Samsunspor President Yüksel Yıldırım: It looks like they will eliminate us

Describing Rayo Vallecano as a "tough-as-nails" team, Yıldırım said, "We prepared for the match and took the field with high hopes, but we saw that we were facing a team that is tough as nails. Tonight, as an Anatolian club, we experienced the difference between La Liga and the Süper Lig. The team played very fast. We thought we were fast, but they were faster than us. They were better prepared, but the second and third goals we conceded did not suit Samsunspor at all. The opponent took full advantage of our mistakes and found the goals," he said.

Stating that the team must do their best in the second leg, Yüksel Yıldırım said, "It is clear that the team is suffering from the fatigue of last Sunday's Fenerbahçe match. We played a very high-tempo match, and the coach fielded the same squad. After that, when we were already 2-1 down, our coach made the necessary changes. Emre and Coulibaly, who returned from injury, came on. They added vitality to the game. Just when we were wondering if we could catch a 2-2 draw, another mistake by Ntcham led to them scoring. So, as I said, it feels like our hopes are fading, but there is another match, and this team must do its best in Madrid," he stated.

Saying that one must be realistic and that they could be eliminated by Rayo Vallecano, Yıldırım remarked, "Our goal was to reach the round of 16, and we did that. Now we said the goal was the quarterfinals, but we faced a strong team. I think this team will play in the quarterfinals or semifinals; if they eliminate us—and it looks like they will—well, one doesn't want to lose hope, but one must be realistic."

Stating that there will be renewals in the squad, Yıldırım said, "We are on the way to becoming a good team. I took over this team 8 years ago in the 2nd League. We structured it and came step by step. I mean, in our second year in the Süper Lig, we went to Europe. This is a great success for me. But what matters is making it sustainable from now on. To do that, we have already started preparations for next year. Our coach is new. There will be renewals in the squad. We gave Fenerbahçe a hard time last week. They are one of the best teams in Turkey, and today our opponent is in 15th place in Spain, but they are playing. This means that while we say we play football in Turkey, our league is very weak," he added.

Regarding National Team Coach Vincenzo Montella coming to Samsun for the match, Yıldırım said the following:

"Even Montella said, 'President, I have never seen anything like this.' Meaning the referee is turning a blind eye to it, etc. But in the end, we had a nice conversation with the coach. About the future of Turkey and the future of the national team. I wished him success. I said, 'I hope we pass Romania and then the next opponent to go to the World Cup.' He wants that too; it was nice. I also thank my coach. It is a nice and joyful thing that he got up from Istanbul, came to Samsun to support us, and watched the match. It means Samsunspor is on the right track if even the national team coach comes to support us."

Yüksel Yıldırım also addressed certain social media accounts, calling them "trolls," and said:

"I thank the real Samsunspor fans. You know, there are trolls on social media whose identities we don't know, acting like 'keyboard warriors' and attacking us, but then when the match comes, they say 'lower the ticket prices.' You lower the ticket prices, and they still don't come. So we have seen that this is no longer about ticket prices. They shouldn't resort to writing on social media. They are not real Samsunspor fans. They are just those 'Irishmen' among us who want to stir things up. But we are on the right track."