F.C. Vikings move up to Premier League

F.C. Vikings move up to Premier League

2024-02-25

Today we take you to meet Ertugrul Bastug, a Turkish player who plays for a soccer club in Taipei called the F.C. Vikings. Bastug had played soccer in Turkey, but due to a knee injury, he took a few years off to travel around Asia. He came to Taiwan in 2020, fell in love with the country and started playing for the F.C. Vikings. The team recently won first place in Division 2 and moved up to the Premier League. FTV reporter Stephany Yang has the story.

He warms up with his coach, discussing different tactics. This is Ertugrul Bastug from Turkey. He is a player for F.C. Vikings. The team recently placed first in Division 2 and moved up to the Premier League.

Ertugrul Bastug
F.C. Vikings player
I started to play football when I was a kid. 7 or 8 years old in Turkey. In a very good academy in Istanbul, in a good team. Why I come to Taiwan? The first is that it is a beautiful country and beautiful people. I like the Tawiaense food and right now I have a good team – the Vikings. I am very excited to play with them. Last season, we won the championship for the Vikings. I am super happy.

Bastug grew up in Turkey, where he started soccer training at a young age. Due to a knee injury when he was 19, he took a break and traveled around the world. He moved to Taiwan in 2020 after visiting over 20 countries. He decided to stay in Taiwan and continue his dream of playing football.

Ertugrul Bastug
F.C. Vikings player
I got the injury when I was 19. My knees broke. After I stopped playing for one to two years. Then after, I traveled to Asia. Football is my dream. I want to try it again and again. Right now, my physio is good. This year I want to show my best for Vikings. I traveled more than 28 or 30 or something. Around including Asia, Central Asia, the Balkans, Europe, and the Middle East. I travelled aroud. After that, I came to Taiwan. I met Vikings and I started playing football again.

Johnni Nielsen from Denmark and his wife, Hope Tsai, founded F.C. Vikings in 2010 to make football more accessible. Over the 13 years, they have provided free football training for elementary school students up to adults. Last year, the team invited Oliver Harley to serve as the head coach. Harley is from Jamaica and has lived in Taiwan for 20 years coaching soccer. Under his leadership, the team won first place in Division 2.

Oliver Lazarus Harley
Head coach
My coaching philosophy? Football has been my life since I was a child. I don’t really separate football from life. My coaches always told me that football is life and everything that happens on the football field happens in your life. I try to let my players know that all the principles and characters that they in life should be demonstrated on the football field and vice versa. They need to be honest people, upstanding people, and help others, which is part of football as well, you work as a team.

The team’s goal is to stay in the Premier League and to one day represent Taiwan in the AFC tournament.

Johnni Nielsen
Founder
It is exciting for us to move up to the Premier League after just one year in the second division. This is something we have been working for for the last 13 years. When we started 13 years ago, many of the kids that started with me at that time they are now going to play in the premier league so it is a big thing for us. The goal is for us to stay in the Premier League this season and hopefully, we can do good and keep on staying there. One day, maybe we can represent Taiwan in the AFC tournament.

Oliver Lazarus Harley
Head coach
It has kind of been my goal since I started working with football here is to get to the top league and carry a team up. We made a team out of players from other teams, some that were Vikings, young boys, older players. A mix match of Vikings and put them together. We won the league. I am very happy about that. I am very with the players and for the club.

Another goal is to help football grow to an even more professional level in Taiwan, by working with the community and engaging in cultural exchanges.

Johnni Nielsen
Founder
In the last 13 years, what I see is that football is growing slowly but steadily. Us being part of that is something that I am very proud of. It is something that I tell people, not in Taiwan but at home about. That is also why we have a strong connection with Denmark for example and also the other countries where my coaching staff is from. We are lucky that we got the Taipei Stadium as our home pitch right next to Taipei Arena. We want to more what I talked about before. Our football culture. Where I am from and where the coaching staff is from. We’re going to invite different vendors to come and sell food. We need to work more together. The youth departments have to be better and the sponsorships have to be better as well. This is what it takes to have more interest for football in Taiwan because the more we can put Taiwanese football on focus in the world, I think the better it is for Taiwan in general.

