Galatasaray S.K. (football)

Ali Sami Yen, founder of the club

The first recorded photo of Galatasaray (1905)

Galatasaray SK was founded in October 1905 (the exact day is disputed, but is traditionally accepted as "17 Teşrinievvel 1321" according to the Rumi calendar, which corresponds to "30 October 1905" according to the Gregorian calendar) by Ali Sami Yen and other students of Galatasaray High School (a high school in Istanbul which was established in 1481) as a football club. Ali Sami Yen became Galatasaray SK's first president and was given the club's membership number "1". The team's first match was against Cadi-Keuy FC and Galatasaray won this match with a score of 2–0.[15] There were discussions about the club's name, in which some suggested Gloria (victory) and others Audace (courage), but it was decided that its name would be Galatasaray.[16]

In addition to Ali Sami Yen (Club member No. 1), who was the driving force behind the club's foundation, Asim Tevfik Sonumut (2), Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu (3), Celal İbrahim (4), Boris Nikolov (5), Milo Bakić (6), Pavle Bakić (7), Bekir Sıtkı Bircan (8), Tahsin Nihat (9), Reşat Şirvanizade (10), Hüseyin Hüsnü (11), Refik Cevdet Kalpakçıoğlu (12) and Abidin Daver (13)[17] were also involved in the decision to organize such a club.

Our aim is to play together, to have a colour and a name, and to beat the non-Turkish teams.

— Ali Sami Yen

The name Galatasaray itself comes from that of Galatasaray High School, which in turn takes its name from Galata Sarayı Enderûn-u Hümâyûn (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 citadel of Galata (the modern quarter of Karaköy) in the Beyoğlu (Pera) district of Istanbul. Galatasaray literally means "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 a local Greek club, and the spectators called them "Galata Sarayı efendileri" (English: "Gentlemen of Galata Palace"), and, after this incident, 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.[18]

Since there weren't any other 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 1908–1909, they heralded the beginning of Turkish football history.[19]

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

Line up of Galatasaray in 1988-89 European Cup semi-finals

The 2000 UEFA Cup Final match line-up against Arsenal F.C., 17 May 2000

The 2000 UEFA Super Cup match line-up against Real Madrid, 25 August 2000

Türkiye Profesyonel 1. Ligi (Turkish 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 23 league titles since then.

Nihat Bekdik

Gheorghe Hagi

Hakan Şükür

The Turkish Football Federation began organizing the Turkish Cup (today it is organized with the name Ziraat Turkish 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 16 trophies since then.[20]

Probably the greatest record that the club holds is winning national championships in 15 different sport branches in the 1986–87 season. Another achievement in this period was reaching the semi-final of the European Cup in the 1988–89 season, making Galatasaray the first and only Turkish team to have played a semi-final in this competition.

Galatasaray's most successful era came in the late 1990s, when the club become the first and only Turkish football club to win a major UEFA competition. They were aided in this by one of Turkey's best generation of homegrown footballers who went on to finish third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, after having played in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2000. Besides the talented players, visiting teams also disliked traveling into Ali Sami Yen Stadium, literally dubbed "Hell" by Galatasaray supporters due to the intimidating atmosphere provided by the fans including chants and riots in the crowds.[21] Moreover, the club's fanbase had bitterness with Leeds United, following the 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence when two Leeds fans were stabbed to death by Galatasaray fans. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. The deaths led to an angry reaction in England with Galatasaray fans being banned from attending the second leg at Elland Road.

There are many successful footballers who have played for Galatasaray and made their mark on Turkish football history. The team's legendary players include Nihat Bekdik nicknamed Aslan (Lion); the 1930s national hero Eşfak Aykaç;[22] Boduri who died aged 21;[23] Mehmet Leblebi who scored a domestic record of 14 goals in a single match;[24] Gündüz Kılıç nicknamed Baba (Father) who was the coach but also the player of his team in the 1950s, with great success in both duties;[25]

Galatasaray is a team of emotions. It is a team of footballers who are in love with its colors and love each other. Galatasaray is a team of players who work with sacrifice and dedication. Galatasaray doesn't like the conceited, self-centered individuals. In short, Galatasaray is a team of people who pull the rope together, who know how to be sad together and rejoice together..

— Gündüz Kılıç

Bülent-Reha Eken brothers; Suat Mamat who scored three goals in the 1954 FIFA World Cup;[26] Coşkun Özarı who devoted his life to Galatasaray;[27] Turgay Şeren the heroic goalkeeper who was called "the Panther of Berlin";[28] Fatih Terim, the team captain of Galatasaray and Turkish national football team for many years, who won the UEFA Cup in 2000 as the team's coach;[29] Metin Oktay the legendary six-time top-scorer of the Turkish Super League;[30] Zoran Simović, another skilled goalkeeper known for his penalty saves;[31] Cüneyt Tanman who played a record of 342 games for Galatasaray;[32] Tanju Çolak, an extraordinary goalscorer and the 1988 European Golden Boot winner with Galatasaray;[33] Cevad Prekazi, an Albanian teammate of Tanju Çolak specializing in free kicks;[34] Cláudio Taffarel the World Cup-winning goalkeeper for Brazil;[35] Gheorghe Hagi, the Romanian football hero who is still described by some as the best foreign player ever to play in Turkey;[36] Brazilian striker Mário Jardel, dubbed "Super Mário" by the fans and scored both of Galatasaray's two goals in the 2000 European Super Cup Final against Real Madrid; and last, but not least, Hakan Şükür, the player who scored most goals in Süper Lig history with 249.

