Okan Buruk's statement on Icardi: The international break will be good for him!

In the 30th week of the Super Lig, league leaders Galatasaray maintained their position by defeating Kasımpaşa 4-3 in a match that was full of excitement. With this result, the yellow-red team has also guaranteed entering the international break as the leader.

IT WAS A DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk said in his post-match statement: "I want to start by congratulating our opponent. They did a very good job. They are a very good team. We created many chances but also gave away many. Especially in the second half, we retreated further. We had difficulties in building up play at times. It is actually a difficult environment. We are used to evening matches. It was difficult for a team not used to playing in this atmosphere. You are away from home, on a pitch you are not used to, and at a time you are not used to. As a result, we won in the end. The positions we created and the missed penalty. The important thing was to win here. The emergence of our quality players until the end of the match brought us the victory. We are happy, but we need to improve on this performance afterwards."

ENTERING THE INTERNATIONAL BREAK WITHOUT LOSSES IS AN ADVANTAGE

Drawing attention to the team's defensive problems, the Galatasaray manager said: "We were very short-handed in defense. We have struggled a lot in defense in the last month. Entering the international break without losses is a big advantage for us. Berkan was at center-back; we did not push Abdülkerim because he was not fully ready. He will be ready for the next match. Vinicius played for a very short time but made a very important contribution with a goal. It will be better for us as the players get used to it."

OKAN BURUK'S COMMENTS ON ICARDI AND MERTENS

After the match, Okan Buruk said about Icardi and Mertens, who starred in the contest: "Mertens has always been someone trying to hold the game together. He scored an important goal. Icardi was not very involved in the game in the first half. Icardi is not yet playing at 100 percent. His pain still continues, and he is trying to play that way. The international break will be very good for him. I think he can regain his form from last year. I think he left his mark on the second half of the match."

OKAN BURUK'S RESPONSE TO ALI KOÇ'S ALLEGATION

Speaking at the press conference, Okan Buruk responded to Ali Koç's allegations about him.

Ali Koç had previously claimed in a press conference: "One should ask this coach (referring to Okan Buruk) who his closest referee friend is? Those who know, know... But of course, they don't want foreign referees either because they see in Europe how foreign referees manage games."

Regarding this issue, Okan Buruk said: "I did not understand what Ali Koç said. It is an unfortunate statement. I have no referee friends. It could be possible, though. I wish we were all friends with referees, and I wish dear Ali Koç was too. I have never had a referee friend, but I would not find it strange to have one."

News Source: 12punto