Tarik Anani '20 Recruiting Profile

Soccer is not just a sport to me, it's something more personal, something that I feel is necessary in my life. I started playing soccer at the age of 6 and in the beginning I saw football as a passion, but I realized football isn't only about scoring goals for me, it's a lifestyle. Throughout that years of my soccer career I developed a passion to win and to do my best, although winning is not always essential, the fulfilment, satisfaction and quality of how I play during that games, it an important factor. Being the captain of the school varsity soccer team for two years, I have learned to become a leader and help others become the best player they can be. Everyone has room for improvement and the second my team steps on the pitch we learn more about each other, how to play together as a team, and what we can do better.

Compete for the best Turkish youth team since 2010 - 2016 was a challenging time of my life. As soccer is a very competitive sport in turkey especially when it comes to the youth teams in the first league. Being chosen out of more than thousand talented soccer players at the age of 8 was a great honor and a new chapter in my life. One of my biggest accomplishments while being apart of the Galatasaray youth team was winning the U-13 Turkish Championship. After being injured, I had to take a break from football and focus and my health. The time of recovery was very difficult for me because going from playing football everyday to not playing football for months I was having a very hard time emotionally. Being apart of several teams and the lessons I have learned on the pitch have been a big part of my life and who I am today.