1 March 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Legendary midfielder Tugay Kerimoğlu will be brought in to help manage the Galatasaray youth squads starting on Wednesday, Galatasaray Chairman Adnan Polat said while speaking at the club’s annual general assembly over the weekend.
Tugay played for Galatasaray from 1987 to 2000, the Scottish Premier League side Glasgow Rangers during 2000-01 and the English Premiership’s Blackburn Rangers from 2001 until his retirement in 2009. Noting that the team is undergoing a transformation process, Polat said: “We were a champion two years ago. We are the leader in the Super League. However, we are not pleased with the scores we get. We disqualified to Atletico Madrid. While we aimed to play in the final of the UEFA Cup last year, we lost to Hamburg [in the round of 16] due to 12 disabled players. There is a harmonized work and study atmosphere in Florya. It is a nice environment. But we are not in a desired place.” Explaining that they are taking Barcelona as an example, Polat said they would attach great importance to the youth teams. Polat noted that there are many things that need to be done to improve these teams, adding that they have appointed someone that was reared in the youth squads for the job. “Starting from Wednesday, Tugay Kerimoğlu will be brought to lead the reserves,” Polat said.
