Turgay Zeytingöz, general manager of Galatasaray Nef, which finished the season with a 3-2 defeat to Anadolu Efes in the play-off semi-finals of the Basketball Super League last season, underlined that Galatasaray had a bad 5 seasons and said: We started the season with Ekrem Memnun, but after the European failure, we had to change coaches and we signed with Andreas Pistiolis. He was a name who gained serious experience alongside very important coaches. We worked with him at Banvit. With the momentum we got at the end of the season, it was a good season. Of course, it was a bit sad for us. We came to the point of eliminating the best team in Europe, but it didn’t happen. We see this organization as a whole. We also have very important works in the infrastructure. I hope even better. We’ll see days,” he said.
“WE DID NOT HAVE A NAME IN MIND WITH EKREM MEMUN AND WE TALKED ABOUT A NAME BETWEEN OURSELVES”
Referring to the start of the season with Ekrem Memnun at the beginning of the last season and the separation of paths afterwards, Turgay Zeytingöz said, “Brother Ekrem is a very important name for both Turkish basketball and Galatasaray. He is one of the legends of Galatasaray. He is a name that brought Galatasaray the European cup. He has no contract because he has a contract. We had no hesitation. We started the season this way. But as the season progressed, we had to revise our goals a little more. Such changes are inevitable. We didn’t have a name in mind until we broke up with Brother Ekrem, nor did we talk about a name among ourselves. Then we made such a change, it was good for us. I hope the momentum we gained last season will continue this season,” he said.
“I’M SURE THAT ERDEN BEY WILL BE INTERESTED IN BASKETBALL WHEN HIS INTENSITY IN FOOTBALL DECREASES”
When asked whether Erden Timur, who was appointed as the vice president of Sportif A.Ş. after the change of management in Galatasaray, would be interested in basketball as he was last season, Turgay Zeytingöz said, “Everyone has a common concern about this issue, but Erden Timur is very interested in basketball. He has important duties. There are projects that will take Galatasaray to very important places in its future. The structure will continue in the same way as last year, but there are differences with last year. We established the structure last year and placed the stones very carefully. Erden Bey still has excitement about basketball and is with us. “I am sure that Mr. Erden will be closely interested in basketball when his intensity in football decreases. Apart from Mr. Erden, we have 3 executives appointed by our management in basketball. They are always with us. I believe that the necessary interest and care will be shown by both our club and Erden Bey. Frankly, I don’t have any doubts about it.”
“WE PREFERED TO BUILD A RELATIVELY EXPERIENCED TEAM”
Regarding the almost complete change in the squad last season, Turgay Zeytingöz said, “Last year, there was a team that finished the season successfully. We would like to continue with the main staff of this team, but there were economic realities. Melo had already come to the point of agreement with a team from the Chinese League at the end of the season, and he had a relationship with himself. We didn’t even have a transfer meeting. Melo rightly chose that place. Blackshear also got a very important offer. He got it not only from the Japanese League he went to, but also from the EuroLeague. He left the club by earning a transfer fee. This was his choice, too. Champions League We aimed to see how we can play at the top. We did a serious scout research while forming the team. We chose names that could help us build from among many players. We preferred to build a relatively experienced team. The Champions League is an organization with less number of matches. Ultimately, the team that formed me that it is enough to reach our goals and we bring Galatasaray fans to the stands. I think he will.”
“I DON’T THINK WE WILL HAVE A LOT OF DIFFICULTY IN THE LONG ROTATION”
Explaining that Galatasaray had difficulties in its long rotation last season and the accuracy of this season’s choices, Zeytingöz said, “When you look at the budgets of the teams, you risk missing out in every region. Last season, we didn’t have a very wide rotation, we experienced the disadvantages brought by the narrow rotation. Kravish both financially and financially. he was a suitable name for us as a player character. I think Kravish had a good season with Galatasaray last season. He was one of the big guys who played for this team in the semi-finals, he came for that purpose. We have been following Floyd since last season. He is one of the important names of our level. “We added one of the most important drivers to our squad. I think he has EuroLeague potential. We added Raymar Morgan to our squad. Despite being born in 88, he is a player who found a contract in the EuroLeague last season. He is a name that can make a difference at these levels. He has no health problems. He is at this level.” I think it’s one of the top four We transferred uz Caloiaro. We also worked together at Banvit. We also have an actor like Sadik Emir Kabaca. I think this season will be better for him as well. Finally, we added Mahir Ağva, who was raised in Germany and spent the last season in Karşıyaka, to our staff. I don’t think we will have much trouble in this rotation. Of course, we may have shortcomings, but they will be. These are things that can happen in any team,” he said.
