Galatasaray Coach Okan Buruk said that they will do their best to win the match they will play against Germany's Stuttgart team tomorrow in the fourth week of the UEFA Champions League.
Buruk made a statement at the press conference held at Kemerburgaz Metin Oktay Facilities before the match to be held at RAMS Park tomorrow at 20.45. Senegalese left-back Ismail Jakobs also attended the meeting.
Pointing out that the Champions League is a separate source of motivation for them, the experienced coach said, "We have many reasons to win, both individually and as a club. Turkish football needs such victories and progress in the Champions League. We have prepared in the best way possible with my players. Since we have played many matches in a row, we rest the players and prepare them for the next match. We saw the changing game systems in the last match of our opponent, Bayer Leverkusen. We do not know which system they will play with tomorrow. For this, we need to prepare on two different systems. We have a good and very offensive power. "We are a full squad, we are fit, we are better mentally and physically. We will do our best to win in front of our fans tomorrow. We had an important win against Lille. If we win here, we will be one of the candidates to move up with 6 points." he said.
Okan Buruk stated that Stuttgart played bravely in the last match against Bayer Leverkusen, which they won 4-2 away in the German League, and said, "The Leverkusen match could have ended 6-6. They took too many positions, they gave too many positions. They will also have a plan against us. The plan for each match is different. Maybe they will play with a different squad. We will have plans accordingly. The most important thing is the two parts of the game. We have to play well both when the ball is with us and when the opponent is with us. The end "We have seen in the matches that when we have the ball, we will get into position if we do the right things. Our opponent also attacked from the center with 3 players in front. Both wing-backs are very attacking. We need to defend our opponent well, but what we do when we have the ball will be more important." he said.
"We need to win tomorrow to continue our good situation"
The coach of the yellow-red team stated that they need to win tomorrow to maintain their good standing in both the Trendyol Super League and the UEFA Champions League.
Regarding the comment that he had deficiencies in finishing and defense, Buruk continued his words as follows:
"The matches are very variable. We should not just look at the score. We did not concede a goal in the match against Gençlerbirliği, in which we gave the most positions. We conceded goals in some matches in which we defended well. This can vary depending on both the opponent's skill and the position. We scored 4 goals in the last match. We did a good job in terms of finishing. The Fenerbahçe match was a match in which we could score at least 5-6 goals if we finished well. I think the important thing is to get into positions, give less positions to the opponent and continue the same game from the beginning to the end of the match. coşkuyu da takım halinde sürdürmek çok önemli. Bunu hem Lille hem de Fenerbahçe maçında doğru şekilde yaptık. Konyaspor maçının ilk yarısında 2 pozisyon verdik ama ikinci yarıda net pozisyonları olmadı. Bu oyunu sürdürmek istiyoruz. Forma girdik, oyuncularımız birbirini tanımaya başladı. Birçok oyuncu devam etse bile yeni gelen birkaç oyuncuyla yeni bir takım oluyorsunuz. Adaptasyon dönemi süre alıyor. Buraları kazanarak geçmek çok önemliydi. Şu an ligdeki durumumuz gayet iyi. Şampiyonlar Ligi'nde 3 puandayız. Yarın da 6 puana gelme "There is a possibility. We need to win tomorrow to continue this good situation."
The experienced coach stated that they have very good offensive players and said, "We have 4 very important players on the wing. We evaluated all of them match by match. All of them are capable of playing. I cannot distinguish any of them from each other. I have great confidence in all of them." he said.
"I trust İlkay and Sane"
Buruk emphasized that İlkay Gündoğan and Leroy Sane are important players for them.
When the German press asked about the situation of İlkay Gündoğan and Leroy Sane, Buruk said, "They are both very good both as people and as football players. We are happy with both of them. We are sure that they will improve their performance by doing more. We have a very large squad. There is a race within this squad. Times may change in this race. Sometimes we can make changes depending on the opponent and the form. We make a lot of substitutions because we play in two lanes. We are very grateful to both Leroy and İlkay." "We trust them. They both work hard. Their working hours are short, but they always try to give 100 percent. Sometimes the times may change, but we know that they will both contribute a lot to Galatasaray." made his assessment.
Resignation of Metin Öztürk and Abdullah Kavukcu
Okan Buruk spoke as follows on the question about the resignations of the club's vice president Metin Öztürk and manager Abdullah Kavukcu:
"We are focused on our match. It is not what we want. We would not want such a thing in this period when we are doing very well. But right now we need to think about the match and focus. We have the president who will make the decision about it. We will only think about the football side. We will play a very important match for us. There is no excuse for neither me nor my players. That's why we focused on this match."
"We dispersed the dark clouds"
Okan Buruk emphasized that they have dispersed the dark clouds at the beginning of the season and reached a good point in terms of both score and game.
Noting that the transfer period at the beginning of the season was difficult and adaptation took time, Buruk said, "The beginning of the season is difficult for us. The transfer period has expectations in this period. Generally, transfers for all Turkish teams end in the last days. In the protracted process, the fans despair with the team's performance. However, inside, me and my players are very comfortable. I have great confidence in my players, their performance, myself, my team, the environment in Kemerburgaz and the great Galatasaray fans. We constantly receive positive atmosphere from our fans. "We are doing our best to be worthy. We have dispersed the dark clouds. We are coming to a place not only as a result but also as a game. There is a very important chance tomorrow. The atmosphere created by our fans in the Champions League is truly incredible. We are looking forward to an important success for Galatasaray's history again." He commented:
"We are a family"
Galatasaray Coach Buruk said that they created a family atmosphere with their players.
Emphasizing the atmosphere within the team, Buruk said, "We are a family. Sometimes we are brothers and sisters, sometimes friends with my players. We spend time together. We do many things together. We know each other very well. I know what we can do here. I really trust my players. I do not say this just for fun. I believe in them. I know very well that we can achieve great success with them. We are a family, one by one, and we do our best for the success of this family." he said.
Jakobs: "We definitely have to win tomorrow"
Ismail Jakobs, the experienced left back of the yellow-red team, said that they should win the Stuttgart match.
Stating that they will have a critical match with Stuttgart, Jakobs said, "We have a very important match tomorrow. The whole team is very passionate, I know our fans are passionate. We must win tomorrow. This is the only truth." he said.
Jakobs mentioned that he has a good relationship with the national football player Eren Elmalı, who plays in the same region, and said, "We both perform very well. I think the coach has no problem with whoever he plays. We both perform. Our coach also knows that we wish each other success. No matter who plays, the other one wants him to be good. I don't think our coach has a big problem in our position. Because we are two good players and characters. We do everything for the team. I think this is very good for Galatasaray." he said.
Okan Buruk also said about the Eren-Jakobs relationship, "We have two very important players who want each other's well-being, compete but also increase the energy within the team. It is very valuable for me that they are both rivals and so positive." he commented.
The Senegalese football player said in an interview with the German press, "When Okan Buruk leaves, they will understand what a great legend he is." Upon being reminded of his statements, he said, "Our teacher's achievements tell everything. Many people would like to sit in such a seat. The value of our teacher will be understood when he is not here, but I hope this will not happen soon. Our teacher has gone down in Galatasaray's history. We are experiencing this live." he said.
After Okan Buruk's question, "It would be better if they understand before I go." This caused laughter.
