Turkish media share their opinion as Mo Salah speaks out after Trabzonspor is knocked out of the Europa League.
Some parts of the Turkish media have shared their thoughts on Mohamed Salah’s Trabzonspor after their exit from the Europa League following a loss to Ferencvarosi.
The Hungarian team won 5-0 on aggregate against Trabzonspor, with the Turkish side facing a tough 4-0 defeat in Budapest on Thursday night. At halftime, Trabzonspor was only 1-0 behind, but they struggled in the second half while trying to get back into the game, leading to their exit from the Europa League.
Now, Trabzonspor will play in the Europa Conference League, but things aren’t great at the club. After the match, their coach Fatih Tekke said on live TV that he wanted to quit.
He said, “I won’t make a big deal out of this. From now on, I’m resigning after 18 months. I feel this is the punishment I need to give myself. I haven’t told the club yet, I’m just sharing it now on TV. No one knows before this.”
However, the club hasn’t accepted his resignation yet. They released a statement saying he will still coach the next game this weekend.
Turkish media are trying to figure out why Trabzonspor lost so badly to Ferencvarosi, and some are pointing fingers at Salah. One report from Fotospor suggested that the coach might have resigned because he feels he doesn’t have enough control, especially since the club relies more on agents than their own scouting team.
Another report said that Ferencvarosi’s success was partly because they didn’t focus on big-name signings like Trabzonspor did, which helped them control both games.
It was a tough night for the 34-year-old Salah. He only managed six shots and four touches in the penalty area before being taken off in the 64th minute when his team was down 3-0.
The next day on X, Salah wrote: “Nothing in my career has ever come easy. Bad nights and setbacks are part of football, and I’ve learned to turn them into motivation and victories. Trabzonspor is my club, and I’m fully committed. Last night won’t change that.”
He added, “I know the expectations are high, and I truly believe we can meet them. ‘I came here to win’ is more than just words to me.”
After their Europa League exit, the draw for the Conference League took place the next day, and Trabzonspor now knows their opponents. They have six matches — three at home and three away.
The team will travel to Bulgaria, Finland, and Serbia to play against CSKA Sofia, KuPS Kuopio, and Crvena Zvezda. At home, they will welcome Freiberg, Hearts, and Jablonec at the Senol Guneş Sports Complex.