Okan Buruk speaks out on the pitch crisis! 'The TFF bears all responsibility!'

Galatasaray midfielder Lucas Torreira made statements at the press conference ahead of the Sparta Prague match.

Torreira said, "It is a very important match for us. We must maintain high concentration against Sparta Prague. We must fight in the same way we fought in the Champions League. We must use our advantage in front of our fans."

Responding to the question, "How do you evaluate your chances of winning the UEFA Europa League?", Torreira said, "Our goal was to continue in the Champions League. You saw how we played in those matches; we should have earned more points. We are happy to represent Turkey in the UEFA Europa League. We must do our best in every match. We know the history of Galatasaray. Our goal is to fight until the very last moment and reach the highest possible level. As Galatasaray, we must first focus on the next match. This match is what matters now; we will play against a strong team."

OKAN BURUK CONFESSION

Lucas Torreira said, "You have seen how I have been in every match at Galatasaray for the past year and a half. I am a person who plays with passion. I have my surname on my back, but more importantly, the crest in front of me. I work to make the fans, my teammates, and the technical staff happy. Working with Coach Okan is a great pleasure. He is a charismatic, happy person who keeps the team together. I also thank the entire technical staff. I am 28 years old and I am very happy to be able to compete in Europe with such an important team. I am happy for every day I wear this jersey. I am proud to be coached by Coach Okan. He will achieve great success in the future as well. I thank him for always trusting me. We will continue to achieve success at Galatasaray."

Regarding the Sparta Prague match, Okan Buruk said, "We will look at our path in Europe match by match. We will play an important match at our home ground. We want to continue by winning at home. We have shown what we can do together with our fans. We will play against the Czech champions. They are coming off a long break. I don't know if this is an advantage or a disadvantage. We also had the chance to rest before this match. We are 100 percent ready. We want to do everything to win. We plan to go to the second leg with an advantage. Since we will play against a good team, we need patience. I trust my players."

"THIS UNITY BRINGS WINS AND SUCCESS"

Okan Buruk stated that they want to win trophies this season, saying, "What we are doing is a team game. Even though I am at the helm, we are performing together with our staff and our management. Our main goal is the success of Galatasaray. It has been progressing increasingly over the last 1.5 years. This unity brings wins and success. We have more goals ahead of us this year. There is the Super Lig, the Turkish Cup, the Super Cup, and the Europa League. We want to win all 4 trophies ahead of us. We need this unity for success. I am trying to put forth the struggle on the field together with my players. To achieve this unity, we need to produce an effective game. There are different stories within football. We want to be successful here and crown the Galatasaray crest with a trophy. The winner here is always Galatasaray."

Evaluating the transfer window, Okan Buruk said, "The transfer window is difficult. We closed this period in a good way. Our players have joined us. Serge arrived today. We continue to strengthen our squad. If we could have finished Derrick's transfer earlier, things could have been different. We won two difficult matches. As long as we are a team, we do not want to experience the absence of any player. It is not about who is there or who is not, the game is very important. I will trust the players I have and go into tomorrow's match. The last two matches were a benchmark for us."

"THE MAIN GOAL IS TO WIN"

Responding to a question about rotation in matches, Okan Buruk said, "Sometimes we act match by match. We will play today and then there is the Ankaragücü match. We will look at the condition of the players. The important thing is to maintain our game philosophy. There are players returning from injury, and there are those who have been transferred. In terms of general injuries, only Hakim Ziyech remains. Within this cycle, sometimes we will change the squad, and sometimes the players will change. We are playing in a league where there is no tolerance for dropping points. Sometimes we will change players at the 45th minute, sometimes we will use them in the next match. The main goal is to win. All my players need to be ready. Important opportunities will come for all of them."

Regarding the Sparta Prague match, Okan Buruk also assessed, "When we look at it in general, everyone says Copenhagen without knowing the opponent. You see it after you play. We received heavy criticism after playing the first match. There is no easy team in the Champions League. Slavia Prague is the same. They came to the Europa League after being eliminated by Copenhagen. We will play against a strong team. We care about this match. We are facing a team that plays with the ball. We think we play these matches better. Our goal is to win the first match."

"THE TFF BEARS ALL RESPONSIBILITY"

Okan Buruk answered the question regarding the pitch at Eryaman Stadium, where the Ankaragücü match in the Super Lig will be played, as follows: "I don't know how much maintenance work has been done. We will see when we go there. It is something under the responsibility of the TFF. They deemed it suitable for play. When we see the stadium, we will see whether the TFF made the right decision or not. The TFF bears all responsibility. Regardless of which field or pitch it is, we will prepare our players accordingly. If something negative happens, this will be one of the TFF's mistakes."

Okan Buruk stated that Abdülkerim Bardakcı is in a condition to play, saying, "Abdülkerim has trained with the team for two days. He is currently in a condition to play."

News Source: 12punto