In Matchday 2 of the Champions League group stage, Galatasaray will host FC Barcelona. Ahead of the match, head coach Okan Buruk held a press conference discussing his opponent's strength, his team's preparation, and frustration from players missing out on game time, among other topics. This article covers the first part of the press conference.

Press Conference Part Two

Buruk: It's natural for players to be disappointed not to play. Don't misinterpret their reactions.

Coach, what would you like to say about this match?

First of all, both I and all the players are very excited. Part of that is because we're playing in the Champions League, and another part, of course, is that we're facing FC Barcelona. We'll play at home. Every home game, especially in the Champions League, excites us greatly and boosts our motivation significantly. For a match like this, sometimes you don't need to give players extra motivation. They can reach a high level of engagement on their own. This might be necessary in the league, but when players prepare for a match of this caliber, the situation is quite different.

We're facing one of the best teams in the world right now. They've won all their matches this season. We don't need to explain how strong they are or what style of play they use. Nonetheless, we'll be standing opposite them as well.

When we're in our best form, performing at our best, and playing at our highest level, I believe my players and I can achieve great success in this stadium. Sometimes, even without winning, we've performed very well in matches. Sometimes we've also won those matches.

Our goal is always to win every match. In this game, we will make a full effort to claim victory. Of course, we're facing a very strong team. Everyone will say FC Barcelona are favorites in this match, but as I've said, we have a group of players here who will play with confidence. We hope we can show our best performance.

Coach, I hope you get a good result tomorrow. My question is: as you mentioned, FC Barcelona is currently one of the best teams in the world, with a squad value of 1 billion euros, eight consecutive league wins, and also winning in the Champions League. Last season you were successful with high pressing, but facing a team with Olmo, Rodri, and Pedri in midfield, do you think high pressing alone will still be effective? Or do you have another plan for FC Barcelona?

First, we won't simply sit back and defend, that's for sure. We will also attack. Both aspects must be considered together. Regardless of how we decide, what defensive approach we need to use against the opponent—whether in the attacking third, midfield, or defensive third—we must give our all. That means we must use intense, high-level pressing wherever we are on the pitch, against whoever we face. We must maintain that intensity.

Another crucial point is that when the opponent has the ball, we must work collectively as a team with strong determination to win it back. So I believe we must display this urgency. The question isn't where we'll wait for the opponent, whether to drop deep in front of goal or to press high. There are many situations in a match and many decisions to make, but whatever we choose, it must be executed with full effort.

Beyond that, there's also the attacking aspect of the game. When attacking, we must stay calm and keep possession.

The opponent also plays with a high defensive line, and every team has a plan to deal with that. Last season we saw this in many matches. Perhaps last season FC Barcelona conceded more goals, but this season they're conceding fewer. They're a team that tries to dominate the game with their style of play. So we'll face a strong team with very good players. We must minimize our mistakes, because when we make a mistake, the opponent can easily punish us.

Galatasaray's fixture list is congested, and facing an opponent like FC Barcelona usually requires extra effort. However, some players have returned from international duty fatigued, and some have previous injuries—particularly Osimhen and Çinko, and Torreira has also traveled a long distance, as has Davinson Sanchez. How is their current condition? Can you tell us?

Actually, perhaps the most difficult match for us was against Kasimpasa. After the international break, Lucas returned from afar and played one match three days before that game. Davinson Sanchez also returned from afar, playing one match two days prior. Bartakowski played one match three days before and has played three matches total.

In other words, they've all played multiple matches. If we count all the players returning from international duty, the Turkish national team players are probably the most fatigued. As everyone knows, losing four matches in a row takes a mental toll on players. For our players returning from international duty, it's not just physical fatigue but also mental fatigue.

From this perspective, the Kasimpasa match was more challenging. Additionally, there are players just recovering from injury who haven't played yet and will be taking the pitch for the first time after recovery, which made that match even tougher. Going forward, most of our squad is ready. Çinko won't be available, and Güvem has returned to training this week but won't play either. Apart from that, our squad is complete.

So we'll take it match by match. There's a four-day gap between matches, which is fairly long, and we do have recovery time. I believe winning makes people happier, and the more you win, the happier you are, and the faster your body recovers. So we must win this match.

My question is: your opponent, FC Barcelona, currently scores over four goals per match on average in the league and Champions League, while Galatasaray has only conceded five goals in six home matches in the Champions League last season. From this perspective, your home defense is very strong. However, the number of goals conceded appears to have increased this season. Given these statistics, are you planning to adjust your personnel or defensive formation for tomorrow?

As I just mentioned, sometimes the number of goals conceded varies depending on the opponent's attacking situation. For example, in this week's match, in the first half the opponent had the ball go to our goal only once, and a second time in the second half when it bounced off Davinson-Alexis and went to an opponent's foot. The opponent shot twice, and we conceded one goal, which means the number of goals conceded isn't always directly related to the number of chances we give the opponent.

I also mentioned FC Barcelona earlier. Last season they used the same style of play but conceded more goals. This season they're conceding fewer. This number is influenced by the opponent's strength and their ability to convert chances into goals.

Of course, we'll have our final training session today and our plan will become clearer then. But as I've said, we are Galatasaray and we're playing at home. So regardless of the system, formation, or how we face the opponent, we must play aggressively.

We're playing at home and we must show this aggression. We'll try hard not to let the opponent breach our goal. We have players who can do that, and we also have a very good goalkeeper. We will make a full effort to prevent the opponent from scoring. However, beyond that, we must also score ourselves.

แปลโดย AI

เว็บไซต์ AF เปิดตัวแล้ว! ดูข่าว ความคิดเห็น รายละเอียดแมตช์ และสถิติครบถ้วนบนคอมพิวเตอร์ของคุณ เยี่ยมชม: www.allfootballapp.com