Fenerbahçe–Galatasaray rivalry

Updated on Feb 04, 2024

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Locale Istanbul, Turkey

Other names Ezelî Rekabet Eternal Rivalry Kıtalararası Derbi Intercontinental Derby Teams Fenerbahçe SK Galatasaray SK First meeting 17 January 1909; 108 years ago (1909-01-17) Latest meeting Fenerbahçe 2–0 Galatasaray (20 November 2016) Stadiums Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadı Türk Telekom Arena

Kıtalararası Derbi (English: Intercontinental Derby) is the name given to any football match between Fenerbahçe SK and Galatasaray SK (two major Turkish teams from the Asian and the European parts of Istanbul, respectively.) It is also known as the Ezelî Rekabet (English: Eternal Rivalry). It involves two of the most successful clubs in the Süper Lig. It is also a local derby, one of many involving Istanbul clubs. The fixture is more than a century in existence and has developed into an intense and often bitter one, traditionally attracting large attendances and nearly equal support for both teams throughout the country.

History

The first game played between the two sides was a friendly game on Sunday, 17 January 1909. The game, staged at Papazın Çayırı where Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is located today, finished 2–0 in favour of Galatasaray. Fenerbahçe achieved their first victory over Galatasaray when they defeated them 4–2 in 4th gameweek of the Istanbul Football League on Sunday, 4 January 1914.

On 21 September 2003, the two clubs played the Süper Lig game in front of a record attendance of 71,334 people, with drawing the game 2–2. The biggest win is achieved by Galatasaray with winning 7–0 in an amateur-level game. game on 12 February 1911. Fenerbahçe achieved their biggest win against Galatasaray on 6 November 2002 with 6–0, where 4 goals were scored when Fenerbahçe was one man down.

"Türkkulübü", idea to merge Fener and Galatasaray

The first league games in Turkey were held in İstanbul in 1904. This league was called Istanbul Football League originally. The teams participating were called Cadi-Keuy FC, Moda FC, Elpis FC and HMS Imogene FC. These teams were made up of the English, Greek, and Armenian minorities living in Turkey. Galatasaray SK joined the league in 1906–1907 and Fenerbahçe SK in 1909–1910. Galatasaray SK did not participate at the 1911–1912 season and the club suggested to loan Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu, Celal Ibrahim and two other Galatasaray SK players to Fenerbahçe SK for the match against Strugglers FC. But Fenerbahçe SK did not accept this offer. In 1912 Galatasaray SK president Ali Sami Yen and Fenerbahçe SK president Galip Kulaksızoğlu made a meeting. They arranged a protocol and agreed to form a strong Turkish team against the non Turkish teams in the league. According to this agreement the new club would have been called Türkkulübü (The Turkish Club), full white kit with a red star. Additionally they also agreed to set up a museum. On 23 August 1912 they presented the petition to the International Olympic Committee – Ottoman section. But because of the Balkan Wars in 1913, this agreement could not be enforced.

Rivalry starts

Friday 23 February 1934 was the day when (the not so) unexpected riots happened at a supposed to be friendly match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray played at Taksim Stadi. Both teams wanted to win badly and therefore the match had to be stopped many times because of hard fouls. The high tension on the pitch caused high tension on the stands as well. The game ended with players fighting, the pitch turned out to resemble conditions of a warzone. The referee had no choice except to abandon the match. It was the end of friendly displays between both clubs.

Professionalisation of Turkish football

The Türkiye Profesyonel 1. Ligi (today it is organized with the name Süper Lig) was formed in 1959, just after the foundation of UEFA in 1954. This is the top-flight professional league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country. The 1959 Milli Lig (National League) was the first season of professional football in Turkey. The league was made up of sixteen clubs split into two groups: the Kırmızı Grup (Red Group) and Beyaz Grup (White Group), the colours of the Turkish flag. The first season took place in the calendar year of 1959, instead of 1958-59, because the qualifying stages took place in 1958 and the final consisted of two legs took place between the winners of each group. Galatasaray won the Kırmızı Grup and Fenerbahçe won the Beyaz Grup, so both teams would play each other to determine the champion. Galatasaray won the first match 1–0. Metin Oktay scored the goal and the ball ripped the net, but Fenerbahçe won the second leg 4–0, winning 4–1 on aggregate.

