Okan Buruk calls Barça players “a machine”

“The Barça players are a machine”: after Galatasaray’s heavy defeat, Okan Buruk acknowledged the strength of the Barcelona team while highlighting his own players’ performance. The coach said he was proud of their showing and felt they had represented their country with dignity. “At certain moments, we showed that Turkish football can do good things,” he said, also pointing to the stadium and the supporters’ atmosphere as signs that Galatasaray deserved to be in the Champions League.

Buruk also explained what, in his view, had stopped his team from putting up a stronger fight. He felt his players had been too hurried and regretted their excessive use of long balls against Barcelona’s pressing. They needed, he said, to analyse the match more carefully and understand its flow better. He acknowledged that they had managed this only in part and had been unable to respond after falling behind.

The coach nevertheless took encouragement from his side’s better spells in the first half: “Until a certain point, we did what we wanted.” He regretted that they then dropped back towards their own area late in the half. He also praised Barça’s understanding between players, describing them as a team “who know each other by heart”, before acknowledging his squad’s sadness after the defeat.

On Rafa Leao, Buruk said he had done good work and noted his assist. He also recalled that the player was going through a process.