Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup and Lukas Lerager preview their decisive UEFA Champions League clash with Galatasaray, a win would see them reach the last 16
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 - Good morning. - Good morning.
00:02 All the photographers behind me, welcome.
00:09 No one is wearing a hat.
00:11 Welcome to the press conference the day before FC Copenhagen against Galatasaray.
00:15 Welcome to the park and to Copenhagen, you who have travelled here.
00:19 We have head coach Jacob Næstrup and Lukas Lehrer with us.
00:22 And it will be like that, of course, if you ask any questions.
00:26 We will answer as best we can and we will translate to Turkish for those who need it.
00:32 Good. Any questions?
00:34 Welcome to the press conference.
00:40 Today, our head coach Jacob Næstrup and our player Lukas Lehrer are here.
00:48 If you have any questions, you can ask.
00:50 First in Danish, then in Turkish.
00:55 Is there anyone who wants to go first?
00:57 We will wait for the microphone.
00:59 You will play an extremely important match in a period where it has not played in Denmark.
01:04 Does that mean anything to you?
01:06 I choose to believe that it does not.
01:09 I think we have been good at it.
01:11 Regardless of whether we have won the previous match in the Super League or lost, as we did against Midtjylland.
01:18 And then come out and deliver.
01:21 The status is that if you look at the Super League and Super League, we are number three.
01:28 That is not good enough.
01:30 We have to do that in the spring.
01:32 But if you look at our European campaign, it can not be done much better than what we have delivered so far.
01:40 Therefore, I also choose to believe that the match tomorrow is a huge, massive match for the FC Copenhagen.
01:48 For Danish football.
01:50 We can look forward to seeing a few good results in the home league.
02:00 First I will tell you the question.
02:04 The question was in the direction of the following.
02:08 Since the last matches did not have much importance in the matches of FC Copenhagen, and the results were not as they wanted, he asked what his thoughts were.
02:26 Jakob Nystorp's answer was, yes, we could not get the results we wanted in the last matches.
02:34 But of course, league match, league match, cup match, cup match, this match has a lot of meaning for us.
02:40 And I believe that we prepared very well for this match.
02:44 And we will fight in the best way.
02:48 And I hope we will achieve the result we want.
02:58 What are the advantages of FC Copenhagen playing a decisive match in the Champions League on the home field?
03:06 I think for all teams, no matter if you are FC Copenhagen or Galatasaray, there will always be an advantage to play on the home field.
03:14 Especially the European matches we have played this season, but also in previous seasons, we know that we can hurt everyone in the park.
03:30 So in general, in football, it is always an advantage to play on the home field.
03:42 What does it mean for you to play on the home field? And how will you evaluate this?
03:50 Jakob Nystorp's answer was, yes, of course, no matter which match, there is always a difference on the home field.
04:00 And of course, we think we can play the best with our supporters on the home field.
04:06 And of course, it will be a great contribution to us to play on the home field.
04:12 Jakob, it's a gala, you have to meet, and we all remember the match from there and what happened afterwards.
04:22 Recently, Galatasaray's coaches said that they were sorry that Bayern Munich lost a point.
04:29 Can you try to react to this match? How did you react? Did you think it was respectful?
04:38 No, it's not. There are two things to it. One thing is that there is a opponent coach who consciously tries to humiliate my players for the hard work they did in Munich.
04:53 That's one thing. It's not polite. Another thing is that it's a free-for-all to insinuate that other teams in a Champions League tournament don't do their best.
05:06 That's all I have to say.
05:10 Our first question. In the last match, in the match against Bayern Munich, Galatasaray's coach asked if you were disrespectful in some aspects.
05:24 Jakob Nilsson's answer was, "Yes, I think Galatasaray's coach was a bit disrespectful.
05:31 Because we think we fought the best when we went there, and Bayern Munich did the same.
05:40 I don't look at things like that positively. Because it was disrespectful to me, to my players, and to the fight we fought."
05:50 If I may ask you a question. Can you use your coach's statement as a motivation to do something tomorrow?
06:01 I wouldn't say that he motivates me in that way. It's something that comes from within.
