"Attention-grabbing resignation statement from Alex, who has been shaking up the Super League."

The head coach of Antalyaspor, the team in form in the last weeks of the Trendyol Super League, Alex de Souza, made striking statements regarding his coaching career and the developments during his time at the Mediterranean club.

FIRST HALF EVALUATION

He answered questions from the press at the Atilla Vehbi Konuk Facilities and evaluated the first half of the season, stating, "Next week, I will complete the 6th month of working in Antalya. I am pleased to be working here. There are matches against Eyüpspor and Trabzonspor before the first half of the league ends, and we will continue our work for the future. So far, we have had good times and bad days. We have had matches that we lost and won. Everything has happened within football. I hope the future continues in the same way. In our previous meeting, a short time had passed here. I didn't have much information about the club or the team. As of today, I have a lot of information. I would like to thank Antalyaspor and the management for the opportunity to work in Turkey again. We have had beautiful days for 6 months. I hope the future will also be beautiful," he said.

"ONLY 1 OF THE PLAYERS I WANTED CAME"

The Brazilian coach expressed that only the defender Thalisson was brought in among the transfers he wanted in the squad planning, saying, "The other players who came during the summer transfer period were players determined by the club. The working system was as follows. I presented the players I wanted to the club, and the only one who came from there was Thalisson, while the others were players of the type I wanted. The ratio of the game I want to reflect in my mind is very low. The players I need for the game I want to reflect are not in my squad. I would like to mention a fast player, but there is no fast player in our team. As I said, we do not have the player squad to reflect the game in my mind, but we are trying to reflect this on the field with the players we have. We have 25-26 players in our team, and we are putting them on the field to get the best performance," he stated.

"WE HAVE PROBLEMS REGARDING TRANSFERS"

Alex expressed that they are experiencing difficulties regarding transfers and that there are transfer bans, noting that the club is also going through tough times. Alex de Souza said, "There is a difficulty that the club is facing. The transfer window is closed. These are all situations we have to face. We are going through these problems by discussing them. We inform the club about the players we need, but the decision-making authority is the club. There are players with the character I want. For example, the character of a fast player is one of them. It requires money to acquire these players. We are trying to find a solution amidst all of this. There is a transfer ban on all of these. The management will face this and act accordingly. We will try to reflect our best game with all the players in our squad. We also have a problem in the center-back position. We have limited players in this area. My thought is to take the players we have to the Eyüpspor match in the best way," he explained.

"COACHING IS MUCH HARDER"

Stating that coaching is much harder than being a player, Alex de Souza said, "It is not even worth comparing; being a coach is much harder. When I was a player, I was only responsible for myself. When you are a coach, you are responsible for 25 players. I have to deal with many of their issues. Your responsibilities increase at this level. Playing is a more enjoyable and simpler game," he said.

"I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT RESIGNING"

Alex emphasized that he has never thought about resigning since he came to Antalyaspor, saying, "I never thought about it, and I have a 2-year contract. I will be here until the end of my contract. Fans may sometimes call for the authorities to resign when the team is performing poorly and losing. This is quite normal, and it is also our duty to please them and prevent them from having such thoughts," he said.

Alex de Souza stated that they want to reflect an aggressive, fast, and organized game on the field, saying, "First of all, I would like to have a team that steals the ball aggressively and quickly and launches fast attacks, and I am trying to reflect this with the current group of players. I aim to create a regular team. You can see this in the last matches as well. We want to get the best performance from all players. We had a bad start in the first matches of the league against Beşiktaş and Başakşehir, conceding 9 goals. We are aware of the situation we are in, and we take this into account. Amid all of this, there are situations like injuries, and this saddens us a lot. When looking at the analyses, it is necessary to be calm. Because when we are calm, we can make the right decisions. So far, I am very happy to be at Antalyaspor," he said.

"IT IS NOT MY JOB TO TALK TO REFEREES"

Expressing that he is working with the dream of creating a regular team, Alex said, "I aim to create a regular team and game. Erdoğan Yeşilyurt has ended his season. Burak İngenç got injured; these things happen in football. Solutions need to be found. We are here for that. Ramzi Safuri has 1 goal in 40 matches, and he missed 1 penalty. So far, I am satisfied with everything. Musa Nizam and Anderson have shown good and bad performances from time to time. Losing away is a bad result. We have less physical strength. These make it difficult for us to earn points away. It is more accurate to analyze match by match. The points lost away also concern us. It is not my job to talk to referees. We have good players. We will have tough matches ahead. We had a tough match against Gaziantep. We played against a physically strong team. There will be a league match and a match against Kocaeli. We have a limited player squad. We will do our best," he stated.

"I COULD BE SACKED IF I GET 0 POINTS FROM 3 MATCHES"

Stating that Antalyaspor always aims for victory whenever they take the field, Souza said, "We have a series of 3 matches ahead. There are matches against Eyüpspor, Kocaelispor, and Trabzonspor. Our goal in these 3 matches is 9 points; if I get 0 points, the management can send me away. If I hadn't turned around the Alanyaspor match, maybe I wouldn't be sitting here right now," he evaluated.

Souza mentioned that he generally does not leave the facilities, saying, "I have meetings with the technical staff, management, and players here. I thank the people of Antalya for their interest, but I generally do not go outside. I went out during the breaks in the national team," he said.

"WE HAVE PROBLEMS TO SOLVE"

Alex de Souza stated that it is bad that they have earned few points away and noted that they will work harder to overcome this problem. Explaining his goal in the Turkish Cup, Alex de Souza said, "There will be tough matches; we have a limited player group. We went through a tough process in the Gaziantepspor match, and before that, we played against Muşspor in the cup. We will have league and cup matches. We will put the best 11 on the field with the players we have. We will have tough matches in the cup," he said.

Stating that his goal in the league has always been the same from the beginning, emphasizing that he aims to create a winning team, Souza said, "We are trying to put the best 11 on the field to win every match."

"Your position changes every week based on wins and losses. We have problems that we need to solve and manage," he stated.

ANTALYASPOR'S SITUATION

Antalyaspor, coached by Alex, has played 16 matches in the Trendyol Super League, achieving 6 wins, 3 draws, and 7 losses, placing them 9th with 21 points. The Mediterranean team, which has been on the rise in recent weeks, recorded 4 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses in a 7-match period. The red-and-whites also advanced to the group stage in the Turkish Cup.