“I love the city – for me, it’s therapy,” the Hull owner, Acun Ilicali, says of his second home. Running a football club is not particularly therapeutic but after almost four-and-a-half-years at the helm, the Turkish media mogul will have his day at Wembley on Saturday when the Tigers face Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League.
Life is rarely quiet for the globetrotting Ilicali, regarded as Turkey’s answer to Simon Cowell. He produces some of the world’s most popular television shows in numerous countries, having started out as a sports reporter. The entertainment theme has continued at Hull, creating a tumultuous and gripping reality that has featured head coaches coming and going, and playoff and relegation battles. Everything aligned this season, the team securing sixth place on the final day before defeating third-placed Millwall over two legs. Hull have even been victims of Southampton’s removal from the playoff final amid “spygate”. It is never dull in Hull.
Ilicali bought Hull in January 2022 for £20m from the Allam family, whose popularity sank after a plan to change club’s name to Hull Tigers. Grant McCann was removed as head coach by Ilicali and Shota Arveladze catapulted in, the team lumbering to 19th. Ilicali’s first full season brought a 15th-placed finish, bettered a year later by Liam Rosenior, who finished three points off the playoffs in seventh before being relieved of his duties.
Hull’s flirtation with League One last season, when they survived on goal difference, cost Rubén Sellés his job. The Bosnian Sergej Jakirovic was plucked from relative obscurity, his most recent job a brief spell at the Turkish side Kayserispor, as part of a great reset. Understandably, the predictions were that another campaign of toil was in store but Hull have confounded expectations and their season would make a fine documentary.
Ilicali does not try to downplay the achievement. “Leicester’s [Premier League win] is the biggest glory in British football for me, ever,” he says. “And this year, I think, considering what we have done, it’s a completely incredible story. I hope I can make the miracle completely finished.”
Errors have been made along the way, Tim Walter’s 2024 appointment that brought three wins in 18 a particular low. “If you think you are not the cleverest or the most intelligent person in the world, then you have to accept that you make some mistakes,” Ilicali says. “In my own business, I always make mistakes, I correct it, make another mistake, correct it, and go to success in the media business. Because I’m the only person in the world who has a major TV channel coming from Netflix … When I make mistakes, I say: ‘This is a mistake, let’s change it.’ That’s why I changed so many coaches, for example. But many people, of course, didn’t believe. People thought I was changing the coaches because of my ego, but I was changing my coaches because of my lack of ego.”
Hull have moved away from an overreliance on loan players, too, and own every player that started the 2-0 win at Millwall. There has been a shift under the sporting director, Jared Dublin, to longer-term recruitment, even though Hull have benefited from having Liam Delap, Fabio Carvalho and Tyler Morton on loan in recent years. “I spent more than £100m but, when I look at my squad, I can see that there’s a big value in this team,” Ilicali says. “This makes me happy, really happy. So, I’m more confident for the future now,.”
Being Fenerbahce’s vice-president for a year from summer 2024 caused a distraction, Ilicali admits, and he says Hull have benefited from again having his full focus. Hull getting confirmation only on Wednesday night that Saturday’s opponents will be Middlesbrough, rather than Southampton, has added drama to the pressure of going to Wembley with a Premier League place and its attendant riches at stake.
“Wembley is a place that I suffered when I was a kid with Turkish national team games and now I am going to Wembley for a final as an owner of a club that I bought four years ago,” says Ilicali. “It means a lot to me. Wembley stadium, the dream of our fans filling the stands with their flags – amber and black, colours I love so much – all around … Imagining it is getting me excited.”
If the team triumph, they will be rewarded with a trip to Nevada and “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, says Ilicali. He has a close relationship with the players but is more businesslike with Jakirovic, who he meets for dinner every week, sometimes at Ilicali’s residence. “I’m an owner who is involved in transfers,” Ilicali says. “I’m an owner who is involved in the team. But involved means not at the disturbance level. I just want to comfort the staff. Take me like a little ambulance. If they need something, I’m there.”
Ilicali is reluctant to think beyond Saturday but the idea of playing Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool for the first time in a decade is part of the fans’ dreams. “Most of the promoted teams are relegated,” he says. “So, are we in danger? We are in big danger. But, if you are afraid of things like that, you will never get success. So, if you go to the Premier League, what I expect is first learning to lose. And I hope we learn quickly from our losses, progress and try to survive the first season.
“The ideal scenario can be Sunderland for the first year. The Premier League is a dangerous place to be in. Am I afraid? No. But am I ready for failure next season? It could be a failure but from the failure, progress is possible. Because you will have a good budget – good budget spending will bring success.”
Nerves have abounded from Hull to Istanbul since Hull booked their slot at Wembley, with the tension building, not helped by “spygate”. “I don’t celebrate goals very much,” Ilicali says. “When we score goals I don’t move too much. Because I only celebrate when something is completely finished.” In which case, a Hull promotion could cause unprecedented scenes at Wembley.