Marius Sumudica, who coached Kayserispor, Gaziantep, Çaykur Rizespor and Yeni Malatyaspor in the Super League, made special statements.
Romanian coach, who coaches Al Raed, one of the Saudi Arabian teams, answered NTV Spor’s questions between the World Cup.
Saying that he loves Turkey and Turkish people very much, Sumudica stated that his dream is to return to Turkey. The 51-year-old coach said that he regretted the interview he gave during his departure from Gaziantep.
“FOOTBALL CHANGED MUCH IN SAUDI ARABIA”
“Saudi Arabian football has changed a lot. Very important star players come here. Now the teams are very strong because they have 8 foreign rights and 7 of them can start in the starting 11, which creates a good competitive environment. My team, Al Raed is a good team, Stable team. We are in the middle of the league. We won 3 games after 8 games, lost 5 games. We lost to Al Shabab in the process, they have a very good team this season and they spent incredible money. We have a budget, a good squad. We are already here with my team. We have a two-month break in the World Cup. I will give the players a three-week leave. Then we will participate in a tournament in Abu Dhabi with Arab teams. After the break, we will start the league and we will have a very difficult game on December 15. We will play with Al Nassr. Talisca They have big stars like Aboubakar, Luiz Gustavo. It’s a very tough team.”
“WHAT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR HAS LEFT IN KAYSERİ FOR A YEAR?”
“When I came to Kayseri, I stayed for a year and we had a great group. We worked very well, we had very good players and we had an incredible bond with the Turkish players. We created a team, a family. Players like Sapunaru, Lung and Boldrin from Romania also “Which coach stayed in Kayseri for a year? Three, four, five coaches were always working in Kayseri in a season. We have been successful and Kayserispor still cannot finish the league in a better place since then.”
“WE WOULD PLAY IN EUROPE IF I STATED IN GAZIANTEP”
“Then Gaziantep… There were many players from the lower league there. We built a great team. People should not forget that Gaziantep finished the league in 8th place in its first year with Sumudica. In the second season, we were in the fourth place. We beat Beşiktaş, we beat Fenerbahçe, on the road. We beat Başakşehir. I would like to convey my congratulations to Mehmet Büyükekşi, who is currently the head of the TFF. Think about it, the current head of the TFF is the person who worked with Sumudica in Gaziantep. They were successful in this way, it was a great success. Today in Gaziantep, people call me again. They love it, I have no problems with them, but only in one interview, I made a joke… If I had continued that season, we would have played in Europe. We had a very good team, we were doing very well. Remember, we didn’t lose at home in Gaziantep for a year in a row. We didn’t lose 18 games, we scored every game for 21 games. This is a great performance for me and Gaziantep. I respect all the coaches, but after I left, they spent a lot of money. men finished the league in worse places. I have many connections and we have brought many important players. Because we have connections. But I want to say this; Kayserispor and Gaziantep are always in my heart and I want them to always get good results and be in good shape.”
“WE WON THE CASE IN FIFA, WE WOULD LIKE TO HELP BUT NO ONE CALLED US”
“When I went to Rize, I wasn’t ready because I hadn’t even gotten over the shock in Gaziantep yet. Also, when we started, 20 players were infected with the corona virus. The team and players weren’t ready anyway. There were 4-5 different players every week and it was very difficult to build a team. What about Malatya? I can say… They still have 300 thousand euros to pay me because my team and I won the case at FIFA. However, we would like to make all kinds of sacrifices and help the club, not hinder it, but no one from the club called us about it. This is important money for everyone, but it is not important to me. “But Malatya never called me or my team. However, both I and my team wanted to help the team. I am a coach who gives bonuses to my players.”
“HOW CAN I HATE TURKEY?”
“There are very good local coaches in Turkey and I have great respect for many of them. But I want to say that I have never said anything bad about Turkish coaches, about Turkish people. Turkey is my second country. My wife recently visited Istanbul and He looked at some houses because I’m thinking of buying a house there. How can I not love Turkish people? How can I hate this country? It’s a stupid thought. Turkey has a place in my heart.”
