Okan Buruk's first comments on Fenerbahçe's new manager İsmail Kartal

Touching on the championship race in the 2024-25 season, Buruk said, "Sometimes people ask, 'How can a team with 99 points not be the champion?' It's because the other team got 102 points. When our rival's momentum slows down, we can sometimes lower our tempo as well. However, in the season we became champions with 102 points, we constantly increased our gear. I can say that this season was our most difficult championship. Because in addition to the league marathon, we also played 12 Champions League matches," he stated.

Furthermore, stating that the best manager he faced at Fenerbahçe was İsmail Kartal, Buruk noted the following:

"They were all against good managers. Winning against Jorge Jesus was very important. Even though Coach İsmail didn't win the championship, he was very successful in terms of points and gameplay. We can say that among these four managers, the most successful one was Coach İsmail."

"I hold no grudge against Mourinho"

Addressing the tension between him and Jose Mourinho, Buruk said, "I hold no grudge against Jose Mourinho. Some things can happen on the pitch, but afterwards, you need to leave them behind and shake hands. If what happened back then were to happen again, I wouldn't make the same move. It wasn't a blow that would knock someone down, but it was a situation that developed as a reflex. If I had done the same thing to Jose Mourinho, I would have received a 10-match ban," he remarked.

Sharing his views on Fenerbahçe President Aziz Yıldırım, Buruk spoke as follows:

"Best wishes to Aziz Yıldırım as well. May it be beneficial for Turkish football. He is a very experienced president and has returned to duty. It is a good thing for fans to make fun of each other in a humorous way. I think this is how football becomes more beautiful. They make fun of me a lot too, but good things can come out of it. It seems funny, I don't get hung up on these things."

"He has an antipathy towards Galatasaray"

On the other hand, speaking about Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu, Buruk said, "All of the TFF President's outbursts have been against Galatasaray. He has an antipathy towards Galatasaray."

News Source: 12punto