Friendship dinner held ahead of Juventus match
Galatasaray hosted a friendship dinner ahead of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 play-off first leg match against Juventus.
İHA
The yellow-reds hosted the Italian club's executives at a friendship dinner held at Galatasaray High School before the match. The event, which was also attended by Galatasaray High School Principal Prof. Dr. Mustafa Reşat Dabak, saw the participation of Galatasaray Sports Club President Dursun Aydın Özbek, Second President Metin Öztürk, Vice President Niyazi Yelkencioğlu, Board Member and Sportif A.Ş. Deputy Chairman İbrahim Hatipoğlu, Board Members Can Natan and Ozan Bingöl Yurtsever, as well as Juventus CEO Damien Comolli, Sporting Director Marco Ottolini, Technical Manager François Modesto, Football Strategy Director Giorgio Chiellini, Communications Officer Pier Donato Vercellone, Human Resources and Culture Officer Greta Bodino, General Secretary Massimo Cosentino, Protocol and External Relations Manager Gaia D'Amelia, and UEFA Delegate Arturs Gaidels from Latvia. The event began with a short film detailing the history of the club. Following this, gifts were exchanged between the two teams to commemorate the day. President Dursun Aydın Özbek and Juventus CEO Damien Comolli made statements.
"We are happy to host them here"
In his statement, President Dursun Aydın Özbek said, "Today, we are hosting the Juventus club at the place where we were born. I think it will be a very beautiful match. Both teams come from the same system. They are teams founded by their students. There is such a sympathy between the two teams. I hope that our fans will watch a very good match without any injuries. I say welcome. He is someone who knows Istanbul. We are happy to host them here. I hope we will all watch a beautiful match together."
"I am sure it will be a beautiful match, we will see very good things"
Juventus CEO Damien Comolli stated the following:
"Thank you very much for hosting us here. I must say that I am lucky. I know Turkey and Istanbul very well. It is very interesting that there is a common point between the two teams; they were founded by students. Juventus in Turin, and Galatasaray in Istanbul. That is why we understand the prestigious situation and I have great respect for it. Both sides are very strong teams with histories and are very valuable clubs. I am sure it will be a beautiful match, we will see very good things."