Ismail Kartal Press Conference: “Our championship was taken away from us 9 years ago”

Fenerbahce’s head coach, Ismail Kartal, spoke ahead of the Super Cup match against eternal rivals Galatasaray, saying, “Winning the Super Cup 9 years ago made me very happy. We were leading that year, and we had to be champions. Unfortunately, an incident occurred, and our path was blocked.”

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce will face each other in the Super Cup match tomorrow in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Ismail Kartal, the head coach of Fenerbahce, made statements during the press conference before the match.

Ismail Kartal: “Our opponent didn’t rise from the ground after 60-65 minutes in Kadikoy.”

In his statement, Ismail Kartal said, “Although we had a short time, we had the opportunity to work for a few days. We considered every possibility. We want to end this year with a cup by playing a good football and a good game. Derby matches are important, and the results matter. Our strategy is based on winning first and if we can’t win, not to lose. Our opponent didn’t rise from the ground after 60-65 minutes, and they played in this way. All my players are motivated. There is no need to say more.”

“Our championship was taken away; we didn’t give it up.”

Continuing his words, Fenerbahce’s head coach said, “Winning the Super Cup 9 years ago made me very happy. We were leading that year, and we had to be champions. Unfortunately, our path was blocked due to a well-known incident. Our bus was shot at. Our championship was somehow taken away from us; we didn’t give it up. People forget, but the perpetrators have still not been found.”

“We want to make our good performance in the Super League felt by Galatasaray.”

The successful coach commented, “Since it’s a single match, we prepared for this match by considering all possibilities. We want to end 2023 with good football and a cup. We played a good and strong game in the Super League. Tomorrow, we want to make our opponents feel that. We want to finish with the cup.”

“The match in Kadikoy was strategic.”

Kartal said, “The game plan in the last match was strategic. We are in a long-term league marathon. We went out to win, but we didn’t get the result we wanted in the first half. The game needed to become more intense. I made the first move with the substitution of Ismail Yüksek at the beginning of the second half. Our opponent didn’t get up from the ground after 60-65 minutes in the previous match, and they played in this way. In the derby in the league, we took control of the game with our second-half moves. We had two 100% opportunities. As you can appreciate, the opposing players then kept falling to the ground, disrupting our game pace.”

Samet Akaydın’s response!

Regarding the question “Is Samet Akaydın going to be loaned out?” Ismail Kartal said, “There is no such thing. I didn’t include him in the squad for this match.”