Galatasaray Coach Okan Buruk spoke after the AZ Alkmaar match.
Okan Buruk said, “We started badly, very badly. We conceded an early goal. It pulled us down morally. We played the game we planned in the second half. We played better with Davinson entering the center and Metehan entering the right. We were more productive. It was the second half. We couldn’t play the first half as we wanted due to the demoralization caused by the early goal. I said to my players at halftime, ‘Relax’. We were not comfortable with the ball. They said it was offside, it looked like a penalty at first. Generally speaking, we wanted to win. The opponent could have made it 2-0 in the first half, but there were missed positions and balls hitting the post. In fact, we could have done better in terms of quality and playing power. “We wanted to, but we got 1 point. The next away game is more important to get into the top 8. Our players got tired during the game, but the performance in the second half made me happy.” he said.
The successful coach said about Victor Nelsson leaving the game at halftime, “The change between Nelson and Metehan was not due to injury. We also explained this to Nelsson. To use Davinson in the center… Parrott was very active in the center, he did not suit Nelsson. Metehan also did positive things. Nelsson was 3-4 meters behind the opponent. Davinson is a more follower, risk-taking player. This was the reason for the change. “He is also a valuable player. He has a lot of role in the championships. I changed something that wasn’t working.” he said.
TRANSFER MESSAGE
Okan Buruk, regarding Metehan Baltacı’s claim for the final, said, “We showed very good things. We need to continue. This was not the beginning of the match, but there are important deficiencies in the last weeks. We may be forced to play as a 3-man. Both Kaan and Jakobs are injured, Icardi is out. Injury. Yusuf was not in the squad, he was injured. We are in a period where we are short in terms of number of players. When we are a full team, especially with the half-time reinforcements… We have 1-2 good players. “We have a goal on our way to the final.” he said.
FIXTURE REACTION HAS ARRIVED
Reacting to the fixture, Okan Buruk said, “We are all surprised about the fixture. 3 teams play on the same day, only Galatasaray plays 3 days later. I wonder why Galatasaray is the only one playing 3 days later in the fixture organized by TFF. We applied to play on Monday, but it did not happen. So that we can play on Tuesday. After all, this is a national issue. If you want to get points in Europe, why are you letting Galatasaray play 3 days later, why are you putting us at risk of injury? We are already going through a busy fixture. Of course we are not complaining, we will come out and play like a lion, but I am looking for bad intentions here. It is very surprising that TFF determined such a fixture. I said it in the Kasımpaşa match, it is fair if you really support the Turkish teams. “You must be, I am waiting for this justice too.” He made a statement.
Source: www.star.com.tr
