Pozzecco: “The Turkish League Is the Best in Europe”

Galatasaray head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco spoke during the team’s Media Day at Sinan Erdem Spor Salonu, discussing the upcoming season, his goals and the importance of the fans.

“My family has also come to Istanbul, so I have a good feeling. In particular, my wife has fallen in love with the country and the people. As a club, we have built a very competitive team. We will need a little more time because we have changed a lot. We only kept Buğra, Can and Jerome from last season. Everything is new, so we need to stay together, play together and become very competitive. In this regard, I also want to congratulate Hidayet Türkoğlu, because I think the Turkish league is the best in Europe.”

On the goals for the season: “I think the most important thing is always to do your best. When you step onto the court, you have to win. You have to achieve and fulfill your dreams. Of course, I want to win the Basketball Champions League and reach a certain level in the Turkish league. We have built a fantastic team and we are very competitive. Of course, I feel the pressure. I want to win everything, yes. But not because I think we are better than everyone else; it is simply the approach I have always had in my life. Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Efes and Bahçeşehir will be very competitive, but I am extremely optimistic.”

Pozzecco also stressed the importance of the fans: “I think the key to a successful season will be having our fans in the stands. I believe we could become very dangerous thanks to something that only our fans can give us. Convincing people to come to the arena is obviously difficult, but I have watched some videos of games with a full house and I think this kind of atmosphere can only be found in one or two places in Europe. Last year, because of some of our results, we were unable to bring many fans to our games. But our main goal is to have a full arena from the beginning to the end of the season.”