Alexander Djiku’s derby assessment: “We must win for the championship”

Fenerbahçe’s Ghanaian defender Alexander Djiku spoke about the derby match against Galatasaray on December 24th, Sunday, in the 18th week of the Turkish Super Lig, saying, “If we want to be champions, we must win these matches.”

Fenerbahçe‘s Ghanaian defender Alexander Djiku made statements to the club’s television channel before the match against Galatasaray.

The 29-year-old player, stating that he initially found the criticisms directed at him normal, said, “People can criticize you when they don’t know you. I already know my own quality and what kind of player I am. That’s why after the season started, I tried to gradually showcase my own quality. I wanted to put on a good performance for both myself and the team to contribute. Of course, when you win a match and put on a good performance, collectively you can demonstrate even more of your capacity. In my opinion, we are in a good situation as a team. We need to continue well.”

“I can say that I am satisfied with my performance so far.”

Expressing his views on his playing style, Djiku said, “Fenerbahçe knew what kind of player I am. Some of the criticisms were related to me not being tall, but in my opinion, not everything is related to height if you are a defensive player. If you are a defensive player, your timing is very important. Therefore, you need to be strong and have good timing. I think this is important. Regarding playing the game, I can say this; I am a player who always likes to cleanly and clearly pass the ball from my foot. I am someone who likes to connect the ball with my teammate in a clear and direct way, without taking risks. I don’t like to make long passes too much; as I mentioned, I prefer to give clear and direct passes. I can say that I am satisfied with my performance so far. Of course, we need to continue in this way. If our fans and our community are happy with me, of course, I feel happy too. I will continue to show my performance in the best way.”

Stating that he has adapted to the team, the yellow-navy blue defender said, “I started my career in France and continued to play for teams there. Then I needed to gain experience by playing in a different country. I thought I had reached that maturity. Therefore, I chose Fenerbahçe. I adapted well here. Playing for my national team also had an impact on this adaptation. After that, as I mentioned, I adapted here and continue well.”

“Fenerbahçe unfortunately did not have very good statistics last year.”

Djiku, emphasizing the importance of the Galatasaray derby, said, “These types of matches also mean a lot to the fans. If we want to be champions, we must win these matches. There is competition between these two clubs. Unfortunately, Fenerbahçe did not have very good statistics last year. This year we need to show the best and win these two matches so that we can create smiles on the faces of our fans and make them happy.”

Djiku, noting that there are very experienced players in the team, said, “We are a team made up of very quality players. In this sense, communication is very, very important. If you want to solve a problem on the field, you can instantly solve that problem by talking and alerting each other at that moment. We, as a team, are trying to do this to achieve the best performance.”