Fenerbahçe team captain Milan Skriniar, who continues his preparations for the new season with a camp in Austria, made special statements to Demirören News Agency. Stating that the pre-season activities are going very well, Milan Skriniar said, "I think it is going very well so far. We have been working together for about 3 weeks. We have a new coach, a new technical staff, new faces. Our activities are going very well so far. We played two friendly matches. We are improving day by day. I hope this season will be a successful season for us."
Skriniar spoke highly of coach İsmail Kartal and said, "First of all, we are very happy to be working with him. He is a great coach. He was here again a few years ago and finished the season with Fenerbahçe with 99 points. He is a really great coach. It is going well so far. We like his philosophy. Of course, some things are new to us, so we need to get used to them. This is the purpose of these camps."
'I AM SOMEONE WHO ALWAYS TRIES TO HELP MY TEAMMATES'
Stating that he tries to help everyone as the team captain, the 31-year-old football player said, "Frankly, it does not matter to me whether I have the captain's armband on my arm or not. Because I am someone who always tries to help my teammates. I try to help everyone on the team. From time to time, it is necessary to express some things. When I need to explain something to some players, I always try to help my teammates. In general, I am such a person. This is my mentality. This is not a new situation for me."
'I HAVE NOT HAD THE Pleasure of talking to our president one-on-one yet'
Milan Skriniar said that he did not have the opportunity to meet with president Aziz Yıldırım yet. Skriniar said, "I haven't had the opportunity to talk to him one-on-one yet. When we return to Istanbul, he will definitely come and talk to us before our first official match. We have managers who accompany us throughout the camp. Of course, we have frequent dialogues with them. I have not yet had the pleasure of talking one-on-one with our president."
Emphasizing that they want to qualify for the league stage in the Champions League, Milan Skriniar said, "Of course, this is one of our goals, one of the things we want to achieve this season. If you play in a club like Fenerbahçe, there will always be pressure. Because you represent a lot of people from all over the world. I think this pressure is normal. I think all players should be able to cope with this pressure. This is our goal. We want to be in the Champions League. We will do our best for this."
'I HOPE THIS SEASON WILL BE OUR SEASON'
Stating that they aim to reach the cup in the league and in all competitions, the Slovak defender said, "I believe we can achieve this. We work hard together every day to achieve this. We do our best until the final whistle of the last match. I hope this season will be our season. We want to be champions in the league, but at the same time, we want to reach the cup in all the competitions we are in. After all, this is what playing in Fenerbahçe means. All players, everyone within the club needs to understand this."
Stating that he has known Nathan Ake, the new transfer of the yellow-dark blue team, for a long time and that he is a great football player, Skriniar said, "He is a great football player. I have known him before. We met with the Netherlands and Slovakia U21 teams. I have known him since then. He is someone with a great career. I am sure he will help our team a lot. Our team will be better with him. He is both a great football player and a great person. I can't wait to play with him."
'I WILL DO MY BEST TO ACHIEVE THINGS THAT MAY BE PROUD OF THE FANS'
Stating that he received great support after coming to Fenerbahçe, 31-year-old defender Milan Skriniar continued his words with the following statements:
"Of course, it means a lot to us. From the first moment I came here, I received great support from both the fans and the people within the club. I feel very good here. It is a great pleasure for me to play in a club like Fenerbahçe. It is a great pleasure for me to represent this club, this jersey, these colors. I will do my best to achieve things that the fans will be proud of."
Sharing his feelings about his first match in Kadıköy, Skriniar said, "I received great support when I first came on the field. There was a crazy atmosphere when I went on the field. I remember my first match very well. We were defeated 2-0 in that match, and then we knew how to win 3-2. Therefore, there was a great atmosphere. Since that match, I feel a great bond with the fans."
Milan Skriniar, who puts Fenerbahçe fans first among the fans of the teams he plays for, said, "I have played for Inter, Sampdoria and Paris Saint Germain before. They all have great fans. When I look at the atmosphere in the stadium and how the city experiences football, I would put Fenerbahçe first so far."
Stating that he loves Istanbul very much and spends time with his family in his spare time, Skriniar said, "Obviously, I love the city very much. Life in Istanbul is very good. Both my family and I love Istanbul very much. We feel very good here. I like to spend time with my family in my spare time. When we play a match every three days, we do not have much time. I like to spend my time at home with my family."
Milan Skriniar gave the following answers to the team's leaders:
"There are so many of them. Mert Hakan, İrfan Can Kahveci, Mert Müldür, Levent Mercan... Turkish actors are generally funny. In general, I have a good communication with all of them. I enjoy spending time with them."
"All Turkish football players. I mean this in a good way."
"I like my own style, but I can also name other younger names. Archie Brown, Dorgeles Nene... After all, everyone has a style. Therefore, it is difficult to choose."
"Sometimes Nene can surprise us with crazy things. Sometimes she can dress well and sometimes badly. There are some things that I would never wear in my life. But of course they like it."
"Mert Müldür. I'm always surprised at how thin he is. Because he eats like crazy."
"It's hard to choose. There are too many players in our team who do activities outside of training. There are too many players who do activities alone in the fitness room. It's actually a variable situation. I don't know who to name. It's hard to choose."
'I HOPE WE WILL ALL BE SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY TOGETHER AT THE END OF THE SEASON'
Sending a message to the fans, Milan Skriniar concluded his words with the following statements:
"I greet all Fenerbahçe fans here. I greet our fans who come to our matches in Austria, in Istanbul and all over the world. I hope we will all enjoy this season together. I hope we will all be successful and happy together at the end of the season."