Graeme Souness flag incident

It all happened in the 1995–96 season. Fenerbahçe were competing for the title with Trabzonspor while Galatasaray were struggling. When Galatasaray reached the cup final against Fenerbahçe, everybody thought it would be an easy win for Fenerbahçe. There were even some insults as if Galatasaray wasn’t a worthy opponent and the Fenerbahçe chairman also made some comments about Souness as a coach. Galatasaray surprisingly beat Fenerbahçe in the 1st leg by a Dean Saunders penalty. The 2nd leg was played in the harsh atmosphere of the Fenerbahçe stadium. After 90 minutes Fenerbahçe were leading 1–0, but in extra time Dean Saunders equalised, winning the cup for Galatasaray. Graeme Souness, with the great feeling of a great victory, took a giant Galatasaray flag and planted it in the centre of the pitch causing annoyance to the Fenerbahçe fans, of course though he was the hero for all Galatasaray fans that day.

Fan's rivalry

Fenerbahçe SK and Galatasaray SK are the most popular Turkish clubs; both sides have large fanbases that follow them in domestic and international matches. Football hooliganism is a very common phenomenon between their fans in recent years, featuring anything from breaking seats, cursing, fighting, fireworks and street rioting. The hatred is so intense that many violent incidents have taken place in several regions of Istanbul as well as in rest of Turkey, especially before or after a derby.

Football rivalry

Both clubs compete with each other for the title of the most successful football club in Turkey, as well as the greatest Turkish sports club overall. Their football departments have always been the most popular among their fans, but the rivalry also extends into other team sports such as basketball, volleyball, athletics and rowing. Fenerbahçe SK football section is more successful in the Kıtalar Arası Derbi games, while Galatasaray SK boast their success in winning the 2000 UEFA Cup Final and the 2000 UEFA Super Cup, being the only Turkish team to have these achievements. Galatasaray have been champions of Süper Lig 20 times, while Fenerbahçe have been 19 times. Galatasaray won the Turkish Cup 17 times and Fenerbahçe won it 6 times.

On 12 May 2013, the two clubs met at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, the match was a dark page in the history of the rivalry between the two clubs. After the match, which resulted in a 2–1 victory for Fenerbahçe, 19-year-old Fenerbahçe fan Burak Yıldırım was stabbed to death by a Galatasaray hooligan. Also, at the same match, a Fenerbahçe fan made racist chants directed at the African players of Galatasaray. These claims were later denied by the said supporter. In the year 2006 Galatasaray supporters opened a racist banner which targeted Mehmet Aurelio, player of Fenerbahçe and the Turkish National Team with Brazilian roots. The message on the banner is stating that "one cannot become Mehmet, but can only be born as Mehmet".

Culture

The rivalry between the two top Turkish clubs can be traced back to some social, cultural and regional differences. Galatasaray was founded in 1905 by Galatasaray High School students, thus Galatasaray was considered the classic representative of the high class society of Istanbul. On the other hand, Fenerbahçe was founded by local men in the district of Kadıköy on the Asian side of Istanbul in 1907. Fenerbahçe was known as the peoples club and was considered the representative of the blue-collar workers. Fenerbahçe attracted fans from all over Turkey because of their act of valour in times of war and for winning the first non-domestic competition in Turkish football history, while Galatasaray was heavily supported by aristocrats from Istanbul, however they managed to close the gap between the two clubs after clinching the UEFA Cup in 2000. The class differences between the fanbases have faded out and the social gap that once separated the two sides has closed over the years. Nowadays, both clubs boast fanbases that represent all the social classes.

Supporters

In a 2011 poll 1.4 million Turks were asked for the team that they support in Turkey by bilyoner.com, the results ended with Galatasaray scoring 35% of the votes while Fenerbahçe scored 34% making up almost seven tenths of the fans.

Both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe also have a minor global following with Galatasaray considered the largest following of the two clubs.

Head-to-head ranking in Süper Lig

• Total: Fenerbahçe 31 times higher, Galatasaray 27 times higher.

