Galatasaray S.K. (football team)

Galatasaray S.K.

Full name	Galatasaray Spor Kulübü
Nickname(s)	Cim bom Aslanlar (The Lions) Sarı-Kırmızılılar (Yellow-Reds) Avrupa Fatihi (Conqueror of Europe) Gala (Mostly used in Europe)
Founded	1905
Ground	old: Ali Sami Yen Stadium (26,700) new: Türk Telekom Arena (52,695)
Chairman	Adnan Polat
Manager	Frank Rijkaard
League	Süper Lig
2009–10	Turkcell Süper Lig, 3rd
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Active departments of Galatasaray
Football	Volleyball (Men's)	Volleyball (Women's)
Basketball (Men's)	Basketball (Women's)	Wheelchair Basketball
Athletics	Bridge	Equestrian
Judo	Rowing	Sailing
Swimming	Water Polo (Men's)	Water Polo (Women's)
	SL Formula

Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (Turkish pronunciation: [ɡaɫatasaˈɾaj ˈspoɾ kulyˈby], Galatasaray Sports Club) is a Turkish association football club, part of the Galatasaray multi-sport club. Galatasaray is the most successful Turkish football club, holding the joint record for Turkish League titles, and record number of Turkish Cup, Turkish Super Cup and TSYD Cups.^[1][2] They are the only Turkish team to have won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup and the only Turkish team to reach a European Cup semi-final.

The club's colors are red and yellow, and their home stadium is the Ali Sami Yen Stadium which is expected to be replaced by the currently under-construction Türk Telekom Arena in 2010–2011 Süper Lig season.

History

Galatasaray's finishing positions in Turkish League since 1959.

Galatasaray was founded in the autumn of 1905, by Galatasaray Lisesi (a high school founded in 1481) students as a football club. Galatasaray's first president was Ali Sami Yen. Their first match was against Cadi Keuy FRC and they lost this match by 6–1.^[3] There were discussions about the clubs name, in which some suggested Gloria (victory) and others Audace (courage), but it was decided that its name would be Galatasaray.^[4]

First photo of Galatasaray SK (1905)

The name Galatasaray itself comes from that of Galatasaray Lisesi, which in turn takes its name from Galata Sarayı Enderun-u Hümayunu (Galata Palace Imperial School), the name of the original school founded on the site in 1481, and which in turn took its name from the nearby medieval Genoese colony of Galata. Galatasaray translates directly as 'Galata palace'.

According to researcher Cem Atabeyoğlu, Galatasaray took its name from one of its first matches. In that match, Galatasaray won 2–0 over Rûm club and the spectators called them "Galata Sarayı efendileri" (in English: Gentlemen of City Palace), and, after this event, they adopted that name and started to call their club "Galata Sarayı". In 1905, during the era of the Ottoman Empire, there were no laws for associations so the club could not be registered officially, but, after the 1912 Law of Association, the club registered legally.^[5]

Among with the founder Ali Sami Yen, the co-founders were the ones who were keen to do this sport, such as Asim Tevfik Sonumut, Reşat Şirvani, Cevdet Kalpakçıoğlu, Abidin Daver and Kamil.

At first, the colors of the Galatasaray Sports Club were red and white. These are the colors in the Turkish flag. However, the Turkish Republic was not founded at that time. Therefore, this inspiration caused repressive administration of the day feel uncomfortable and the administration hounded the footballers. For this reason, the colors were changed to yellow and dark blue until 1907. In 1908, new colors were chosen as red and yellow. Ali Sami Yen stated, "We were imagining brightness of yellow – red fire over our team and thinking that it would carry us from one victory to another."^[5]

Since there were not any Turkish teams, Galatasaray joined the Istanbul League that was consisting of English and Greek teams in the season of 1905–1906. With their first championship title they won in 1907–1908, they heralded the beginning of Turkish football history.^[6]

While the football in Turkey began to fully develop, Galatasaray won ten more Istanbul League titles, six Sunday League titles and three Friday League titles until 1952. Upon recognition of professional football in 1952, the first professional but non-national league of Turkey, Istanbul Professional League played between 1952 and 1959. Galatasaray won three of these seven titles.

