Kauno Žalgiris head coach Željko Sopic admitted his side face an enormous challenge against Besiktas, but insisted his players will give everything in Thursday’s UEFA Europa League play-off second leg at Darius and Girėnas Stadium.
Speaking at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference, the Croatian manager acknowledged the quality gap between the two sides while refusing to give up hope.
“Tomorrow we play our second game against Besiktas. We know we’re 0-3 behind, and I’m a realistic guy – I know it won’t be easy. But we’ll do everything we can to get a positive result tomorrow.
“In football, you never know what can happen. Sometimes you have a little more luck than the other team, they make a mistake or receive a card, and suddenly the game can go in either direction.”
“But realistically, we don’t expect that we can simply overcome Beşiktaş because the quality and everything else is normally on their side. But once again, I’m 100% sure that my players will give everything, just as they did in Istanbul. After the game, the most important thing is that we can look at ourselves in the mirror and that our fans can see that we gave everything we had on the pitch.”
Sopic pointed to the reality of facing a club with vastly greater resources when discussing what Kauno Žalgiris must improve following the defeat in Istanbul.
“Honestly, our opponent cannot be at the same level as they were in Istanbul. When you play against a team with a budget 50 times bigger than yours and with better players, normally you need to have your day and they cannot have the kind of day they had in Istanbul.”
The coach also reflected on the intimidating atmosphere at Besiktas’s home stadium, praising both the Turkish supporters and his own players for coping with the occasion.
“It will be a little bit better for us here because 95% of my players had never played in an atmosphere like the one in Istanbul, in front of 30,000 or 40,000 people. That’s something special for every coach and every team. But when you’re normally playing in front of one, two, three or four thousand people and then you go there and play in front of 40,000 amazing fans… And I have to say they were amazing fans because I was also a player.
“I played in Dortmund in front of 75,000 people, but I told all my friends that I’d never experienced an atmosphere like the one in Istanbul. I played against Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup and it was a similar atmosphere, but this was crazy, madness, honestly. I was very happy with how our players performed in that atmosphere because it’s not easy. It’s really not easy.”
Sopic was also asked whether Beşiktaş could be weakened by squad rotation after their weekend league defeat.
“I don’t know. Besiktas have enough high-quality players, and I don’t think one player more or one player less will make a big difference to their team.”
The Croatian revealed that he had watched Besiktas recent 0-1 league defeat against Alanyaspor, but felt the scoreline did not reflect their performance.
“I also watched Besiktas last game. They lost 1-0, but honestly, they had enough chances in the first half to manage the game and take the three points.”
Finally, Sopic emphasized that both clubs are facing demanding schedules and that Kauno Žalgiris must also balance their European ambitions with domestic priorities.
“Normally, whether you’re Besiktas or anybody else, when you play every three days, it’s not easy. In any league in the world, a team cannot give everything in every single game when the schedule is like this.
“We also have to stay focused on winning our championship and the cup because until September 20, over the next four weeks, we have eight games. We’re playing every three days, so we have to be very clever with how we manage things and make sure we don’t lose our position in one competition or another.”
The match at Darius and Girėnas Stadium kicks off at 20:00 local time, with Kauno Žalgiris already guaranteed at least a place in the UEFA Conference League league phase.
