Mehmet Buyukeksi: ‘Arda Guler laughs off what is written on social media’

The President of the Turkish Football Federation, Mehmet Buyukeksi, stated, ‘There is excellent communication between our head coach Montella and all our players. We laugh off any attempts of disinformation and manipulation trying to create an atmosphere contrary to this. Both Arda and Montella just laugh it off.’ Turkey Football Federation (TFF) President Mehmet Buyukeksi, TFF 1st Vice President Ibrahim Burkay; TFF Vice Presidents Mustafa Eroglu and TFF Board Member Responsible for National Teams Hamit Altintop held a discussion meeting with the press at the national team’s training facilities in Hannover.
During the open training session for the match against the Czech Republic in the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship (EURO 2024) Group F, attended by President Buyukeksi and TFF Board Members, Turkish media officials and employees who watched the training alongside the President and Board Members later had a chat with them.
Mehmet Buyukeksi: ‘The goal is the round of 16’. TFF President Mehmet Buyukeksi first announced that they are aiming for the round of 16, stating, ‘Our first goal is to advance from the group stage to the round of 16. We started the European Football Championship with a victory against Georgia. We lost the second match, but the three points we earned in the first match ensure that a win or a draw in the Czech Republic match will be enough for us to reach the round of 16.’
‘High level of harmony in the team’. President Buyukeksi emphasized the importance of unity and solidarity within the National Team, stating, ‘In our National Team Camp, our team is working in very good conditions at one of Germany’s best facilities. Their unity and friendships are also at a high level. We trust our Head Coach Montella and our team, and we believe wholeheartedly that we will win against the Czech Republic’.
‘We have the best fans of the tournament’. President Buyukeksi also talked about the fan support in Germany, saying, ‘Turkish citizens living in Germany and neighboring countries have a strong interest in the national team. Before each match, in the ‘fan walk’ events, nearly 50 thousand of our citizens walk to the stadium in red and white national team jerseys and with Turkish flags, filling the stadium to the brim. We painted the Dortmund stadium red and white, and now it’s time to paint the Hamburg stadium in red and white’.
‘Arda laughs off the lies written on social media’. Highlighting the strong bond between Montella and the players, Buyukeksi said, ‘There is excellent communication between our head coach Montella and all our players. We just laugh off any attempts of disinformation and manipulation trying to create an atmosphere contrary to this. Both Arda and Montella just laugh it off’.
Ibrahim Burkay: ‘We have come here successfully, we want to continue our success’. TFF 1st Vice President Ibrahim Burkay stated, ‘In the EURO 2024 group qualifiers, for the first time in history, we came to the European Football Championship as group winners without playing in the play-offs. Also, for the first time in our history, we started the European Football Championship with a victory. 16 years later, we want to continue our success by advancing from the group stage at the European Football Championship’.
‘We have prepared the strategic plan for Turkish football’. Emphasizing the importance of the projects they have implemented recently, Burkay said, ‘We have worked on and prepared the strategic plan for Turkish football and published it. We have taken the necessary measures for it not to stay on paper. Especially with the realization of our football academies project, we aim to make our successes sustainable’.
Mustafa Eroglu: ‘We are a young and good team’. TFF Vice President Mustafa Eroglu, in his speech, said, ‘In our history, we were third in the world in 2002 and third in Europe in 2008. However, apart from these successes, there is no sustainable success in history. We want our national team to be a team that participates in all tournaments and has sustainable success in these tournaments, and we are working towards that. We are one of the two youngest teams in Europe with an average age of 25.8, and we have a good team. This national team should be able to directly participate in the European Football Championship and World Cup, aim for and challenge the upper rounds’.
Hamit Altintop: ‘I am proud to serve the national team’. TFF Board Member Responsible for National Teams Hamit Altintop expressed his pride in serving the national team, saying, ‘As a footballer who has worn the crescent-starred jersey of the young national teams and the A National Team multiple times, I have been serving the national team in a managerial position for a while now. Just as I proudly wore the national team jersey, I am now proud to serve the national team as an administrator. We are holding our camp in one of Europe’s best facilities in harmony. For 16 years, we had a national team that could not advance from the group stage in the European Championships. We aim to reach the round of 16 in Euro 2024. This is in our hands. When we get 3 points or 1 point in the Czech Republic match, we will advance to the round of 16 as the second in our group. We are working towards this’.
‘Arda is an intelligent person’. Altintop spoke highly of young national team player Arda Guler, saying, ‘Like all our players playing at this level, Arda is an extremely intelligent person. Yes, he is very young. He is still at the beginning of his life and career. However, because he is very smart, he laughs off the artificially created agendas. He concentrates on his work and focuses on it’.