Türkiye Profesyonel 1. Ligi (Turkcell Super League today) formed in 1959. This is the top-flight professional league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country. Galatasaray joined all seasons and won 17 league titles since then.^[7]

The Turkish Football Federation starts to organize "Turkish Cup" (today it is organized with the name Fortis Turkey Cup) in the 1962–63 season for Turkish clubs to qualify for the UEFA competitions. This is the only national cup competition in Turkey. Galatasaray joined all seasons and won 14 trophies since then.^[8]

Probably the greatest record that club holds is winning national championships in 15 different sport branches in 1986–87 season.^[9]

Galatasaray's most successful era came in late 1990s, when the club become the first Turkish football club ever to win a European trophy. They were aided in this by one of Turkey's best generation of home grown footballers who went on to finish third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played quarter finals of UEFA Euro 2000. Besides the talented players, visiting teams also disliked traveling into Ali Sami Yen Stadium which is literally called "Hell" by the supporters of Galatasaray due to the intimidating atmosphere provided by the knife-wielding fans including chants and riots in the crowds.^[10]

There are many successful footballers that have played for Galatasaray and made their mark on Turkish football history. Few examples may be 1930s national hero Eşfak Aykaç,^[11] Boduri who died aged 21,^[12] Mehmet Leblebi who scored a domestic record of 14 goals in a single match,^[13] Gündüz Kılıç nicknamed Baba (father) who was the coach but also the player of his team in 1950s with great success on both,^[14] Bülent-Reha Eken brothers, Suat Mamat who made a hat-trick in 1954 FIFA World Cup,^[15] Coşkun Özarı a life devoted to Galatasaray,^[16] Turgay Şeren the heroic goalkeeper that called "the Panther of Berlin",^[17] Fatih Terim the team captain of Galatasaray and Turkish National Football team for years and the current coach,^[18] Metin Oktay the legendary six time top scorer of the Turkish league,^[19] Zoran Simović another skilled goalkeeper known for his penalty saves,^[20] Cüneyt Tanman who played a record of 342 games for Galatasaray,^[21] Tanju Çolak an extraordinary goalscorer and European Golden Boot 1988 winner with Galatasaray,^[22] Cevad Prekazi an Albanian teammate of Tanju specializing in free kicks,^[23] Taffarel the world cup winner goalkeeper of Brazil,^[24] Gheorghe Hagi, the Romanian football hero who is still described as the best foreign player ever to play in Turkey,^[25] Brazilian striker Mário Jardel, who was called Super Mário by the fans and scored Galatasarays only two goals in the European Super Cup Final in 2000 against Real Madrid, and last but not least, Hakan Şükür, the player who scored most goals in the first division of Turkish football history (249 goals).

Name and Pronunciation

The name Galatasaray itself comes from that of Galatasaray Lisesi, which in turn takes its name from Galata Sarayı Enderun-u Hümayunu (Galata Palace Imperial School), the name of the original school founded on the site in 1481, and which in turn took its name from the nearby medieval Genoese colony of Galata. Galatasaray translates directly as 'Galata palace'.

There is no diminutive form of Galatasaray. Fans refer to the club either by its full name or by its nickname "Cim Bom Bom" (pronounced 'Jim Bom Bom') or the shortened 'Cim Bom'. The shortened form 'Gala' is not used.

The name Galatasaray is pronounced as two words in the same way as its English translation 'Galata Palace', i.e. the correct pronunciation is Galata Saray (Pronounced as Galata Sa-rye), and NOT as Gala tasaray (Gala tasa-rye).