06:09 Everyone who plays sports knows that when you're on the pitch, you're on the pitch to win.
06:14 If you know Bayern Munich, they do that too. So it's up to him to come up with a statement.
06:22 But it doesn't give me extra motivation.
06:24 I'll stop answering that question, so we don't have to take it any further.
06:29 You can go home and see if Manuel Neuer, two minutes before the time, did everything he could, so we don't have to talk about a 1-0 win.
06:43 Our question was, does the statement by the coach motivate you extra?
06:52 Lucas Leir's answer was, "No, nothing motivates us extra. Because we're focusing on our own game and we're going to fight for our own goal."
07:02 "So these kinds of statements don't motivate us extra."
07:08 Jakob Nystorp said the same thing. He also added, "Look at Manuel Neuer's save in the last minutes."
07:15 You can see how much effort he put into that.
07:19 Burhan Can Terzi, Sports.
07:29 The coach was disrespectful to Okan Burak for his comment on the Bayern Munich game.
07:34 He said that after the 2-2 defeat against Galatasaray in the Copenhagen game, he congratulated him.
07:42 Does he think he did something similar there?
07:46 And how did he manage to get this team to run 130 km every game?
07:53 The question is, does the coach think that Okan Burak's comment after the Bayern Munich game was disrespectful?
08:03 Jakob Nystorp, don't you think you were a bit disrespectful to the journalists who congratulated you after the 2-2 defeat against Islam?
08:19 I don't think it should be a press conference where we're making headlines.
08:25 I have a lot of respect for the club, the history we're going to face tomorrow and the team we're going to face tomorrow.
08:33 I think they've developed really well over the last two months.
08:40 But if Galatasaray leads 2-0 tomorrow, with two minutes left in the game, and we go 2-2, in the next and last minute,
08:56 would you go and congratulate Galatasaray's assistant coach?
09:03 We have a lot of respect for Galatasaray. We know they're a big club and they've achieved great results in recent years.
09:12 My respect for Galatasaray is as big as the stars.
09:17 But I want to ask you this. If Galatasaray are 2-0 up and the game ends 2-2,
09:24 how would you see me congratulating you?
09:28 We didn't get a point there, we lost two points.
09:32 I don't know.
09:33 You played well too.
09:36 I will do this in English. I think the first game we knew in Copenhagen that the first game we played in Istanbul would be a key game.
09:48 We actually at that time thought that it would be a key game to fight for the third position.
09:54 Now it is that it's both for the second, mainly for the second, but also for the third place.
10:00 So obviously when we go to Istanbul with the mindset of getting a point of three,
10:08 and we think that we after the first 15-20 minutes did a performance that gave us the opportunity to win the game,
10:15 not just to get a draw, even though it's at a big club as Galatasaray,
10:21 then of course I was disappointed not to win a game that we had totally under control two minutes ago.
10:33 I knew that when that game was finished, if we would have won that game,
10:39 if you take it right now, if we won that game, we would almost have been second already now.
10:46 So it was in a big disappointment that I said that.
10:51 I know and I've also read the articles from the journalists after,
10:59 and if I see him tomorrow I will give him a big hug,
11:02 but you don't go to a coach that just lost two points two minutes before time and say congratulations with the only point.
11:12 That I think is obvious, with all respect.
11:17 Nestrup, now football is not just about running, but you are the team that has run the most in the Champions League,
11:32 and Galatasaray has turned it around, running third, fastest meters.
11:36 Is that something you can use in relation to a game plan tomorrow?
11:39 I can use it for something. If you take the guy on my left shoulder,
11:43 I know that he can run all the meters. It takes. And he is one of many.
11:49 But it's not just about running, it's about running smartly.
11:53 And I want to say that the player who can run best and least at the same time,
11:57 must be the one who has done the smartest.
12:01 It's clear that if you are FC Copenhagen and you want to have a chance to play in the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Manchester United,
12:12 it requires that the boys have run the shoes on once in a while, and they are fortunately not against that.
12:20 The question was in this direction.
12:24 FC Copenhagen is one of the teams that has run the most in the Champions League.
12:29 What does this mean for you?
