A jab at Galatasaray from İsmail Kartal!

Fenerbahçe manager İsmail Kartal held a press conference in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Super Cup match to be played against Galatasaray.

Here are İsmail Kartal's statements...

"We want to close out 2023 with good football and a good performance. I trust my players; we believe we can make our opponent feel the good game we are playing.

There was a strategy in the last match we played. It is a long-term league marathon. We had our own plans. We fielded a starting 11 to win the match. We started with players who have high offensive options. We saw that in the first half, things were not going exactly as I wanted. We thought the team needed to toughen up and add dynamism in the second half. We made the first move in the 46th minute. We brought on King in the 67th-68th minute, and the match was completely in our hands. We had two 100% chances. Unfortunately, 2-3 final passes didn't connect. The first half was mediocre, maybe even below mediocre, but our fighting spirit was high. Galatasaray's fighting spirit was also high. They came at us a bit more with 1-2 set-piece situations, but we reacted in the second half.

In terms of struggle and play, we went after our opponent. These are derby matches. Even if you want to win, strategies are important. Our strategy was to win, and if we couldn't win, not to lose. This is a long-term marathon. As you would appreciate, after the 55th-60th minute, the opposing players kept lying on the ground. They cut our game speed. The referee allowed this. The playing time, which is 53-54 minutes in the league, ended at 43 minutes in that match. It was the Galatasaray players who were constantly slowing down the game. We were saddened by the draw.

We will go into tomorrow's match with a full squad. The motivation for these matches is always high. I don't need to say much, but I will say a few things. We want to play a game worthy of ourselves. Just as we have shown our strong game until today, we want to show it tomorrow as well. They are also a very good team. We want to win the match tomorrow and make our fans happy by taking the cup.

"OUR CHAMPIONSHIP WAS TAKEN FROM US"

I won the Super Cup 9 years ago; it was my first term as Fenerbahçe manager. We were the leaders that year; we were supposed to be champions. We were the leaders that year; we were supposed to be champions. I think we deserved that too. As you know, when that incident happened, our path was blocked there too. The shooting incident occurred. Our championship was taken from our hands; we didn't give it up. People forget, but I don't want them to forget. The perpetrators have still not been found.

There is a very beautiful pitch here. I want to win this cup again and make our community happy. That is my entire goal.

"This press conference was supposed to be held jointly, but Fenerbahçe did not accept. Would you have wanted a joint press conference?"

Our esteemed president and club management decide on this matter. If such a decision came from our club, I have to comply. Let everyone research the reasons and the whys of this well. Why was such a decision made? I stand behind our club's decision.

Fred is a very good player. He has a career. When he plays, he adds a lot to us. All our other players are valuable. It is a fact that we struggled when Fred wasn't there. Every player who wears the striped jersey at Fenerbahçe is valuable.

Samet Akaydin was not included in the camp squad. Is a departure in question?

"There is no such thing as sending Samet away. I just didn't include him in the squad. That's all."

I haven't decided yet who will play in the number 6 position; I will decide this evening.

Have you played the match in your head? Will this match go to penalties?

"We worked on that yesterday, we worked on it."

News Source: 12punto