“TURKEY HAS SUCCESSFUL DIRECTORS AND I RESPECT THEM”
“It is not easy to be a foreign coach in Turkey. I am Romanian, I observe and follow a foreign coach in my country. Because he is from a different country, a different culture, he has a different strategy. If you are a foreign coach, be fully prepared for good results in every match. You have to. When I go to training, I try to talk to all of my players, I try to win the players. I am on good terms with the players I work with in Turkey. There are no Turkish players who say bad things about me. They always call me and they always love me. Currently, there are 5 foreign coaches in Turkey “I played against Jorge Jesus, he was the head of Al Hilal while I was coaching Al Shabab. He is a very good coach, but there are also very successful Turkish coaches. For example, Volkan Demirel went to Hatayspor and is very successful. Emre Belözoğlu, Okan Buruk, Rıza Çalımbay, Şenol Güneş, Fatih Terim and others… Turkish coach Şener Gençtürk is also here with me, I really like him. Many big names there is. There are many important coaches and I respect them.”
“WE WATCHED 21 GAMES IN A CONSEQUENTIAL GOALS WHILE I WAS PLAYING 3”
Marius Sumudica, who plays his team with triple defense in the Super League, especially in Kayserispor and Gaziantep, gave the following answer to the question about whether he is leading in this regard:
“I don’t think I’ve ever been leading, but you can see that, for example, when a team plays 3-5-2, everybody thinks it’s a defensive system. No, it’s wrong. It’s an offensive system. We scored in every game for 21 games in this way. Fenerbahce, Beşiktaş. “This is how we beat Başakşehir. How did it happen? Because we had an offensive approach. This is very important. When I play threesomes, I don’t think of it for defense, but for offense. That’s my philosophy, playing with one more person… Many good results with this system here, too.” We played in the Asian Champions League in Al Shabab and broke the points record. We won 5 matches, we got 1 draw and we did it with this game. No, I don’t think I’m leading, but this is my philosophy, I can say it easily. I like the game of the Belgium National Team very much, “It’s the same as Antonio Conte’s. These are offensive formations, not defensive formations. If that were the case, how could Inter score three goals against Barcelona?”
” MY DREAM TO GO BACK TO TURKEY”
“My dream is to come back. I don’t know when. Because I have a contract for 2 years. This is not an easy thing. It is not easy to find a 2 year contract in Saudi Arabia. Usually 6 months, 1 year contracts are made here. However, I miss Turkey. , I love Turkey. Because I want to do something again in Turkey. My work in Turkey is not finished. We were about to play in European cups when we were in Gaziantep. It is not easy for a team that has just entered the league. Turkey has given me a lot of things and I am sure that I would like to return. It is my dream to return to Turkey. Everyone is talking about football in Turkey, you can experience the atmosphere, newspapers, media, fans… Dozens of television shows, fanatical fans and emotions… I miss these, thousands of fans, emotional matches…”
“I HAVE A REGRET ABOUT TURKEY…”
I have one regret… I regret that interview I gave while I was in Gaziantep. I also made some mistakes some times. But Sumudica is a football maniac, a Turkey maniac. I really love this country. I went directly to Cluj from Turkey, then worked at Al Shabab and now I am in Al Raed. I did not meet with any team from Turkey, nor did I receive an offer.
“I HAVE A BIG CLUB I DREAM OF WORKING IN TURKEY…”
“If I coach a big team in Turkey, that team will win a trophy 100% with Sumudica. It can be the Turkish Cup or the Super League championship. It is not an easy task to work for the Anatolian team and get good results in Turkey. There are two teams… But I won’t name them… My favorite clubs there are Gaziantep and Kayserispor, which I want to rewrite history. But I’m talking about the future. I don’t know if it will come true or how many years later. There is a big club that I call my dream… I love the atmosphere and the fans in the stadium. Everyone has dreams in life, and that’s my dream.”