21.02.2025 00:30
Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk turned his attention to the Fenerbahçe derby after their elimination by AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa League. Criticizing the referee Vincic assigned to the big match, Buruk stated, "The future of the foreign referee, which referee it would be, was known by all of Turkey. There are too many question marks. These question marks need to be resolved as soon as possible."
Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk made statements after the match against AZ Alkmaar, where they were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League with a 2-2 draw in the second leg after losing 4-1. Buruk used striking expressions regarding the Fenerbahçe derby and the foreign referee Slavko Vincic assigned to the match.
"WE COULDN'T FIND THE EARLY GOAL"
Okan Buruk's statements are as follows;
"Our aim was to get into the mood of the match with an early goal and put the opponent in a difficult situation. We wanted to get into the round. We couldn't find the early goal. After going 1-0 down, there was a period at the beginning of the second half where we were better. We had attacks and player substitutions for the equalizer. We took Davinson out to protect him for the next match. He played very energetically. I took him out to avoid any injury risk.
"GÜNAY HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL MATCH"
In the second half, it was more like we wanted, while trying to go for the goal, the first ball that came to our goal was a problem. We went to 2-2, but we gave away too many positions. Günay made some saves. He had a very successful match.
"WE WERE HAPPY THERE WERE NO INJURIES"
On the field, I think in both matches, the narrowing of our squad, injuries, suspensions, players we couldn't write... Our misfortune in both matches was the squad shortage. It prevented us from holding onto the round. A very good start to the European adventure ended today. The positive side is that there were no injuries. We played two matches with a three-day interval. Our opponent was more vigorous than us. League matches were postponed by the federation. There was an injury risk. We took Torreira out due to injury fears. We were also thinking about when to take Osimhen out, how long he should stay on the field, because our other forward Morata is also injured, we took him out in the 80th minute.
"WE FELL SHORT OF OUR QUALITY"
It wasn't a night we wanted. We were more hopeful. If we had found the first goal, we could have entered the match. We can name a few players who performed well. Overall, we fell short of our own quality.
"THE FENERBAHÇE DERBY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MATCH OF THE SEASON"
- There is a derby match on Monday. What would you like to say?
Looking back, behind the bench, 5-6 very important players were waiting for that match. Having them with us, our squad depth, the player structure that can play these kinds of matches will be an advantage for us. It will be at our home. There are 4 days in between. The rest period is sufficient. We are not traveling. The rest period is sufficient. There will be tactical work with the players who did not play. There will be tactical work on Sunday. We have eager, waiting players. Players who played two matches in a row will be more physically and mentally ready. We are 6 points ahead in the league. The match we will play at home is the most important match of the season.
"IT'S HARD FOR MORATA AND JAKOBS TO PLAY, GÜNAY IS UNCERTAIN"
Okan Buruk, who also made statements at the press conference, announced that it is difficult for Ismail Jakobs and Alvaro Morata, who have injuries, to play in the Fenerbahçe match. On the other hand, in response to a question about whether goalkeeper Günay Güvenç, who drew attention with his performance in the AZ Alkmaar match, would play in the derby, Buruk said, "We just finished the match. We will look and evaluate."
CRITICISM OF VINCIC: ALL OF TURKEY KNEW
Okan Buruk criticized Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, who will officiate the Fenerbahçe derby, during the press conference. Buruk said, "Let me talk about the referee of the match, you didn't ask. It has been a hot topic. I mentioned it yesterday, we all knew roughly. The foreign referee would come, which referee it would be, all of Turkey knew. Meetings, this and that would be held. Even though it wasn't, it was something we all knew. Who the referee of the match would be was known long ago," he said.
"THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTION MARKS"
The experienced coach stated that there are question marks about Vincic, saying, "There is a reaction from the Galatasaray fans and community. There are a lot of question marks. These question marks need to be resolved as soon as possible. The name chosen has very big question marks in the minds of Galatasaray fans and all of us. We will see what will happen. I have said before, the field is important for us. Right now, we all have a lot of question marks, especially because of the name of the match referee."