Acun Ilıcalı: This round is not the goal, just an obstacle

Fenerbahçe will face Scottish side Rangers in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tomorrow at 20:45 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Sports Complex. The yellow-navies held their final training session for this match at the Can Bartu Facilities. Fenerbahçe Vice President Acun Ilıcalı followed the training on-site and later made statements to the press.

Emphasizing that they want to represent Turkey in the best possible way, Ilıcalı said, "We emerged from the toughest group in the qualifiers. Even back then, we were saying, 'Our opponents are both in form and ambitious, they are strong opponents.' We played very difficult matches and played with incomplete squads due to UEFA rules. There were times when we couldn't replace injured players. There were away games where we went with youth team players. There were matches where we had 5 young players on the bench. We overcame all of these. We advanced to the second round, and in this round, we truly showed our strength.

There is also the advantage of having been able to make transfers there. We eliminated Anderlecht. Again, a tough opponent, Glasgow Rangers. We believe in our coach, we believe in our children. You can see the atmosphere of the team. We are rising step by step. We are waiting for tomorrow with excitement, but in European cups, no match has a guarantee, nor are there favorites in many matches. That's why I am very happy, very proud. Hopefully, we will represent our country in the best way possible," he said.

"WE ARE CONTINUING WITH THE RIGHT COACH"

Speaking about their support for Head Coach Jose Mourinho, Ilıcalı said, "There is only one thing we can say for the Super Lig; the season started as we planned from the very beginning, with a new head coach, one of the best in the world, and a very good squad being formed. As the season started, the difficulties every new coach might experience, such as the process of getting used to the team, our coach, as you can see, started to reap the fruits after first getting to know the team, then developing a system, and finally working on that system. We have always told him that we trust him. Even when there was the harshest criticism, we, led by our president, always told our coach, 'We are behind you.' I am also with him every day. Football is first about the right project, then persistence in that project. I think that is the secret to all success. This is what Fenerbahçe is doing right now. We are continuing with the right project and the right coach. We completed the deficiencies in January. We are in a good period. God willing, we will continue our path first in the UEFA Europa League and then in the league. We are experiencing beautiful days," he assessed.

"IT WAS A BREAKING POINT FOR TURKISH FOOTBALL"

Stating that things are changing in Turkish football and justice is being served, Ilıcalı said, "The psychological side of football is very important. Just as we see the same team with the same players playing well and playing poorly, there are psychological sides behind this. I can say that our psychology is very good. There is complete unity within the team. In recent weeks, I have praised our fans, and they deserve more. As a community, our psychology is quite good. The arrival of foreign VAR was a breaking point for Turkish football. We see that the momentum has turned towards us since foreign VAR arrived. The first thing we did was to bring justice to football, and we worked very hard for this. Then our other clubs supported us in the same way. They also saw the problems. Things are changing in Turkey now. The eras of 'let me assign this referee to this match' are over. I will have statements within this week or the next. Really beautiful things are happening. I see better every day that justice is being served in Turkish football. The same goes for the derby match. We have moved from these fluctuations of 'what state of mind was I in, how did I give this penalty? I wasn't myself' to better days now. We are hopeful from that perspective as well. As a community, we are excited. We are continuing in all 3 fronts. We believe in our squad. We do not underestimate any team. We will continue in the same way until the end," he said.

"THIS ROUND IS NOT THE GOAL, JUST AN OBSTACLE"

Upon being reminded that Fenerbahçe is the only Turkish team representing Turkey in Europe, Acun Ilıcalı said the following:

"It makes me happy on one hand, and sad on the other. Being the only team in Europe is very important, yes, but why couldn't we have a few more teams? We have good, strong teams. Our dream is for many of our teams to be here. We will play against a strong opponent in this round as well, but I believe we are ambitious. We feel that our country is behind us. Hopefully, we will achieve significant successes for Turkish football as well. This round is not the goal for us, just an obstacle."

News Source: İHA