12:32 Jakob Nystorp's answer was also like this.
12:35 Yes, we know that we run a lot, but we have to run to have a chance.
12:42 Maybe we have to run more than other teams, because we are fighting against Bayern Munich,
12:48 Manchester United and Galatasaray. And of course we have to run more.
12:54 Lucas, you can go on tomorrow on several levels, and there are several scenarios that can make you go on.
13:02 How do you avoid that these scenarios and all these situations will fill your heads while you play?
13:08 Of course we know that there are different scenarios in relation to how things will look.
13:15 But again, it's about building up the performance in the long run, so that we are sure that we get a good result.
13:22 But we have to do the things we have done so far in the Champions League.
13:27 And again, it's about following the game plan and following the coaches.
13:34 The question was in this direction.
13:40 There are several scenarios in this group.
13:43 You can either stay in the last 16 or continue to the European League.
13:50 Lucas Leyes said that he has a plan and that he wants to fight in the best way possible.
14:00 And that he will try to get out of this group.
14:03 Of course there can be different scenarios, but our goal is to get out of the group and stay in the last 16.
14:13 Nes, you mentioned different scenarios.
14:18 How will you handle it in relation to whether you will be up and potentially chasing or can you stay a bit more?
14:25 Is that something you want to tell the players or do you rather keep it close to your body as the game progresses?
14:32 And do I have to ask one thing to the coach as well?
14:35 What do you suggest the coach wants to see in the second game of the season?
14:43 Of course we will be up in the second half.
14:49 It would be stupid not to know what the game is about.
14:52 Of course, if we are behind, we have to chase something at some point.
14:59 I have seen the second half of Galatasaray vs Manchester United.
15:08 Galatasaray should have a chance.
15:12 If the game is about avoiding a goal, and that is every 95 minutes,
15:18 unless we are really pressured to chase a goal or two,
15:23 we should not have an open game.
15:26 If we get an open game in big areas, there is no doubt that we will face an opponent that is better than us.
15:34 We need a closed and compact game,
15:37 because then we increase the chance of getting a good result,
15:43 even if it is a draw.
15:47 I think Nes is very good at that.
15:53 It depends on so many things.
15:57 If we want to get a win, if we want to use a draw,
16:03 it depends on how the game goes.
16:06 But I am not afraid to open up, as Nes says.
16:09 That is very important, so they will get the big distances.
16:16 What is your plan for the upcoming game? Will you follow the other game?
16:23 Will there be any changes according to that?
16:27 As Nes said, the other game is important, of course.
16:33 We will look at the other game, but first we have our own plan.
16:39 We do not want to play in a big area.
16:42 We need to play more defensively and closer to each other.
16:47 Otherwise it can be very dangerous for us if the area is open.
16:52 But as I said, we have our own plan and we are aiming for it.
16:58 But we will have to follow the other game.
17:01 Because we all saw what can happen in the game against Manchester United.
17:06 It was 3-1, now it is 3-3.
17:08 So the other result is important for us, but first we have to follow our own plan.
17:16 In the recent games against Galatasaray, we saw that you preferred different players.
17:24 Did you make a plan for that?
17:27 Also, Galatasaray wrote history here 23 years ago.
17:31 What do you think about that?
17:35 As you may have noticed, FCK used different left backs.
17:42 Is that something you have been paying attention to?
17:47 And do you think it has a meaning for Galatasaray to come here?
17:52 Where they made history 23 years ago by winning UEFA Cup?
17:56 Regardless of who is Galatasaray's player, whether it is a left back or whatever.
18:04 It is a great team.
18:06 A top European team that we will have respect for.
18:10 And of course we have respect for the history of your club.
18:16 Where you made a fantastic result many years ago.
18:22 But you have also been on a visit once before.
18:27 Where we got three points and we will try to do that again.
18:34 We are not only paying attention to the left back.
18:37 We are paying attention to the whole team.
18:40 Because Galatasaray has very good players.
18:42 Not only the left back.
18:44 They have very talented and strong players in every position.
18:49 That is why we did not focus only on the left back.
18:52 If we look at the history, of course we have respect for it.
