Okan Buruk: Why not against City?

In the 19th week of the Trendyol Super League, Galatasaray defeated Fatih Karagümrük 3-1 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk made statements at the press conference held after the match.

Stating that this stadium is difficult for everyone, Buruk said, "I hope we don't come to this stadium again this year. There was no wind today, and the pitch was a bit softer. We started the game with a goal. While we were expecting better play, more possession, and more chances, we went into the locker room at halftime the exact opposite of what we thought. Our opponent equalized 1-1. We produced little, and we showed little of our individual talents.

There was a Galatasaray that had gone into a sleep state. Thank God we woke up at halftime. We brought the match to 3-1. It became a different game. Our opponent has very young and very experienced players. Their squad structure is not perfect, but they fought very well together. I congratulate both the club and the players. At the end of the day, it is a 3-1 victory. It is good to win after coming out of a high-tempo match where we were tired and the gap between the two matches was three days. Our goal is to rest the players and prepare them for the City match," he said.

"We have 1 Manchester victory, why not against City this time?"

Saying that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is one of the coaches he admires, Okan Buruk said, "He is very successful and has been an important example for world football for years. He is a coach who loves football very much and puts a lot of thought into it, producing different players, different formations, and different solutions every year. It is important for me and my players to face his team in such a critical match. Preparing for these matches is very different. You can all see how much difference there is between our concentration in the Champions League and our concentration today. Sometimes we cannot ensure the players' focus in away matches or in bad stadium environments, but the Manchester City match will be different for us. We will try to do good things there in terms of both play and score. It is also a critical match for them to enter the top 8. It is also a critical match for us to determine our place in the standings. We played against Manchester United and won. We have 1 victory in Manchester, so why not against City this time?" he said.

"Our hands will be freer from now on"

Evaluating the transfers made, the yellow-reds' manager said, "We had deficiencies in the front line. Because of Singo's injury, we used Sallai at the back. Our number of players in the front rotation was low. We want very strong players there. We added a player like Noa Lang to our squad who plays effectively one-on-one, can play in three positions, is fast, and has played at a high level. Asprilla is a young talent. The game he played in the Championship took him to Girona. He remained below expectations there. He is a very talented, very important young talent. He can play in the number 10 position. He is a different profile compared to the players we have, who uses one-on-one effectively on the right wing and can make the final passes. The more changes we make there, the more it will increase the performance of all our players. Our hands will be freer from now on. A squad with many alternatives is emerging, which also makes the Galatasaray fans happier. We will have developments regarding transfers in the coming days," he stated.

"I have always seen the support of my fans"

Upon being reminded that the Galatasaray fans called him to the stands after the match, Okan Buruk said the following:

"This is my 4th year. I experienced championships for 3 years. We are leading the league again. We can say that we are among the top 24 in Europe. We will play 1 more match. We are leading the group in the Turkish Cup. In terms of the pitch, Galatasaray is having another successful year. When there are minor bad results, there is a lot of it on social media. As it was today, I have always seen support behind me. I have always seen support from our fans in the stadium and on the street. It is necessary to separate social media from the stadium and the street. I separate this correctly. There may be people who do not want me, I respect them. We work very hard for Galatasaray. We have done this for 3 years. Sometimes we need these criticisms for greater success. This never affects me negatively. It may affect other people, it never affects me. If you want to be successful, you have to do this. If you are affected by these, you should not be a manager at Galatasaray. Just as there is praise, there is also criticism. I have always seen the support of my fans. They have always approached me positively. I only see negativity on social media. I take that as normal too."

"I hope Singo will be with the team in training on Monday"

Speaking about the situation of the Ivorian footballer Wilfried Singo, Buruk said, "We are proceeding a bit carefully there under the control of our medical team. MRIs are being done. He is a very professional player. His late return is not something related to the player. We tried to prepare this period in the strongest way. In this sense, I thank Yener and his team. They are very experienced and put a lot of effort into Galatasaray. His work continues under their control. There are also hospital checks. Tomorrow is our day off. I think he will be with the team again on Monday. His general tests also came out well. They are also looking at the power differences between the two legs. It is an important thing. Everything is going very well. I hope he will be with the team in training on Monday, I think. We will use Singo as both a right-back and a center-back. News also came out that was not from Yener's mouth, such as 'We will only use him as a center-back.' There is no such thing. Singo has played as both a right-back and a center-back throughout his career. He will continue in the same way from now on," he said, concluding his words.