It’s been a couple of weeks since Hull City won promotion to the Premier League by the barest of margins through Oli McBurnie’s late, late show in the sizzling Wembley heat against Middlesbrough.
Since then, a whole city turned out on Bank Holiday Monday to cheer Sergej Jakirovic, his players and staff along the streets of Hull before 40,000 fans crammed into Queen Victoria Square to celebrate the most remarkable, unexpected of promotions.
Now the dust is beginning to settle, the calendar has turned a page, and the sheer amount of work that lies ahead begins to dawn, owner Acun Ilicali rocks back in his office chair in his Istanbul office, trying to comprehend the magnitude of the club’s achievement – and celebrating his 57th birthday. The delight, pride and emotion are written all over his face as he proudly sports his Hull City jacket.
The best possible present for Ilicali was guiding the Tigers back into the top-flight. It’s been his dream, his target since arriving in East Yorkshire back in January 2022, but 12 months ago, it couldn’t have looked further away when he landed at Southampton airport on the eve of the final day clash with Portsmouth.
City needed a result and help from elsewhere to stave off what would have been a humiliating relegation to League One, and one that could have been a watershed moment in his ownership. A year on, it did prove to be a turning point because he’s now preparing for life in the Premier League, having enjoyed a day at Wembley that nobody associated with this incredible football club will ever forget.
“It was the dream for all of us, every member of our family,” Ilicali told Hull Live. “Living that dream, of course, is the best feeling. In my media career, I’ve had so many successes. I have broken maybe thirty or forty records in that industry, but I have to say something very clearly: There is nothing like this feeling for me, and, simply, these sentences, I think, summarise everything. This was the best day in my life, and I think it was the best day of their lives for many of our fans, for me, and I think for Sergej. How could you have a more special day than this?
“Imagine a final with a last-minute goal, every final has a different story, but having a final and scoring a goal that gives you a 95 per cent chance of going to the Premier League from a 50/50 chance at kick-off, what more can you say? How can this feeling be better?”
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On his return to Istanbul after a weekend of celebrations in East Yorkshire, Ilicali was given a huge welcome, and that has continued across the country. When Hull City’s squad arrive in Istanbul ahead of the new season for a long weekend culminating in a showpiece friendly, you can just imagine what the reception will be.
“You cannot believe the reaction I’m getting in Turkey now,” he exclaimed proudly. “Congratulations are coming from everybody you can imagine in Turkey. Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Besiktas, Trabzonspor, people in high-profile boardroom positions at these clubs, their presidents, are all congratulating me on our achievement. I’m still trying to catch up on so many messages. I’ve probably got through 10 per cent of the messages and been able to respond, but I’m so happy.”
In the closing stages, both before McBurnie’s winner and after, the television cameras panned to Ilicali inside the Royal Box, and he looked a nervous wreck. Immediately after the game had restarted following the goal, Ilicali looked stunned, trying to take on board the magnitude of what was happening, while his wife, Cagla, was in tears as 35,000 ‘Dare to dream’ flags were waved at the east end of Wembley Stadium, which has become something of a shrine to City’s success over the past 20 years.
“It was a very shocking moment because Charlie (Hughes) was out of the game. He just entered 10 seconds before, but it was less than 30 seconds before the goal. We had 10 men on the pitch, and they were attacking, so I was praying not to concede a goal with 10 men. With 10 players defending and not conceding a goal, we scored a goal. My mood was, ‘Oh no, please don’t score against us. I said to myself in the last 10 minutes, ‘Oh God, please don’t let us concede a last-minute goal. I was just praying. If we conceded a goal in the last 10 minutes, there’s usually no way back in a final. Please, please, not a last-minute goal, and I think God heard me, because then we scored a last-minute goal. The feeling was something I just cannot describe.”
Throughout his tenure at the MKM Stadium, Ilicali has professed his love for football and the club, whilst also playing along with the ‘crazy owner’ narrative. Prior to the final, he referenced being a crazy owner in the Premier League, should it happen, and now it has, what will that look like?
“My craziness is coming from the energy I give to the team, first of all, it isn’t about spending huge money on transfers,” he confessed. “When I talk about being crazy, it means I’m involved in everything to the deepest level in our team. I go to training, I’m with the players all the time, I talk to the manager regularly, and I’m very hands-on.
“I even think the Las Vegas bonus is a crazy bonus. Crazy does not depend on actually spending crazy transfer fees in the Premier League. I told you about McBurnie’s transfer story. None of the teams in the world, I think, would be able to bring him, because we were so obsessed with this transfer. Day and night, we were talking all the time about it. We brought his friends to the team in order to bring him to the team. That kind of passion and dedication makes us different.
“So I can say that in the Premier League, now it is time to show our magic once again. Crazy, in my words, means being obsessed with football and the team.
“Taking this team, this club and these beautiful people into the Premier League is the biggest honour. Seeing so many smiles on faces is something that will never, ever leave me. I’m just so proud of everybody, and I cannot wait for our next chapter in this beautiful story together.”
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