Head to Head

As of 2 December 2016

Crossing the Bosphorus

(In bold: Transfer between both clubs)

Galatasaray to Fenerbahçe

Hamit Hüsnü Kayacan (Gala 1905–1912, Fener 1912–1913)

Galip Kulaksızoğlu (Gala 1906–1907, Fener 1907–1922)

Hasan Kâmil Sporel (Gala 1910–1911, Fener 1918–1923)

Hikmet Topuzer (Gala 1909, Fener 1909–1915)

Ismail Kurt (Gala 1956–1960, Fener 1960–1966)

Mehmet Oğuz (Gala 1967–1979, Fener 1979–1980)

Engin Verel (Gala 1973–1975, Fener 1975-1979/1983-1986)

Güngör Tekin (Gala 1975–1980, Fener 1981–1983)

Erdoğan Arıca (Gala 1977–1981, Fener 1981–1986)

Semih Yuvakuran (Gala 1983–1990, Fener 1990–1995)

Tanju Çolak (Gala 1987–1991, Fener 1991–1993)

Mustafa Yücedağ (Gala 1990–1992, Fener 1992–1993)

Benhur Babaoğlu (Gala 1993–1994, Fener 1996–1997)

Elvir Bolić (Gala 1992–1993, Fener 1995–2000)

Emre Belözoğlu (Gala 1994–2001, Fener 2008–2015)

Sedat Balkanlı (Gala 1994–1995, Fener 1996)

Saffet Sancaklı (Gala 1994–1995, Fener 1996–1998)

Fatih Akyel (Gala 1997–2001, Fener 2002–2004)

Mehmet Yozgatlı (Gala 1999–2001, Fener 2004–2007)

Caner Erkin (Gala 2009–2010, Fener 2010–2016)

Mehmet Topal (Gala 2006–2010, Fener 2012–)

Fenerbahçe to Galatasaray

Dalaklı Hüseyin (Fenerbahçe 1907–1911, Galatasaray 1911–1913)

Horace Armitage (Fener 1908, Gala 1908–1911)

Bekir Refet (Fener 1912–1914, Gala 1921)

Niyazi Tamakan (Fener 1952–1960, Gala 1960–1962)

Naci Erdem (Fener 1953–1964, Gala 1964–1966)

Raşit Çetiner (Fener 1978–1981, Gala 1981–1986)

Hasan Vezir (Fener 1988–1989, Gala 1989–1991)

Selçuk Yula (Fener 1979–1986, Gala 1991–1993)

Erhan Önal (Fener 1981–1982, Gala 1985–1992)

İlyas Tüfekçi (Fener 1983–1986, Gala 1986–1990)

Emre Aşık (Fener 1993–1996, Gala 2000-2003/2006-2007/2008-2010)

Ahmet Yıldırım (Fener 1993–1994, Gala 1999–2001)

Elvir Baljić (Fener 1998–1999, Gala 2002–2004)

Abdullah Ercan (Fener 1999–2003, Gala 2003–2004)

Sergen Yalçın (Fener 1999–2000, Gala 2000/2001-2002)

Haim Revivo (Fener 2000–2002, Gala 2002–2003)

Servet Çetin (Fener 2003–2006, Gala 2007–2012)

Stjepan Tomas (Fener 2003–2004, Gala 2004–2007)

Colin Kazim-Richards (Fener 2007–2011, Gala 2011–2012)

Burak Yılmaz (Fener 2008–2010, Gala 2012–2016)

Olcan Adın (Fener 2003–2008, Gala 2014–2016)

Bilal Kısa (Fener 2000–2003, Gala 2015–2016)

Galatasaray to Fenerbahce

Peter Molloy (Gala 1947–1949, Fener 1949–1951)

Tomislav Kaloperović (Gala 1968–1970, Fener 1976–1978)

Tomislav Ivić (Gala 1983–1984, Fener 1995)

Mustafa Denizli (Gala 1987-1989/1990-1992, 2015-2016 Fener 2000–2002)

Fenerbahce to Galatasaray

Jozsef Svensk (Fener 1932-1935/1938-1939, Gala 1947)

László Székely (Fener 1951–1953, Gala 1953–1954)

References

Fenerbahçe–Galatasaray rivalry Wikipedia

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