İsmail Kartal Responds to Critics: “Disrespecting Our Efforts”

Kartal met with the press at Samandıra Can Bartu Facilities. In the meeting, the experienced coach expressed his belief that they would become champions by the weekend.

Kartal, emphasized their determination to win the championship as they face İstanbulspor in the final week of the Süper Lig:

“We will play our last match. As a team, we want to win. I have never lost my faith, and with God’s permission, I believe we will become champions on Sunday. I expect all our fans to come to our match. I have always told them to trust this team and these players. I believe we have not disappointed our fans and our community so far. We are behind due to external factors. Everything could turn in our favor this weekend. I live with the hope of winning the championship.”

Highlighting their points lost in Konya and the potential for Galatasaray to experience the same, Kartal said:

“Galatasaray lost their last three matches in Konya. I was there for one of them. Just as we lost points in Konya, they can experience the same. We suffered significant damage in the Konya match. We created 11 chances, 8 of which were clear goal opportunities. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen. In our first match against them, we capitalized on our chances and won 7-1. But this time, we could not.”

Response to Criticism

Kartal explained that criticism should be constructive and expressed his sadness over false and offensive statements:

“We have been together for a year. I am an objective person. They tried to discredit me, my team, and my players. Some people lied for their careers without learning the truth. They slandered and disrespected our efforts. There is a constant attack on social and visual media. I do not accept this. There will be criticism, but if it is constructive, football will improve. This is not criticism; it is a low blow. I do not understand these actions. Every time I have come to this club, I have shattered all the statistics with the football I played.”

Kartal recalled that he is in his third term with the yellow-blue team and mentioned that they have faced significant referee errors in each term.

Kartal also noted that they are among the top three scoring teams in Europe:

“They constantly make negative comments. They say the changes are wrong. In my opinion, 90% are correct. We were losing 1-0 in Rize, and when I made those three changes, those three players won the match, but no one mentioned it. Everyone saw what happened in Trabzon, but no one talks about it. Some say that the players brought the team here. The team that played in a very different system last year, with 12-13 new players, had to train them, convince them of your system, and play such strong football. Additionally, they play by sticking to it; this is not easy.”

“Players’ Efforts Are Significant”

Kartal emphasized the significant efforts of his players and the team:

“Since the beginning of the season, we have all been working hard. We have records of everything. The players and the entire team have put in significant effort. Looking at the budgets, it was told to me, and they still say it. You saw the dressing room at halftime of the Galatasaray match. After all, we are all human. Of course, we make mistakes. Football is such a thing that even Guardiola or Klopp are not perfect. There is technical and tactical work involved. Football is a bottomless pit.”

Offers After Fenerbahçe

Kartal mentioned receiving offers from seven clubs, including the Iranian national team, after leaving Fenerbahçe:

“I received offers from seven clubs after leaving Fenerbahçe, one of them was the Iranian national team for the World Cup, but it didn’t work out. I am not someone who promotes myself. There is hard work here. We worked hard with our team. We have five pages of statistics. Club history, records. Turkish football history, records. All this criticism and attack are not pleasant. When I was free, TV channels invited me; did I ever say a bad word? If I leave here, let them come and face what I did. Is this ill will or jealousy? I do not understand.”

“I Draw My Strength From Our Fans”

Kartal stated that he withstands all negativity with the support of Fenerbahçe fans:

“My family and some friends from the community always motivated me during tough times. They never left me; they always supported me. My greatest concentration and upright stance come from Fenerbahçe fans. My real survey is here. From the beginning of the season until today, not a single word has been said against me or my players. If there were any murmurs against me here, I would feel it; if there were such a thing, I would already ask for permission and leave. They keep me upright, they trust and believe in me. I draw my greatest strength from our fans.”

“Fred and Szymanski Were Indispensable at the Beginning of the Season”

Kartal conveyed that he presented Fred and Szymanski as indispensable transfers to the president at the beginning of the season and discussed the game system with players like Tadic and Fred.

Kartal pointed out that their opponents in the Süper Lig made it a tactic to slow down the game against them and that they could not add a few wingers they wanted at the beginning of the season to the squad.

Olympiakos Match in Europe

Kartal also mentioned that he had to take İrfan Can out due to injury in their match against Olympiakos in the UEFA Europa Conference League:

“After we were eliminated, we went to Sivas with morale down. A team that played 120 minutes of football can only do so much. Fred, İrfan, and İsmail stood firm. We couldn’t rotate with others; they played for 120 minutes. We did what we could when everyone was healthy. We lost points in Sivas too; fine, criticize me, but look at the reasons. Despite everything, we were ahead 2-1, but due to a referee disaster, it ended 2-2. They talk as if everything is normal, as if I am responsible for everything, but I do not accept this.”

Kartal also mentioned that Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus suffered greatly from referee errors last season, adding:

“We collected 96 points. One team will be champion. According to me, we won’t have been unsuccessful.”

Fred’s Smile During the Field Talk

Responding to a question about Fred’s smile during a talk on the field before the Kayserispor match, Kartal said:

“Fred enjoys what we are doing there. When the intention is bad, everything is bad. Fred is actually saying ‘what a beautiful thing we are doing, we are happy, come on.’ If you want to show the bad, you can show everything badly.”

Comments on Ryan Kent, Lincoln, Crespo, and Krunic

Kartal addressed the decision not to include Ryan Kent in the roster due to the foreign player quota:

“We had 15 players and one had to be left out. Kent received serious offers from Europe, including Lazio. We wanted to keep King in the squad. Kent said he didn’t want to leave. We made our choice this way. A healthy King can always win a match for you. Kent has a problem with finishing. If King is healthy, he can win a match on his own. It was unfortunate that he got injured four days after we announced the roster.”

Kartal also responded to a question about the mid-season transfer process:

“Lincoln Henrique hadn’t played football for a year; this is a risk. From that point on, trying different players doesn’t work. We are competing for the championship with ready players. We decided to let Lincoln go and see. If we had to choose between Crespo and Krunic, we would all say Krunic before he arrived. He was booed in his second match here. He is a good player, but lacks confidence. I think we can sell him for more than we bought him for. He has a market in Europe. Lyon offered 1 million more than us, but he came saying he had a promise to Fenerbahçe. He hasn’t connected with the fans yet. I think if he plays well in 1-2 matches, he will improve every game. Krunic’s arrival has advanced İsmail by two steps.”