İzmir
Vincenzo Montella, the coach of the National Football Team, which will host Iceland in Izmir tomorrow in the second match of the UEFA Nations B League Group 4, said, “We should not try to divide our players. In other words, we should not break that unity. Because we need unity not only from within but also from the outside. Because, as you know, unity is strength and we all saw in the European Championship that we do better together.”
Montella, in the press conference held at the Gürsel Aksel Stadium where the match will be played, stated that their opponents are a very compact team and said, “They have good organization both offensively and defensively. When we watched their matches, I saw that their coach’s principles are similar to Italian coaches. They recently beat England, one of the finalists in the European Championship. So we are aware that they are a good opponent that we respect in general and that plays compactly.”
Montella, who stated that they will face a very tough opponent historically, said, “We have only won twice in the last 13 matches against our opponent and we will play against an opponent that we last won against 9 years ago.”
Montella stated that Iceland displayed team play and said, “There is no individual player in the team who stands out. Therefore, we will not take special measures for any name as it is a team that displays team play.”
Montella noted that Iceland, like every other team, has been working on dead-ball organizations recently and said that they will go into the match prepared for this.
Montella stated that football players who play 55-60 matches in a season need 3 weeks of rest and 35-40 days to get in shape, and said:
“A difference was felt the other day in the Wales match, and I think it will definitely be the same in Iceland. I think they will be a little ahead physically, but when making an evaluation, especially when making criticisms, we need to take this detail as a basis. If we start from this detail, especially in terms of criticism, we can get more positive results. But of course, this does not mean that we do not want to win. We are completely focused on winning, we are doing our work and preparation accordingly. Here, not only me, but all our players also want to win. Our desire and wish will never be lacking, but as I said, if we make an evaluation based on this, especially at the beginning of the season, we will touch on much more accurate points.”
Baris Alper Yilmaz and Arda Guler
Asked about Barış Alper Yılmaz, who will not be able to play tomorrow due to the red card he received against Wales, Montella said:
“Barış actually had a tremendous tournament, we all witnessed it. In fact, many coaches from big teams called me to get information about him. Yes, he is incomplete at the moment, but our preparations continue in exactly the same way. Our other players are also ready to take part.”
Montella stated that Arda Güler, who was injured after receiving a blow towards the end of the Wales match, could not walk comfortably and said, “He is having a problem due to the blow, but the reason for the team’s training today is that we have an evaluation period. Accordingly, after getting feedback from him and evaluating him, we will evaluate whether it will happen from the beginning, later or in the worst case scenario, not at all.”
“We need unity from outside too”
Montella, who noted that he understood the criticisms made against him but not the ones made against the football players, continued his words as follows:
“Because I can make mistakes and we can talk but I really can’t understand when footballers are heavily criticized. Maybe I’m not Turkish but believe me I experience national feelings in the best way. Because of being in the national team here and the way I was raised because the culture of Naples is really similar to the Turkish culture and I experience all these feelings here with a sense of belonging. That’s why I also want to say this, we shouldn’t try to divide our footballers. In other words, we shouldn’t break that unity. Because it’s not just the unity we experience inside, but also a unity from the outside. Because as you know, strength comes from unity and we all saw in the European Championship that we do better things together.”
Montella, recalling that they did not play well in the first 30 minutes after the Wales match and that they recovered later, said, “When we were down to 10 men, our players did a successful job in terms of organization and did not give the opponent any opportunity and I want to emphasize again that we need unity because our players really deserve this, with the performance they have shown, their support and desire, we definitely need to provide this. We only need our unity inside, our family atmosphere and also a unity coming from outside.”
Montella, who stated that they were happy to be in Izmir, said, “We chose this place knowingly. Because tomorrow is a very important day, a historical day, not only for Izmir but also for Turkey in general. Therefore, on this historical day tomorrow, we want to contribute to the celebrations in the best way possible with a beautiful victory.”
Montella stated that their first goal in the Nations League is to advance to Group A, and said, “But you know that we will prepare in the best way possible and of course we want to shape all our emotions and work accordingly and walk towards our goal, whatever is necessary.”
National football player Okay Yokuslu: I hope we will make our fans happy, this is our only goal
Okay Yokuşlu, one of the players of the National Football Team, stated that Iceland is a good team and said, “What we need to do is to prepare our own plan against this team play.”
Okay Yokuslu, who noted that every match they played in Turkey was special for them, said, “I hope we will make our fans happy, that’s our only goal. A draw and a red card in the first match, but this match is behind us and we have an opportunity. So, in front of our own fans in this beautiful city, hopefully we will do what is necessary and get the 3 points.”
Okay Yokuşlu, when reminded that he was from Izmir, said the following:
“Of course, when these kinds of matches are in your own city, it makes you feel special. It makes you feel more like home, but no matter where we go in our country, they always make us experience these feelings in the best way possible. I’m sure the players will feel this from the team’s perspective. Of course, it will be a more special match for me.”
Okay Yokuslu, who stated that the team has a quality group of players, continued his words as follows:
“I can say that the environment is more positive. We are more organized, we are experiencing an environment where these feelings are especially strengthened after a good tournament. Of course, there will be ups and downs from time to time. Every team, every country experiences this. What is important here is the capacity and intentions of the players. As you can see, the camaraderie and unity within the team is reflected on and off the field. So of course, like every player, I am very happy to be a part of this.”
Okay Yokuşlu stated that the holidays were short-lived due to the busy match schedule and said:
“It doesn’t matter whether we had a successful or unsuccessful match after a big tournament in the last match, but there will definitely be a mental strain. That’s why this intense match schedule is challenging for the players, but as I said, we are not the decision makers and we have to adapt to the current conditions. Of course, we have no reason to complain about this. That’s why we have to do our best as a team in every match we play.”
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