Team colors

Galatasaray wore red and white colors when founded, then played in dark yellow and dark blue in 1907-1908 season. For a match against the British Royal Navy cruiser HMS Barham football team played in December 1908, Galatasaray finally settled on playing in red and yellow. The colors were chosen by Asım Tevfik, left-forwarder Emin Bülent and right midfielder Ali Sami Yen in a store at Bahçekapısı. The red and yellow were inspired from the colors of the roses which Gül Baba offered to Sultan Bayezid II.^[26]

Kit history

Stadium

Stadium history

Ali Sami Yen

Champions league matches draw over 70,000 spectators.

Galatasaray played its first years in different fields, since there were not any stadiums in Istanbul. In 1921, the first stadium, Taksim Stadium opened.^[27] Galatasaray played there until 1940. When historic Taksim Stadium was demolished, Galatasaray decided to build a large, modern stadium. Due to difficulties stemming from World War II, construction was delayed for over two decades. In this period, they played in İnönü Stadium.

On 20 December 1964, Ali Sami Yen Stadium opened.^[28] It is named after the founder of the club, Ali Sami Yen. It is in Mecidiyeköy quarter of the Şişli district at the center of the city. In 1964, the stadium had capacity over 35,000. Today, due to improvements in security and prohibition of non-seater spectators, it has an all-seater capacity of 24,990.^[29]

After 2002, when Atatürk Olympic Stadium was built for Istanbul's Olympic Games bid, Galatasaray started to play European Cup matches there. The attendance record among Turkish stadiums was broken there, in Galatasaray–Olympiacos match played in front of 79,414 spectators. Yet, Ali Sami Yen Stadium has historic importance for Galatasaray fans although it is smaller and older.^[30]

Stadium Anthem

Since 1998, after every goal scored by Galatasaray, the last part of the song I Will Survive by the Hermes House Band played. Although the song is in English, the part used has no lyrics except "la la la la". This makes it easy for fans to participate.

In addition, before every game the Florida State Warchant is played accompanied by what the fans call a "scarf show" where fans display and wave their Galatasaray scarves, banners and flags.A lot of people call stadium 'Cehennem' (hell) because of stadium anthem^[31]

Supporters and rivalries

European matches

Galatasaray fans attach high importance to European competitions, and Galatasaray is known as the Conquerors of Europe by their fans. This nickname underlines the importance of the UEFA Cup and Super Cup Galatasaray managed to get during the 1999–2000 season. Galatasaray fans also have a reputation in Europe as being one of the fiercest in the world, along with Ultraslan. Ryan Giggs once said I've never experienced anything like Galatasaray. Two hours before kick-off, we went out to have a look at the pitch and the stadium was packed! The chanting was brilliant: one side starts, then the other, then quiet, then all of them chanting! The players really enjoyed it. Before it was good, after it wasn't!'

Istanbul derbies

The big three clubs of Istanbul, Beşiktaş J.K., Fenerbahçe S.K. and Galatasaray S.K. have a long history of rivalry with each other. Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray rivalry is the most important rivalry in Turkey and the primary Istanbul derby. The rivalry between supporters has led to violence on numerous occasions.^[32] İstanbul BB is a minor rival as İstanbul BB is weaker than the big three.

Torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on visiting teams, which fans call "welcoming them to hell".^[33]

Players

First-team squad

As of 2 September 2010^[34][35]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Aykut Erçetin 2 DF Lucas Neill 4 DF Ali Turan 5 DF Gökhan Zan 6 DF Emiliano Insúa (on loan from Liverpool) 7 MF Aydın Yılmaz 8 MF Barış Özbek 9 MF Elano 10 MF Arda Turan (captain) 11 FW Mehmet Batdal 12 GK Emirhan Ergün 15 FW Milan Baroš 16 MF Mustafa Sarp 18 MF Ayhan Akman (vice-captain)

No. Position Player 19 MF Lorik Cana 20 MF Juan Pablo Pino 21 MF Zvjezdan Misimović 22 DF Hakan Balta 23 DF Serkan Kurtuluş 35 MF Musa Çağıran 52 MF Emre Çolak 55 DF Sabri Sarıoğlu (vice-captain) 61 DF Çağlar Birinci 76 DF Servet Çetin 77 MF Serdar Özkan 86 GK Ufuk Ceylan 99 MF Harry Kewell

For recent transfers, see 2010–11 Galatasaray S.K. season.

