The Ukrainian coach thinks the Galatasaray Lions are closer to winning their group and also said the resignation of former Beşiktaş coach Ertuğrul Sağlam saddens him.

Turks first heard about Metalist when the Beşiktaş Black Eagles were drawn against Markevych’s side in the UEFA Cup. Despite being seen as the underdogs, the Ukrainians beat the Eagles 4-1 in the second leg at home to advance 4-2 on aggregate, having lost 1-0 in the first leg in İstanbul.

Following that loss, young Beşiktaş coach Sağlam called it quits and the Turks became more interested in this previously unknown team. Ukrainian trainer Markevych, 57, who has been coaching Metalist since 2005, made some striking statements when he spoke to Today’s Zaman two days before the game with Galatasaray.

The Turkish fans admired Jackson Coelho, Marko Devic and Papa Gueye, who played in the game against Beşiktaş. Asked how he acquired these foreign players, Markevych said he acquired Gueye and Devic from Volyn Lutsk, a team in Ukraine’s second division, and Coelho from Belgian club Westerloo. “We offered Jackson a reasonable salary,” Markevych stated. “He was never stable in previous clubs but I prepared a good program for him at Metalist. I took care of him and talked to him every day.”

Asked whether he was afraid to play against the Galatasaray Lions at İstanbul’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium, a place that has been dubbed “hell” because the Lions have felled many a European giant in the past, Markevych said the following:

“Last year we played against Everton in England. Everton fans are pretty enthusiastic and supportive of their team. In that game they tried to influence our play but we never paid attention to their chanting. We ended the game with nine players and a score of 1-1. If you pay attention to the spectators in an away game, you’ll lose. We will take the field at Ali Sami Yen and won’t pay attention to the fans in the stands. We will play our game and let Galatasaray think about the rest. Metalist has fans as well and for them I wish we were not playing in İstanbul.”

Markevych stated that he is aware of the fact that Galatasaray has star players like Harry Kewell, Milan Baros, Fernando Meira and Cassio Lincoln, but he was not considering special measures to rein in these players.

“Yes, I know all these players,” the Ukrainian coach said. “However, our system will stay the same. There will be no special defensive measures. We will play our game, that’s it. We want to make sure that Turkish fans watch a nice game. This is our goal. Galatasaray fans have witnessed many victories at Ali Sami Yen, but we will do our best to defeat them.”

Markevych also said Galatasaray has almost secured a spot in the next round, having won its first two games, emphasizing that the other four teams in the UEFA Cup will have to exert great effort to advance and stressing that it is very difficult to predict at this point which other two teams will qualify.

Milan is tipped by bookmakers as the top favorite to win the UEFA Cup. Asked what he thought about this, Markevych said: “I know that the UEFA Cup final game will be played at the [Fenerbahçe] Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in İstanbul this year. My pick is Galatasaray. I think it will play in the final game.”

Commenting on whether Mircea Lucescu, who previously coached in Turkey and now is in charge of a Ukrainian team, was successful, Markevych said: “Yes, he is. Lucescu made quite a team during his career in Shakhtar Donetsk. Last year he had a perfect squad: Ciprian Marica, Anatoliy Tymoschuk, Elano Blumer and Francelino Matuzalem. That squad could have won the UEFA Cup. But how could you have known the Sevilla keeper would score a header goal and eliminate Shakhtar? This shows Lucescu was really unlucky. He should be lauded for his contributions to Ukrainian soccer. We need to remember good memories in soccer all the time. I wish him luck on his next team after his career in Ukraine.”

TODAYSZAMAN