Andrea Pirlo, the Technical Director of Fatih Karagümrük, expressed his desire to continue their unbeaten run of 10 games ahead of their match against Istanbulspor. He also denied rumors linking him with Beşiktaş and said he is focused on his team. Pirlo met with the club president regarding his contract, but stated that he is concentrating on the team and will discuss the contract at the end of the season. He praised the level of sports clubs and facilities in Türkiye and discussed the development of young players.

Commenting on the progress of Baniya and Levent Mercan, Pirlo referred to them as important young players who had some initial difficulties at the beginning of the season but have since performed well and shown great potential for development.