Reserves and Academy squad

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — DF Çetin Güngör (at Şanlıurfaspor until July 2011) — DF Uğur Demirok (at Kartalspor until July 2011) — DF Semih Kaya (at Kartalspor until July 2011)

No. Position Player — MF Serdar Eylik (at Denizlispor until July 2011) — FW Erhan Şentürk (at Kartalspor until July 2011)

Former players

For details on former players, see Category:Galatasaray S.K. footballers, List of Galatasaray S.K. footballers and List of foreign football players in Galatasaray.

Club captains

Period	Name
1994–05	Bülent Korkmaz
2005–08	Hakan Şükür
2008–09	Ümit Karan
2009–	Arda Turan

Player records

• Most Süper Lig appearances
  • Bülent Korkmaz – 430
• Most Süper Lig goals
  • Hakan Şükür – 228

Honours and achievements

International competitions

• UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League:
  • Winners (1): 1999–00

• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2000

• European Cup / UEFA Champions League:
  • Semi-finalists (1): 1988–89
    • Quarter-finalists (2): 1962–63, 1969–70

UEFA Champions League:

• • Quarter Final (2): 1993-94, 2000-01

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
  • Quarter-finalists (1): 1991–92

Domestic competitions

• Turkish Super League:
  • Winners (17 – joint record): 1961–62, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2007–08.
• Türkiye Kupası:
  • Winners (14 – record): 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2004–05
• TFF Süper Kupa:
  • Winners (11 – record): 1966, 1969, 1972, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2008.

Defunct Domestic competitions

• Chancellor Cup:
  • Winners (5): 1975, 1979, 1986, 1990, 1995
• TSYD Cup:
  • Winners (12 – joint record): 1963, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999
• National League:
  • Winners (1): 1938–39
• Istanbul Football League:
  • Winners (15 – joint record): 1908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1948–49, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1957–58
• Istanbul Football Cup:
  • Winners (2 – joint record): 1942, 1943
• Istanbul Shield:
  • Winners (1): 1933
• Atatürk Gazi Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1928
• 50. Yıl Cup:
  • Winners (1):1973
• Union Club Cup:
  • Winners (1):1909

Presidents

Name	From-To
Alp Yalman	1990–96
Faruk Süren	1996–01
Mehmet Cansun	2001–02
Özhan Canaydın	2002–08
Adnan Polat	2008–

Club officials

Football Management Trade I.C.

Position	Name
Football Management Trade Manager	Adnan Sezgin
Financial Director	Erdal Aslan
Facilities Director	Sabit Sır
Manager of Team	Cenk Ergün
Press and Operations Officer	Hasan Tankaya

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Manager	Frank Rijkaard
Assistant Manager	Johan Neeskens
Fitness Coach	Albert Roca Pujol
Fitness Coach	Carlos Cuadrat Xiqués
Fitness Coach	Fatih Yıldız
Goalkeeper Coach	Nezih Ali Boloğlu
Club Doctor	Doç.Dr.Burak Kunduracıoğlu
Club Doctor	Murat Çevik
Physiotherapist	Mehmet Erdem
Physiotherapist	Ata Özgür Ercan
Physiotherapist	Umut Şahin
Masseur	Sedat Peker
Masseur	Murat Çalışkan
Masseur	Fuat Öz

Managerial history

From-to	Names
2004–05	Gheorghe Hagi
2005–07	Eric Gerets
2007–08	Karl-Heinz Feldkamp Cevat Güler
2008–09	Michael Skibbe Bülent Korkmaz
2009–	Frank Rijkaard

