Pitch confession from Emre Belözoğlu!

MKE Ankaragücü head coach Emre Belözoğlu stated that they want to win the match they will play against Galatasaray on Sunday, February 18, in the 26th week of the Trendyol Süper Lig.

Emre Belözoğlu made these remarks at a press conference held at the Tandoğan Facilities.

Emphasizing that Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe are the two best teams of the season, Belözoğlu noted the following:

"Every match in the league is tough, but big matches have their own unique difficulties. The situation at the bottom of the league is different from the top. This is an important match for us in terms of determining our position in the league. We must stick to our organization. We will face last year's champions. We have made our plans. This will be our first league match with our fans after our 5-match ban. This year, the 29th match will be played at Eryaman Stadium. All teams in the league have played 13-14 matches on their own home grounds. At the beginning of the season, play-off matches for the lower leagues were also held here. Our pitch is in poor condition; I brought this up 4-5 weeks ago. Galatasaray is one of the biggest clubs in Turkey. It is natural for this to come up before this match, but the health of my players is as valuable as that of any other athlete."

Stressing that all pitches in Turkey should be in good condition, Belözoğlu said, "Good pitches ensure the development of the game. It is not easy to play on these surfaces, but there has been dedicated work at our stadium for 10 days. It is not an easy match. We want to make the Galatasaray match special and end the atmosphere where we unite with our fans on a happy note. We have plans that can achieve this. I hope there will be no problems in execution and that we will be the winners."

"THERE ARE NO GOOD PITCHES EXCEPT FOR 2-3"

Emre Belözoğlu gave the following response to questions regarding the pitch at Eryaman Stadium:

"I don't think all pitches are in good condition, except for 2-3 in Turkey, and even those are not at European standards. Besides Eryaman Stadium, 12-13 other stadiums are in a similar situation. Measures must be taken for this as soon as possible. There is talk about increasing the brand value of football, but just like many other issues that have been shelved, the pitch issue has remained mostly talk. Clubs are making serious investments. Even the injury of a single player corresponds to 1/20th or 1/10th of club budgets. Therefore, stadium pitches should be a priority for clubs. Our stadium has such a problem due to the high number of matches played. I don't think other stadiums are better than ours, except for 2-3 of them."

Stating that Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk is a very valuable person to him, Belözoğlu said, "I do what my job requires, regardless of who my opponent is. Okan is also an ambitious person with high motivation. We played football together. He also did everything for the success of his club. Today, the success of Ankaragücü is more important to me than anything else."

"WE HAVE GOALS IN THE CUP"

Reminding that MKE Ankaragücü has won the Turkish Cup before, Emre Belözoğlu evaluated the quarter-final matchup against Fenerbahçe as follows:

"There are two teams and squads that are clearly above the rest of the league. When we look at the points, this is clearly evident. It will be enjoyable. Players know the value of these matches. Our community and fans need to prepare for these matches just as much as those on the pitch. We will prepare our players for the field, and our fans need to support us. Hopefully, the Galatasaray match will end in a way that motivates us for the Fenerbahçe match. We have goals in the cup as well. Our club has a legacy in this regard. Regardless of the names of our opponents, an Ankaragücü that plays to win will be on the pitch."

NO ABSENCES AT ANKARAGÜCÜ

Emre Belözoğlu stated that they have been training as a full squad for the first time in a long while and concluded his words as follows:

"Bassogog's license will be issued tomorrow. There are minor injuries. There is no one training separately from the team for the first time in a long while. Efkan's injury has healed. We will struggle to be as fair as possible in this process while building the squad. Hanousek was not included in the list. There were some developments outside of our plans. It is not easy to part ways with some players during the mid-season transfer window. In a period where the football economy is shrinking, we made some decisions to protect the financial rights of Ankaragücü. We could not implement the decisions to part ways with some players. They will now be in the squad to fulfill the requirements of their contracts. Hanousek was not a player I initially planned to leave out of the squad. We were forced into this decision due to circumstances. It has been a process where we will be able to benefit from almost all of our new transfers. We will make a decision regarding Bassogog tomorrow. We want to use whoever is the most ready player against Galatasaray."