18:58 Galatasaray made a great result here in 2000.
19:01 When they won the UEFA Cup.
19:03 But when Galatasaray came here last time, we lost 1-0.
19:09 We got three points from here.
19:12 And I hope we can do that again.
19:15 Emre Kaplan.
19:18 Emre Kaplan, A Sport.
19:20 First of all, I want to ask the coach.
19:23 They will play on their own field.
19:25 It can be an important advantage in a critical match to leave the group.
19:28 But Galatasaray has a lot of Turkish supporters in Munich and Manchester.
19:33 Do you have any concerns about that?
19:35 And while we are talking about the atmosphere,
19:38 at the end of the first match,
19:40 Kamil Grabara from Copenhagen had some comments.
19:43 He just made a disrespectful comment about Okan Buru.
19:46 I want to ask what he thinks about that.
19:48 Now you will play a critical match on your own field.
19:53 You are talking about the fact that you have an advantage on your own field.
19:58 But as we have seen in Bayern Munich and Manchester United,
20:02 there have been a lot of Turkish fans on the field.
20:05 What do you think about that?
20:07 And we also asked you about the first match in Istanbul,
20:10 where goalkeeper Kamil talked about the goals.
20:14 Don't you think that was a bit disrespectful from him?
20:20 I think that FC Copenhagen and all our players
20:23 should have the most respect for the clubs we meet.
20:26 And that also applies tomorrow,
20:28 with the history that will be visited.
20:32 And what I meant with home field in general,
20:36 is that when you play on home field,
20:39 you always have a starting point.
20:41 I always prefer to play on home field than on the field.
20:44 Because the probability of scoring is higher.
20:47 But we have seen that Galatasaray has played some really good matches
20:53 in the Champions League.
20:56 They are a deserved winner at Old Trafford.
20:59 And also a really good match in Munich.
21:05 But the fact that there will be a full home field match,
21:11 we are happy about that.
21:17 It gives more intensity to the atmosphere in Copenhagen.
21:21 For me, home field is always an advantage.
21:25 We play good football on home field.
21:28 And for me, no matter what,
21:30 home field is always a home field match.
21:32 And it will be an advantage for us.
21:34 But I also want to add that Galatasaray has shown
21:37 a very good performance in the match against Deprasman.
21:40 They scored three points in Old Trafford.
21:43 They also showed a good performance in Munich.
21:46 That's why we know that Galatasaray is a team
21:49 that will play in Deprasman.
21:51 So I don't think there will be a big difference in that aspect.
21:56 And if you ask the supporters,
21:59 of course there will be a lot of Turkish supporters.
22:02 But I think this will only contribute to the atmosphere.
22:07 And about Kamil,
22:10 I always say that no matter where we play,
22:14 no matter who we play against,
22:16 I always expect my players to show respect.
22:19 And I told them that.
22:22 - That's a great question.
22:24 In connection with the last match in Istanbul,
22:28 we could understand that Galatasaray fans
22:31 are not holding back and are not letting the players
22:34 get too close to the goal.
22:37 How did you experience that?
22:40 Did you have any similar experience?
22:43 - Not so far.
22:46 We had tried to convince the fans
22:49 that they were also very active on Instagram.
22:52 And we also tried to do that against Galatasaray after the match.
22:56 But again, it's a people's holiday
22:59 that is very enthusiastic and lives for football.
23:02 So I didn't take it too seriously.
23:05 I told my wife about that.
23:07 Of course you have to respect those things,
23:10 and also your private life.
23:12 But I don't think they are a bit upset
23:16 because they didn't win.
23:19 And then maybe they made some statements
23:22 that provoked them a bit.
23:24 But that's the kind of football you give and take.
23:27 And then there was nothing more.
23:29 - Yes, our question was about that.
23:32 After the first match against Galatasaray,
23:35 there were some threats from social media
23:38 to the players of Copenhagen.
23:41 From Galatasaray supporters.
23:44 About Kamil.
23:47 How does this affect you?
23:50 And how has it affected you so far?
23:53 Lucas Lea answered this.
23:56 Yes, we experienced this after the Galatasaray match.