Recent seasons

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Manager
2005/06	TS	1	34	26	5	3	82	34	83		UC	1st round	Eric Gerets
2006/07	TS	3	34	15	11	8	58	37	56		UCL	group stage	Eric Gerets
2007/08	TS	1	34	24	7	3	64	23	79		UC	3rd round	Karl-Heinz Feldkamp/Cevat Güler
2008/09	TS	5	34	17	8	9	57	39	61		UC	last 16	Michael Skibbe/Bülent Korkmaz
2009/10	TS	3	34	19	7	8	61	35	64		UC	last 32	Frank Rijkaard

Last updated: 20 May 2010
¹ Galatasaray SK started season in UCL but joined UC after group stage.
Div. = Division;TS = Turkcell Super League; Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GS = Goal Scored; GA = Goal Against; P = Points
UCL = UEFA Champions League; UCWC = UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; UC = UEFA Cup; Cup = Fortis Turkey Cup. Colors: Gold = winner; Silver = runner-up.

Youth Facilities

Galatasaray has the most successful youth facilities in Turkey.^[36] Gündüz Kılıç Youth Facilities in Florya is the center of the department. Club has been supporting and serving Turkish Football since the Republican Period has given more than 300 footballers to the National teams.

The goal is to raise footballers who are loyal to Galatasaray traditions who can develop creative ideas, have a high Standard of capturing strategical points, fast, technical, powerful, determined, loyal to fair play principles and have respect for the arbitrager, rival and supporters.

Galatasaray Star Team became champions in Europe recently, and Galatasaray S.K. PAF were the champions for three consecutive years in Turkish Youth League between the years 2005–2007 (For the 2007–2008 season, they finished runners-up after Sivasspor).^[37]

Football Academy

Galatasaray football academy train children between seven and fifteen. This organization is open for the whole year and gives education on technical and strategical areas in football by giving an opportunity to kids to practice what they learn during the lessons.

The organization consists of 41 football academies that are located in Turkey and foreign countries:

• Turkey:
  • Adana, Ankara(2), Antalya, Bandırma, Bursa, Çorlu, Çorum, Denizli, Edirne, Elazığ, Erzurum, Eskişehir, Diyarbakır, Denizli Gaziantep, Hatay, İzmir, İstanbul(22) Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Kuşadası, Ordu, Malatya, Manisa, Midyat, Nusaybin, Sakarya and Zonguldak.

• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus:
  • Gazimağusa

• Australia:
  • Melbourne^[38][39]

• Netherlands:
  • Rotterdam, Eindhoven

Important figures in the club's history

• Ali Sami Yen (1886–1951): Taking the surname Yen in Turkey's Republican era, he was known as Ali Sami Bey, born in the Kandilli district of Istanbul. His father was the Albanian novelist and writer Sami Frashëri. He continued his education at the famous Galatasaray Lisesi, where he founded Turkey's first football-based sports club, Galatasaray A.S., together with his classmates. Ali Sami Yen is remembered as the number one in the list of the club's founders, being also the first manager of the Turkish national football team in 1923 and the first president of the Turkish Olympic Committee a year later. Galatasaray's home, the Ali Sami Yen Stadium is named after him. He was a pioneer in Turkish sports' history.

• Ulvi Ziya Yenal (1908–1993): One of the first important players in Galatasaray's history, Yenal started to play football after he came to the Galatasaray Lisesi. At the age of 16, he was already a part of the newly-founded national team and won the Istanbul League Championship four times. After his retirement, he became first the president of the Turkish Football Federation and later the Tennis Federation. In 1953–54 and 1962–65, he was the president of Galatasaray A.S.

• "Aslan" Nihat Bekdik (1902–1972): Like many of his fellows, he started playing football at school, and it did not take long for him to achieve his place in the A-team. Because of his impressing performances on the pitch, the spectators (and later, fans) called him "Aslan" (which means 'Lion' in English). Bekdik was a defense player for 18 years at Galatasaray, spending the last eight years as captain, becoming Istanbul Football League champions five times. In 1936, he retired from active playing, but continued to be an active sportsman in sailing and swimming, where he won several prizes. In 1957, he became a politician and died in 1972. He is today seen as the person responsible for Galatasaray's symbol, the lion.