The team will begin their season in April. After 13 years of hard work, the F.C. Vikings hope to continue to train more soccer players, helping them to shine in Taiwan and on the international stage.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

愛台土耳其足球員效力非營利足球隊F.C. Vikings

2024-02-25

今天我們帶您認識來自土耳其的足球員Ertugrul Bastug，目前效力於非營利足球隊F.C. Vikings。曾在土耳其踢足球的Ertugrul Bastug，由於膝蓋受傷，暫時休息並環遊世界。2020年，他來到台灣，愛上了這個國家，並成為F.C. Vikings的一員。F.C. Vikings不但在乙級聯賽奪冠，更一舉踏上台灣甲級足球聯賽的舞台。

與教練一同熱身，討論戰術。來自土耳其的Ertugrul Bastug是非營利球隊F.C. Vikings的一員，F.C. Vikings日前不但在乙級聯賽奪冠，更一舉踏上台灣甲級足球聯賽的舞台。

[[球員Ertugrul Bastug]]
"我小時候在土耳其就開始踢足球，大概7、8歲左右。在伊斯坦堡一間非常好的學院裡，在一支優秀的團隊中。我為什麼來台灣？首先，這是一個美麗的國家，大家都很和善，我也喜歡台灣的食物。現在我加入F.C.Vikings這支優秀的球隊，我很高興能和他們一起踢球。上個賽季，我們隊贏得了冠軍，我超級開心"

Ertugrul Bastug 在土耳其長大，從小就熱愛足球。19歲時因為膝蓋受傷，他決定暫時休息並環遊世界。在造訪了20多個國家後，2020年決定移居台灣，繼續他的足球夢。

[[球員Ertugrul Bastug]]
"我19歲時受傷，膝蓋骨折，我暫停踢球一到兩年，後來，我去亞洲旅行。足球是我的夢想，我不斷地嘗試，現在我的膝蓋狀況很好。今年，我想為球隊做出貢獻。我旅行了28或30個國家，包括亞洲、中亞、巴爾幹半島、歐洲和中東。之後，我就來到了台灣。我遇到了F.C. Vikings後，我又開始踢足球了"

來自丹麥的Johnni Nielsen和妻子蔡欣穎於2010 年創立了F. C. Vikings，希望讓人們更容易接觸到足球。13年來，他們無償提供訓練，學員遍及小學生到成人。去年，球隊邀請移居台灣20年的Oliver Harley擔任總教練，在這位牙買加籍的專業教練帶領之下，球隊獲得了乙級聯賽冠軍。

[[總教練Oliver Lazarus Harley]]
"我的執教理念？從我還是個孩子開始，足球就是我的生活，足球和我的生活緊密結合。我的教練總是告訴我，足球就是生活，足球場上發生的一切，都發生在你的生命中。我試著讓我的球員知道，他們生活中的所有原則都應該在足球場上展現出來，反之亦然。他們要誠實，正直，要幫助別人，這也是足球的一部分，你們是一個團隊。"

球隊的目標是留在甲級，並代表台灣參加足聯亞洲盃。

[[F.C.Vikings創辦人Johnni Nielsen]]
"我們在僅一年後就升入甲組，這讓我們感到興奮。這是我們過去13年一直在努力的目標。當我們13年前開始時，當時和我一起開始的許多孩子現在都要去甲組踢球，所以這對我們來說是一件大事。我們的目標是本賽季留在甲組，希望我們能做得很好並繼續留在那裡。有一天，也許我們可以代表台灣參加AFC亞洲足球聯盟"

[[總教練Oliver Lazarus Harley]]
"從我開始在這裡從事足球工作以來，我的目標就是進入頂級聯賽，並帶領球隊前進。我們組了一支聯隊，其中有F.C Vikings、年輕男孩、年長球員，我們贏得了聯賽。我非常高興。我非常支持球員和俱樂部"

球隊的另一個目標是透過社區合作與文化交流，幫助台灣足球發展到更專業的水平。

[[F.C.Vikings創辦人Johnni Nielsen]]
"在過去的13年裡，我看到足球正在緩慢，但穩定地發展。這一部分是我感到非常自豪的事情。這是我會跟丹麥人說的事情。這也是為什麼我們與丹麥以及我的教練團的其他國家有著密切的聯繫。我們很幸運，我們的主場就在台北小巨蛋旁的台北田徑場。我們想要更多我之前談到的內容，我們的足球文化，我來自哪裡，教練團來自哪裡，我們將邀請不同的攤販來賣食物。我們需要更多地共同努力，青年部門必須做得更好，贊助也必須做得更好。這就是讓台灣對足球產生更多興趣所需要的，因為我們越能讓台灣足球成為世界關注的焦點，我認為對整個台灣來說就越好"

球隊將於四月開始他們的賽季。歷經13年的深耕，F.C.Vikings 希望繼續培育更多的足球員，幫助他們在台灣和國際的舞台上發光發熱。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
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