Istanbul Basaksehir boss Okan Buruk says his side will be out to “take advantage of Roma’s weaknesses” in the Europa League this evening.
Okan is no stranger to the Olimpico, having played there as a visiting player with Inter between 2001 and 2004, although injuries and competition for places limited him to just 42 appearances in a Nerazzurri jersey.
“This is like a Champions League match for us,” he said at a Press conference.
Istanbul Basaksehir boss Okan Buruk says his side will be out to “take advantage of Roma’s weaknesses” in the Europa League this evening.
Okan is no stranger to the Olimpico, having played there as a visiting player with Inter between 2001 and 2004, although injuries and competition for places limited him to just 42 appearances in a Nerazzurri jersey.
“This is like a Champions League match for us,” he said at a Press conference.
“We know Roma’s strength, but we’ll try to play at our best. We’ll play our game and organise our defence as we should against clubs of their level.
“We want to start well right away. We’ll be facing a team who have excellent quality both in defence and attack.
“We know they concede lots of goals, but they also score lots. We’ll work to take advantage of their weaknesses.
“I love Italy. I follow Italian football closely, especially the games at the Olimpico. Every time I come to Italy, I feel strong emotion.
“It reminds me of a beautiful moment in my career, my first goal with Inter. I remember everything about that game and coming back for me will be a great thrill.
“It’s very difficult to play at this stadium and it’ll be important not to lose the ball. We want to play in the best way, we don’t want to give a bad account of ourselves.
“We’ll look for a positive result, defending well. Dzeko has a lot of quality, he’s a complete striker.
“He’s certainly a player to keep an eye on, but we won’t make any special tactics for him.
“This will be our first match in the Europa League. We’ll face a strong and highly-motivated team.
“Their squad is full of great players. We know that starting well in these games is very important.
“We don’t want to experience what we did in the Champions League against Olympiakos. We want to get a good result.”
Cengiz Under previously played for the Turkish team but will not face them due to an injury…
“Unfortunately Cengiz Under’s injured, but I’m very happy for him, That he plays for a big club like Roma is a source of great pride for the whole club and I.
“I’ll always wish him the best. I haven’t been able to meet him yet, but I hope to meet him tonight.”