“BUĞRAHAN TUNCER IS THE ONLY NAME WE WANTED AT LOCAL AND CANNOT GET IT, OTHER THAN HIM, THERE WAS A TURKISH ACTOR THAT WE WANTED AND CANNOT GET”
Underlining that he is satisfied with the domestic rotation of the yellow-red team, Zeytingöz said: “Buğrahan Tuncer is the only name that we wanted but could not get this year in the domestic rotation. He chose to stay in Efes, we respect his decision. There was no Turkish player. Of course, the player’s basketball skill is very important, but we acted by thinking of rotation and role-sharing. I think we have established a wider domestic rotation compared to last season. Yunus Emre Sonsırma is a very important Turkish guard for Turkish teams with a goal. Mahir Ağva is also long He will help our rotation a lot. I think Muhaymin Mustafa is one of the two most important Turkish players of the 99 generation. He spent two very good seasons in Greece. We have Tan Yıldızoğlu, our young player. I think we can get a contribution from him as well. When you look at other names, I think we have a good Turkish rotation. “
“OUR CURRENT STAFF IS THE STAFF WE WILL START THE LEAGUE, WE HAVE NO CONSIDERATION TO ADD ADDITIONALS”
Expressing that they have not used the entire budget but have no plans to add to the squad, the experienced general manager said, “Our current squad is the squad that we will start the league with, we have no plans to add. We have not used all of our budget, but we have no plans to add. spoke.
“I HAVE FULL BELIEF THAT WE WILL TRAIN MANY PLAYERS FOR GALATASARAY INFRASTRUCTURE AND NATIONAL TEAMS FROM GALATASARAY NEF ORGANIZATION”
Stating that the infrastructure is a long process that requires patience, Turgay Zeytingöz said, “We set out on this road last year, but we still have a long way to go. We formed a pilot team. We needed to establish a pilot team with a different name, we started it under the name Nef. Last year at Nef. We have 3 players who played and went to our A team training sessions this season, I think this number will increase. We made our transfers mainly from the generation of 2007, 2008, 2009. I fully believe that we will train a lot of players from the Galatasaray Nef organization in the near future, by working hard for the Galatasaray infrastructure and national teams in this long period of time. ” said.
“WE EXPECT THE SUPPORT OF OUR FANS”
Calling on the fans not to leave the team alone, Zeytingöz said, “Last season, our fans created a very good atmosphere in the Anadolu Efes series. We expect the support of our fans in our combined sales, which continue to be sold. If the atmosphere created last year continues, I think this team will start every match at the front. The fans are the 6th man in the team. First of all, I would like this from our fans. It was a difficult process last year, we had problems on an administrative basis. This organization is also a very new organization. One of the things we will do in the future is perhaps to sell tickets early. The fans want to come and watch the team, and we are the fans. “In the current situation in our country, everyone has problems with everything. The costs have increased a lot in every subject. This is also true for us. I expect everyone to support this team as much as they can financially.”
“I THINK THAT TAKING A PLACE IN EUROLEAGUE FOR A YEAR DOESN’T BET A LOT FOR A TEAM, IT CAN ALSO HAVE DAMAGES”
Turgay Zeytingöz finally talked about the club’s future plans regarding the Basketball Champions League and EuroLeague, saying, “The Basketball Champions League is an organization that develops itself and gets better. As of this season, I think it will be the second organization in terms of quality after the EuroLeague. Of course, everyone’s common expectation is the Galatasaray brand. “But I think the point that both us and our fans should focus on this year is the Basketball Champions League. This organization will always aim forward. I think that participating in the EuroLeague for a year will not bring a lot to a team, there may be losses,” he said. ended.
