25.08.2025 02:31
Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk spoke after the 4-0 victory against Kayserispor. Regarding the current situation of Barış Alper Yılmaz, Okan Buruk stated, "If Barış had bad intentions, he wouldn't have played in both matches. We do not forget his contributions. We talked to Barış. We tried to manage the process correctly. It is both our wish and his. There is some confusion. We have also separated Barış from the team. Barış has provided important services."
Galatasaray's head coach Okan Buruk made statements after the 4-0 victory against Kayserispor in the 3rd week of the Super League.
"WE COULD HAVE DEFENDED BETTER"
Evaluating the match, Okan Buruk said, "We started with the ball, our opponent let go of the ball and went behind. They weren't very aggressive. We could have produced more in the first half. After 2-0, the game became easier for us in terms of transitions, and we had more chances to find positions, while our opponent took risks to find a goal. We found positions and also gave away positions. The opponent sometimes not coming back, and Roland Sallai going forward after a few positions led us to concede transitions. We could have defended a bit better." he stated.
THE LATEST STATUS OF BARIS ALPER YILMAZ
Speaking about Barış Alper, who has been associated with transfer rumors, Buruk said, "Barış is valuable, special. I love him very much. He has put in a lot of effort, and Galatasaray has also invested a lot in him. There are many misunderstandings. He is a young player and can make mistakes. Barış is valuable for us. He is a national player. We need to embrace Barış. Mistakes and errors can happen. We need to know that Barış is not malicious. If Barış were malicious, he wouldn't have played in both matches. We do not forget his contributions. We talked with Barış. We tried to manage the process correctly. It is both our and his wish... There is confusion. It was also important that this did not reflect on the team. We separated Barış from the team. It could have harmed his teammates as well. We prevented that. Barış has provided significant services to Galatasaray. Let's not forget this." he expressed.
"EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES"
Continuing his words, the successful coach said, "Everyone makes mistakes. We need to help him. Barış is our player. He has served in the best way until now. No matter what position he plays, he tries to do his best. When the offer came during the mid-season, he continued on the path for the championship. There are speculations. He can make mistakes, there can be errors, there can be wrongs. He is a very young player. We need to manage the process correctly with Barış and regain him. Nothing has diminished in Barış's love for Galatasaray. These are human things. We should not lynch Barış. Let's support him. He is an important player for Galatasaray. We do not want to sell players during this period. We have many goals. There are such sales and important offers in football. We cannot evaluate it differently, but our president's wish is to maintain the squad and make reinforcements. We have entered the last week. Our players were not affected by these events; we won. Barış posted before the match. He wished success to his teammates from the group. He showed that he is with his team. This is also important." he stated.
"THAT'S WHY HE STARTED UP FRONT"
Speaking about Eren Elmalı's performance, Okan Buruk said, "Eren showed that he is close to scoring with the goal he scored in the first away match against Gaziantep. Eren is a player close to scoring. That's why we started him up front. Jakobs also performs well in defensive transitions. He does this in training as well. We wanted to use Eren there. He played comfortably. You cannot expect the same impact as a direct winger, but he did well in both attack and defense." he commented.
"WE ARE HERE TO WIN"
The experienced coach concluded his remarks by saying, "We are the Galatasaray team. We are here to win. After becoming champions last year, we also won our matches. We cannot play any match casually; we must win. We have a game we play. We try to use the players correctly within the game. We are breaking records, but my players also show this hunger. The desire to win in every match is very important. As Okan Coach, I am bringing records, but these are Galatasaray's records. We own them because we are at the forefront."