• "Baba" Gündüz Kılıç (1919–1980): Strong, big, well-educated, sophisticated, charismatic, charming and hungry for success. Never flashy, yet never boring. The Gündüz Kılıç Revolution started early one morning at Galatasaray in 1952, when the captain of the team hung his uniform in his locker and put on his coaching uniform and whistle, without looking back. Once the captain of the Galatasaray team, Gündüz Kılıç coached his former teammates and the bright young talents he added to the team, to several championships after eighteen long years ofpain and sorrow without a championship between 1934–1952. Every Galatasaray player, student or supporter had found an exemplary man in Gündüz Kılıç: a man that performs so well, a man that motivates so well, a man that educates so well, a man that brings out the very best in every single person he ever works with. A true gentleman on and off the field, Gündüz Kılıç has helped Galatasaray gain the momentum that carried the team and the Galatasaray society as a whole, to bright new targets. Under his leadership, Galatasaray won numerous championships, Turkish Cup titles and international matches. His visionary coaching style and strong communication skills were to be the backbone of Turkish coaching for many years to come.

• "Taçsız Kral" Metin Oktay (1936–1991): Metin Oktay joined Galatasaray in 1956 at the age of twenty. His charismatic personality, combined with his enormous talent to score from every angle, made him a fan favourite in his first few games. Aside from a short spell in Italy with Palermo, he has always been with Galatasaray. During his career at Galatasaray, Metin Oktay helped the team to raise its fan potential and stadium revenues. The football legend broke every record in Turkish Football history: Most goals by a player (632), most goals in consecutive seasons by a player (11), most goals by a player in a season (38), most goals in international competition by a Turkish player (19). Better known as “the King” by fans, he was best known for his goal against archrivals Fenerbahçe that broke the net for the gamewinner. His talent to score, matched with his physical presence on the field, made him one of the premier forwards of his time. A giant version of his Number 10 jersey is present in every Galatasaray home game.

Sponsorship

Companies that Galatasaray S.K. currently has sponsorship deals with include.

Notes

References

• Birand, M. A., & Polat, M. M. (2006). Passion that continues for 100 years. İstanbul: D Yapım. OCLC 164788939
• Turagay, U., Özgün, G., Gökçin, B., Ahunbay (2006). 17 May: The story of a championship. İstanbul: D Yapım. OCLC 169899400
• Hasol, D. (2004). Dreams/realities in Galatasaray. İstanbul: Yapı Yayın. ISBN 975-8599-44-5
• Tuncay, B. (2003). Galatasaray with European Success and Notable Players. Yapı Kredi Kü̈ltü̈r Sanat Yayıncılık. ISBN 978-975-08-0427-4
• Yamak, O. (2001). Galatasaray: Story of 95 years. Sinerji. OCLC 59287768
• Çakar, A. (1995). 90 questions about history of Galatasaray SK. Cağaloğlu, İstanbul: Demir Ajans Yayınları. OCLC 42434622
• Tekil, S. (1986). History of Galatasaray, 1905–1985. Galatasaray Spor Kulübü. OCLC 25025508
• Tekil, S. (1983). Galatasaray 1905–1982: Memories. Arset Matbaacılık Koll. Şti. OCLC 62614035
• İsfendiyar, F. (1952). History of Galatasaray. İstanbul: [Doğan Kardeş yayınları]. OCLC 27753643

External links

• (Turkish) (English) (French) Galatasaray Sports Club Official Website
• (Turkish) Galatasaray Store-Turkey&Europa
• (Turkish) ultrAslan Supporters' Group
• (Turkish) Galatasaray Multimedia Archives
• Galatasaray SK on Twitter