First crest

Galatasaray's first emblem was drawn by 333 [School Number] Şevki Ege. This was the figure of a spread-winged eagle with a football in its beak. The eagle was a model emblem that Galatasaray dwelled on in the beginning. But when the name did not attract too much interest, Şevki Ege's composition was pushed aside. It was replaced by the current design in the 1920s. This replaced in 1925 by the current "Ghayn-Sin" crest, which are the first two Arabic letters of "G"alata "S"aray, designed by Ayetullah Emin.[40]

At first, the colours of Galatasaray were red and white. These are the colours in the modern Turkish flag. The Turkish Republic, however, was not founded at that time. Therefore, this decision caused the repressive administration of the day to feel uncomfortable and the administration subsequently pressured the footballers. For this reason, on December 26, 1906, the colors were changed to yellow and black.[41] The eight-piece halved design kit was ordered from the Sports Outfitter William Shillcock based in Birmingham, United Kingdom.[42] After a heavy 0–5 loss to Baltalimanı in a friendly match the new colours yellow and black were counted as inauspicious.

We were picturing the yellow-red flames shining on our team and dreaming that it would take us to victories. Indeed it did.

— Ali Sami Yen

On 6 December 1908, for a match against the football team of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Barham, Galatasaray finally settled on playing in red and yellow, inspired by the roses which Gül Baba offered to Sultan Bayezid II.[43] Ali Sami Yen stated, "After we have been in and out of several shops, we saw two different elegant-looking wool materials in Fatty Yanko's store at Bahçekapısı (between Eminönü and Sirkeci in Istanbul, now called Bahçekapı). One of them was quite dark red, resembling the cherry color, and the other a rich yellow with a touch of orange. When the sales clerk made the two fabrics fly together with a twist of his hand they became so bright that it reminded us the beauty of a goldfinch. We thought we were looking at the colors flickering in burning fire. We were picturing the yellow-red flames shining on our team and dreaming that it would take us to victories. Indeed it did."[18]

Home kit

Galatasaray's "classic" home kit

The Galatasaray home kit have always been fundamentally the same since 1908. The traditional shirt of Galatasaray is the eight-piece halved design. This consists of the shirt's front, back and sleeves being made up of two colours, resulting in the shirt being split into eight parts. (Two same colours are never next to each other within the 8 parts.) The colours continue in an alternating order, from yellow to red. This results in the front of the shirt being the opposite of the back and the shirt also having an halved design from the side. This alternating colour order of eight parts creates a complete halved design for the shirt.[44] The classic eight-piece halved design would become the look of Galatasaray for around 80 years, until 1985 when sportswear manufacturer Adidas began to provide the shirts and the sleeves were made up by one colour and not halved. Created over a century ago, the classic Galatasaray kit combination consists of the eight-piece halved traditional shirt, white shorts and red socks and are usually worn as part of the home strip.[44] This changed in the mid-1980s, when sportswear manufacturer Adidas began to provide the shirts. The club reverted to the "classic" kit in 2012.[44][45] The official colours are Pantone shades 1235 (yellow) and 201 (red).[46]

Kit history

"The big three" clubs of Istanbul – Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray – have a century-long history of rivalry. The Galatasaray–Fenerbahçe rivalry is the primary Istanbul derby and the most important rivalry in Turkish football.[61] The rivalry poses a symbolic importance to supporters due to an assumed superiority that comes with winning the derby. Supporters are often quoted as stating that winning the league without winning the derby is hollow. There is always huge interest in the derby due to its fierce nature on and off the pitch. Many documentaries have been made about the derby including an episode of The Real Football Factories International. The rivalry has led to violence among supporters on numerous occasions, though this has been on the decline in recent years. The typical features of derby days include sell out stadiums, loud support throughout the match and taunting choreography displays by supporters before kick off.[62] Other top level İstanbul derbies include the teams; İstanbul BB and Kasımpaşa although these teams pose a minor rivalry as the history and the nationwide attention to the derbies among the big three is unmatched.

Torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters are used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on visiting teams, which fans call "welcoming them to hell".[63]

Football Management Trade I.C.

Galatasaray has one of the most successful youth facilities in Turkey. Gündüz Kılıç Youth Facilities in Florya is the center of the department. Galatasaray U21 have won the Turkish Youth League three times.[66]

Galatasaray football academy trains children between seven and fifteen. They are located in 79 sites, in Turkey, Australia, Germany, Belgium and the UK.

Companies that Galatasaray S.K. currently has sponsorship deals with include:[67]

• 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 978-975-8599-44-8
• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galatasaray S.K. (football).

Wikinews has news related to:

Galatasaray

• Galatasaray Sports Club official website (in Turkish, English, and French)
• ultrAslan Supporters' Group (in Turkish)