that time, Beşiktaş was a big team under the management of Slaven Bilic.
My Football Career and After
Ludovic Obraniak, who plays in midfield, played for Rizespor on loan for half a season in 2015, scoring 2 goals and making 5 assists in 18 matches. After quitting football, Obraniak also worked as a coach and is currently not working for any club.
