28.07.2026 08:30
Galatasaray Head Coach Okan Buruk said after the Venezia match, "We will make transfers, we are trying to do this as soon as possible. We will also add good players to our squad."
Galatasaray, continuing their new season preparations in Austria, lost 3-0 to Italy's Serie A representative Venezia in their second friendly match of the camp. After the match, Galatasaray Technical Director Okan Buruk made statements to the press.
''WE DIDN'T FINISH WELL'' Emphasizing that these matches are crucial for physical development, Buruk said, "Of course, you always want to win in terms of gameplay, and you want to win these kinds of matches, but in the last two matches, both in terms of gameplay and results, we couldn't deliver what was desired, and we are aware of that. For the players returning from the national team, it's only the first week, their 7th day after starting training. They are not 100% ready. Actually, I was planning to use them for shorter periods, but we added an extra 10-15 minutes in the second half; they came off at the 60th minute. Today, especially in certain parts, especially at the start of the match, we gave our opponents a lot of chances. The end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, maybe up to the 60th minute, were periods where we got into more positions and were more involved in the game. After that, I think we didn't finish the match well either. As a result, of course, we didn't finish well; we performed well below our potential in terms of gameplay, but as I said, as a team, we are not ready yet. We are trying to get ready, we are trying to bring our players to the same level. We still have a long time ahead to prepare for the league. We will work here for 3 more days. Tomorrow we have one training session, then two days of double sessions. This is a loading camp for us. Our goal here is to increase the necessary training quality and physical levels of our players, and after returning, we have a friendly match. But the match that will be the most telling for us is, I believe, the Villarreal match on the 8th. That will be a match where we will be physically more ready."
''OF COURSE I'M UPSET'' Continuing his remarks, Okan Buruk said, "Our number of players is increasing, the number of incoming players is increasing. Today, we played Sane for about 15-20 minutes. We are trying to give playing time to our other players. We have used our young players from time to time, and today we tried to use them in certain parts. Closing this preparation camp without injuries is the most important thing for me. If you ask, 'Are you upset about the results?' of course I am. It would be best to get results, play well, and increase the players' physical quality, but we played against two teams that are more ready than us, and in that sense, I think we couldn't achieve what we wanted, both in terms of gameplay and results."
''WE WILL BECOME PHYSICALLY MORE READY'' Saying that they will be in better physical shape at the end of the camp, Okan Buruk explained, "We trained last night, we trained this morning, and then we played the match in the evening. Therefore, these training sessions and matches are important minutes for us to be ready for the season. Here, we are trying to give these minutes to our players by rotating them. We mostly tried to use them in 60-minute blocks, making those changes. But as I said, they are not ready yet. Especially the fact that the gap in days for players returning from the national team is large is challenging us in this regard. But we will be ready, and as I said, when this two-week period goes better for us, both in terms of gameplay and physically, I think we will become physically more ready."
''I AM PLEASED WITH JANKAT'S PERFORMANCE'' Speaking about young goalkeeper Jankat Yılmaz, Buruk said, "In the previous match, we used Günay. Today, Jankat also did good things during the game, made important saves. He did well at times, had some ball losses, but we need to try things in these kinds of matches; we tried playing out from the back. Of course, he also tried to play long balls. Against a team that applies man-to-man pressure, the movement of players is very important. But overall, considering Jankat's performance and the saves he made, I think he had a good match. He is someone we trust a lot; he had a very good season. I am very pleased with his performance."
''OUR THOUGHTS ON THE FOREIGN PLAYER LIMIT ARE CLEAR'' Providing information about the foreign players who will leave the team, Okan Buruk said, "We are still observing, giving them minutes in training. We are trying to see our players, but it's pretty clear what we will do with the foreign players. We have things in mind. There is a foreign player rule that doesn't allow much flexibility. This foreign player rule is one of the factors that challenges us in transfers as well. Therefore, we are roughly determining our plans, but of course, performances in this camp and in matches also have an impact. Performances in friendly matches can be misleading. If they went out rested, we could talk about something else, but here they are playing matches along with a high training tempo. So, we have some players who cannot fully perform as desired. It's not an evaluation based solely on that, but we have a draft in mind. Regarding the foreign player count and foreign players, since we have a specific number, our thoughts are clear."
''WE WILL ADD GOOD PLAYERS TO OUR SQUAD'' Stating that transfer efforts continue, Buruk said, "From my perspective, and probably from our president, board of directors, and all of us, if you asked 'What would you want?' we would all have wanted to complete the transfers as soon as possible and come here after doing so. We are not happy about the pressure this creates on us. And for player motivation and unity, it's important to bring in these transfers as soon as possible. But what matters here is what kind of transfer you make. There can be players you have to wait for. If you want to sign an elite player or are willing to wait for one, sometimes this takes time and isn't easy. I always say this; a transfer is not something like going to a market where every player has a price and saying 'I took this one, this one, and this one.' You need to convince both the player and his club. The player needs to be of the quality you desire. In terms of price, there are incredibly high transfer fees rising in world football. Right now, we see teams especially in the Premier League or the top teams from Europe's top 5 leagues constantly making transfers around the 100 million, 120 million bracket. But here, I just want it to be known, we've always said this, we talk about it: We will make transfers, we are trying to do this as soon as possible. We will also add good players to our squad. We all know what we are lacking right now."
It is quite normal to be under pressure. It is also quite normal for our fans to complain. '' he said.
''THIS TAKES TIME'' Okan Buruk finally said, ''As I said, we will make transfers and we will try to add the best players to our squad. The sooner this happens, the better for us. Of course, we all need to be patient, but I think the most important thing is to get the right players, to strengthen our squad correctly, and to have two good squads ready for both the Champions League and the league. As I said, we will add the transfers to our squad as soon as possible. I have no doubt about that. If I had any doubt, I would be the unhappiest person here. I have no doubt about our president's good intentions and the transfers he will make. So, they should trust our president, our board, and us. We will try to make these transfers as soon as possible. But it sometimes takes time. If you wait for a good player, sometimes you have to wait that period. Because the World Cup was played, players returned from the World Cup. Just as many players joined us late, there are players who joined many teams late. There are decisions to be made by clubs regarding these players. So it can take some time. But none of us are happy about this time passing,'' concluding his words.