Stanimir Stoilov: “Göztepe will fight for Europe”

Göztepe’s head coach Stanimir Stoilov stated that their goal is to compete in European cups, saying, “Göztepe will fight to go to European cups this season. We need to give our best effort for this.”

Göztepe’s head coach Stanimir Stoilov and Sporting Director Ivan Mance met with the press at Gürsel Aksel Stadium. In his statements here, Stoilov emphasized that they will fight to participate in European cups this season and set high goals, stating, “We need to keep our goals high. I believe we can play for Europe because we have the means. We have a young and good team. No one came here for a vacation. We need to be a team that plays for the upper rankings, not for the mid-table. Everything is in our hands, and we need to work hard.”

“We are not afraid of anyone”

Expressing that they have a new challenge ahead, the Bulgarian coach said, “It will be a bit difficult because we will face a different level and we are a new team in this league, but personally and as a team, I absolutely do not fear anyone or anything. I can say this comfortably based on my experiences. One of the reasons for this is primarily that we, as fans, the club, players, and coaches, are in great unity, and we always try to give our all for this club. We all continue to work in the same direction. We have a plan together, and we are following this plan together.”

Stanimir Stoilov also sent a message to the fans, continuing, “Of course, the most important thing right now is to show the team that our fans want to see in the best way possible on the field and to make our strength felt as a very strong Göztepe from the first match, as a good Göztepe. I understand that the fans have some disappointments due to some delays. However, these things can happen because it is a long process. All Turkish clubs are actually experiencing the same situation, but we have no excuses right now.”

“I have dreams”

Emphasizing that they are working hard to prepare the team, Stoilov said, “We will do everything we can to ensure that our team is ready to beat everyone in the first match we play very quickly. We are not afraid of anyone or any team. I promised some things last year, and we kept our promises, we were promoted to the Super League. Now I can again give the final word on this. We are ready to give our all to make our fans proud, regardless of who is on the field, and to win against everyone. As a coach, I have certain goals and dreams. I want to reflect these dreams to my players continuously because it is very important for the players to have their own goals and dreams. In football, there is no limit. There are no barriers. Because football is a sport that is open to progress every day.”

“2 strikers will come”

The experienced coach mentioned that two striker transfers will be made, stating, “Last season we had 4 strikers in the team, and currently, 2 of them are in the team. We need two good strikers in the striker position. We can reach an agreement with one at any moment. Having 4 strikers in rotation is very important because competition will bring us to a better place. This will make everyone happy. We are very satisfied with Ramulo and Kubilay. They played continuously in preparation matches, and I need good players who will compete with them. My style, as you saw last season, is to play with certain strikers for 60-70 minutes and then introduce a new striker into the game. We need to have a total of 20 good players. Everyone should be able to compete with each other. We need players who can play continuously. We all trust goalkeeper Arda and love him very much. He is also a player who can compete. We need to have 3 goalkeepers. The fans and we love Lis very much, but we will see the process regarding him more clearly in the coming days. He was also a very valuable goalkeeper for us last season.”

Ivan Mance: “There is a possibility that Lis will come”

Speaking about goalkeeper Mateusz Lis, Göztepe’s Sporting Director Ivan Mance said, “In every team I have worked with, we worked with 3 goalkeepers. Right now we have two goalkeepers. We will acquire one more goalkeeper. Of course, there is a possibility for Lis to return. This transfer needs to be positive for all three parties. Mateusz Lis is definitely one of the options. Arda is one of the best goalkeepers in Turkey. He is Göztepe’s own, raised here, and lives here with all his heart. I think he is an important player, but we will definitely have 3 goalkeepers. Arda is a brave Göztepeli; he always has the potential to fight. Both our coach and we have great confidence in him. He feels our support as well. Everyone in the team should be ready for competition. If you are a professional player of a big club like Göztepe, you need to be prepared for these.”

“We are in the negotiation phase with a striker”

Mance stated that they are working hard to make important reinforcements, saying, “So far, we have made 7 transfers. We plan to transfer 3 or 4 more players. You must conduct very smart and strategic work during the summer period. There is a large market in football, and you must take the right steps here. We are very close to bringing in 2 more players, and we have even reached the signing stage with one of them. We are in talks with his club and monitoring other players as well. Göztepe fans should continue to believe in us.”