Michal Gasparik: İsmail Kartal will become one of Europe's important coaches
Gornik Zabrze manager Michal Gasparik, recalling his encounter with Fenerbahçe 3 years ago, praised Fenerbahçe manager İsmail Kartal, stating, "In the coming years, he will be one of Europe's important coaches."
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In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round, Gornik Zabrze was defeated 1-0 by Fenerbahçe in Istanbul. Following the match, Gornik Zabrze manager Michal Gasparik answered questions at the press conference. When asked if his statements in the press before the first leg of the tie had an impact on the stands, Gasparik said, "We knew Fenerbahçe would have possession on their home turf, but we did not expect to face so many problems. We still tried to look at it positively and defend with all our might. The stands were also very important. We can call it a good result. Football is like that. It is like this today, but it could change tomorrow."
"We played against a very strong team"
When asked about the match they will play against Slask in the first week of the Polish League, Gasparik said, "We played against a very strong team. We have 4 days until our league match. We will have time to rest. Today, we tried to have possession by playing offensively in the first 20 minutes against Fenerbahçe."
"İsmail Kartal will become one of Europe's important coaches"
When reminded that he was an opponent of İsmail Kartal 3 years ago while in charge of Spartak Trnava, Gasparik made the following assessment:
"Coach İsmail was an important manager back then, too. He is the same today. In the coming years, he will be one of Europe's important coaches."
"Semedo distracted us"
In response to the question, "Did this match go as you wanted?", Gasparik replied, "The fact that Ake and Semedo played surprised us a lot. Semedo, in particular, distracted us. Our game system was the same. We were stronger in the first 20 minutes of the match, and we had many counterattacks. We played in a controlled manner because we switched to defense in the second half, but there is still a second leg."
"Fenerbahçe fans are very strong"
Speaking about the Fenerbahçe fans, the 44-year-old manager said, "We must not forget that we are facing a strong team like Fenerbahçe. Their fans are also very strong. In the second leg, our fans will also welcome them very strongly."