24:01 But we also experienced this in the Trabzonspor match a year ago.
24:06 It didn't affect us in a very negative way.
24:13 Because we know in Turkey that football is very emotional.
24:19 And things like that can happen.
24:22 Of course, is it good? No.
24:25 But it didn't affect us in a very negative way.
24:28 And we don't care about these things.
24:33 Because these things can happen.
24:35 They shouldn't, but they did.
24:38 - Kao.
24:40 - Yes, this is for Nes.
24:43 You can see that Galatasaray has had some good results on the pitch.
24:47 As you also say, some good matches.
24:49 Is there a difference in the way they play?
24:51 Have you seen any difference in the way they play compared to the way you met in Istanbul?
24:55 Not at all.
24:57 The only difference between Galatasaray and Istanbul is that
25:01 you can see that all the new players that they have brought in to our match
25:09 have been better integrated.
25:11 It's a team that has developed really well over the last two months.
25:15 The way they play is exactly the same.
25:18 They have a clear identity. They are aggressive in their pressure.
25:21 They are good at changing positions.
25:23 And we have to say that these four players have some class at the highest level.
25:29 - Our question was in the following direction.
25:33 Do you see Galatasaray as a different team in the first half or in the second half?
25:38 In terms of tactics.
25:40 Our answer was in the following direction.
25:43 No, Galatasaray is a team that has shown good performance in their own field and in their own position.
25:51 A quality team.
25:53 If you ask me if I see any change since the last match,
25:58 of course, they started to play better as a team.
26:04 And I can only add that to this direction.
26:10 But tactically, I don't see much difference.
26:14 A very high quality team.
26:16 Moreover, the players in front of them are of very high quality and have great power.
26:22 But if you look at it, Galatasaray is a team that plays very well.
26:26 And as we have seen in the last results, there is not much difference in the placement or in the field.
26:33 And we are facing a strong team.
26:37 Both coach and player, who is the most feared name in Galatasaray?
26:42 Or if they had to choose one name, which player would they want to take to Copenhagen?
26:46 Which player from Galatasaray are you most afraid of?
26:53 And if you could choose a player from Galatasaray to play for FC Copenhagen, which player would you choose?
26:58 Answering the first question, I think they have a good team.
27:04 And that's what I'm going to say.
27:07 And compared to the last one, I'm very satisfied with the players I have.
27:13 And if I got the idea to go up and knock on my sports director's door to ask if there are players for Galatasaray,
27:21 he would ask me to screw off with the same.
27:24 Because we can't afford that.
27:30 I can't choose just one player from Galatasaray, the most feared player.
27:34 Because they have such good players, I can't choose just one.
27:38 If we come to the question of which player I would like to see in Copenhagen,
27:45 I'm very satisfied with my team right now.
27:50 That's why I can't choose just one player.
27:53 If I go to my sports director and ask him to bring me a player from Galatasaray,
27:58 he would say it's too expensive and we can't afford it.
28:01 Last question down here.
28:04 If we look at football in general, where can you do harm to Galatasaray,
28:11 and also in the first game, manage to outmatch them in a part of the game?
28:15 By giving them a counterattack that they don't encounter on a daily basis.
28:21 And I say that with the greatest respect for the Turkish league.
28:26 But by making the game more closed, by making the spaces smaller than they play in on a daily basis.
28:34 A sentence that the players will hear again and again,
28:38 and they hear that in every Champions League game we've played.
28:41 It's a closed game, small spaces.
28:44 Because then it's our team that can show their strength against the absolute best team in Europe.
28:55 Our question was, how can you force Galatasaray?
29:00 Jakub Nijsdorp's answer was,
29:04 yes, we need to be a collective tactically.
29:12 We need to play in small spaces.
29:14 We shouldn't give up too much space in big spaces.
29:17 And our organization needs to be good defensively.
29:22 Because if we give up too much space, there can be dangerous things.
29:27 Okay, thank you very much for coming.
29:31 The training is in half an hour, the first quarter is open for photographers and so on.
29:35 Thank you.
29:36 Thank you.
29:37 Teşekkürler.