Galatasaray's assistant coach, Ismael García, has made it clear that the Turkish club is preparing cautiously for the confrontation against FC Barcelona, considered by him the favorite to win the Champions League. In an interview with Ràdio Barcelona, the assistant coach explained how the Turkish team is organizing for the match and what his vision is for the match with the Catalan team.
García, who trained as a technical analyst at clubs such as RC Deportivo de la Coruña and RCD Mallorca, and who has worked as an assistant at Asteras Tripolis and Udinese, arrived at Galatasaray as assistant coach after the position opened. In the conversation, the Galician stressed that the sporting success and economic power of the club have attracted several football stars, which has contributed to the growth of the team in the last season.
The Galician coach did not hesitate to declare that Barcelona is the number one candidate to lift the cup. “For me, FC Barcelona is the favorite to win the Champions League,” he stated. García recognized the Catalan team's ability to compete for all the titles this season, but also pointed out that Galatasaray can take advantage of certain aspects of Barça's playing style. “Their defensive line and their pressure are so high that sometimes they leave many meters behind them,” he explained, indicating that the speed of his attackers will be a key weapon.
To do this, the Turkish coaching staff plans to adapt its proposal and will seek to exploit the spaces that Barcelona leaves, betting on a more vertical game than usual in the Turkish league. “We will try to be a little more vertical than we usually are in the Turkish league because there are not as many spaces to run,” he added. Additionally, García highlighted the role of the fans in the local stadium, describing them as “very hot, the country is very passionate, very emotional, for good and bad,” which makes the games a mental challenge for the visitors.
With this preparation, Galatasaray hopes to maximize its performance in the group stage of the Champions League, while FC Barcelona continues to be the main rival expected to advance to the next round. The next round of the competition will test whether the tactical approach and energy of the Turkish fans can overcome the Spanish favourite.