A year crowned with championships!

In 2019, almost every soccer team I supported claimed championships in different leagues. I’ve previously written about the first of these, Modafen, our neighborhood team, leading its group in the BAL League and winning the promotion game to the 3^rd league, thus becoming a professional. You can find these articles at https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/mahallemizin-gururu-sampiyon-modafen  and https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/okullu-sporcu-yetistiren-sampiyon-modafen-modeli .

Cimbom’s unstoppable rise

I was delighted that my team in Turkey, Galatasaray, also became the Turkish League champion this year. Galatasaray, which seemed unlikely to win the title after the first half, fell 11 points behind, but managed to miraculously pull through, according to some. I say ‘some’ because I personally had no doubt we would win the title. From the very beginning, I kept telling my close circle, “You’ll see, Galatasaray will be champions again.” And indeed, that’s exactly what happened.

Galatasaray’s 22^nd championship came just in time this year. They’ve surpassed their closest rival, Fenerbahçe, which boasts 19 championships and 3 stars, with 4 stars and 22 championships. However, Galatasaray holds a clear advantage in championships and cups won in Turkey. Let me list the top 5 in total trophies won in Turkey: Galatasaray in first place with 74 trophies, Fenerbahçe in second with 56 trophies, Beşiktaş in third with 51 trophies, Trabzonspor in fourth with 27 trophies, and Ankaragücü in fifth with 5 trophies. In other words, Galatasaray has a nearly 20-trophy lead over its closest rival. To give you a detailed picture:

The team, struggling at the start of the season without a striker and with serious defensive shortcomings, finished the first half in 5th place with a meager 29 points, six points behind leaders Başakşehir. Then, the smart signings during the mid-season break, the team’s focus, and their unified commitment to the championship brought them the championship. The defensive signings of Marcao and Luyindama allowed the team, which had conceded 21 goals in the first half, to concede significantly fewer, resulting in a much more resilient team. The contributions of the forward signings of Mitroglou and Diagne, in my opinion, fell short of expectations, but they carried the team with their goals in crucial moments. The improved performances of Feghouli and Onyekuru had a very positive impact on the team in the second half.

A proud year despite some mistakes

We have left behind a year in which we struggled at times as a team but achieved results. Despite all these positive developments, there were, of course, some things I didn’t like. The team’s starting eleven was largely comprised of foreigners, Galatasaray’s congress was marked by Byzantine tactics that were unbecoming of the club, Fatih Terim and the coaching staff caused two incidents and received serious penalties despite all the good work, our inability to defeat Fenerbahçe at home this year, even due to the referee’s influence, the unfortunate two serious injuries suffered by a valuable player with character like Emre Akbaba, and our poor performance in European competitions were all negative factors this year.

Emre Akbaba was consoled by his teammates and the entire stadium…

Despite everything, I’m proud of my team and my club, and I hope this positive momentum continues into the new season. I wish my team success in the new season, as we strive for the 23^rd championship. I believe we should at least qualify from the group stage in the Champions League this year. Come on, Cimbom, show everyone once again that you are Turkey’s pride in Europe this year.

This year, Galatasaray managed to unite the team, especially in the second half of the league, and won the championship.

Incredible Comebacks and Liverpool

This year, I was delighted to see my favorite English team, Liverpool, win the Champions League. The quarterfinals and semifinals were particularly mind-blowing.

Let’s start with Dutch club Ajax, renowned for consistently developing players of both mental and physical caliber. Ajax were drawn against Spanish giants Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 and lost the first leg 2-1 at home. The Dutch team put on an unexpected performance against their Spanish opponent, winning 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Ajax were drawn against Juventus in the quarterfinals. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, with everyone expecting Juventus to advance. After trailing 1-0 thanks to Ronaldo’s header, Ajax secured two goals through Van de Beek and Matthijs de Ligt, advancing to the semifinals.

The Grasshoppers had already pulled off two miraculous leaps to reach the semifinals. However, the third time around, the odds were stacked against them. This time, Ajax witnessed a miraculous comeback against themselves and were eliminated.

In the second leg of the semi-final, the Ajax-Tottenham Hotspur game, the English team came from 2-0 down away to win 3-2 with a hat-trick from Moura, one of which came in the nick of time, and advanced to the Champions League final for the first time in their history.

An English embargo on European finals

Now, let’s look at Liverpool’s miraculous encounters. Liverpool faced one of the toughest draws this year in the Round of 16, facing German giants Bayern Munich. Liverpool had already struggled to reach the final after a 0-0 draw at home in the first leg. Despite this, the red-and-whites scored three goals away from home and were pitted against Porto in the quarter-finals. However, the real bombshell was the second leg defeat of Barcelona, ​​considered the best soccer team in the world by many authorities, 4-0 at home.

This year, we witnessed a rare English final in both leagues. Chelsea emerged victorious in the UEFA Europa League game against Arsenal, taking the trophy to their museum. In the Champions League, Liverpool defeated another English team, Tottenham Hotspur, 2-0, to win the trophy.

2019 Champions League Champions Liverpool

Liverpool’s Champions League title delighted me. This was Liverpool’s sixth Champions League title. Congratulations, Liverpool! You will never walk alone. Meanwhile, despite earning an astronomical 97 points in the English league, Liverpool lost the Premier League title by just one point to Manchester City. However, I’d like to point out that manager Klopp has done a fantastic job at Liverpool. And of course, there’s Guardiola’s factor. The English league this year has been a “Liverpool and Manchester City” versus “the others.” I hope Liverpool dominates the league next year.

An honorable message from Liverpool about EkoRE

Incidentally, it was a matter of particular pride for me that my favorite team, Liverpool, contacted me before production even began, requesting EkoRE’s support for their environmental goals and requesting sponsorship in this regard. The message I received reads as follows:

“We anticipate that you have received the Liverpool FC document recently delivered to EkoRE’s Turkey headquarters on your behalf. In addition to this booklet, which aims to provide an insight into our club, I would like to contact you at the earliest opportunity to share more detailed information about the unique ways we connect with our hundreds of millions of followers around the world.

I would be excited to learn more about EkoRE’s work and to share with you the contributions Liverpool FC can make to raise public awareness of the renewable energy services and solutions you offer. As one of the organizations leading the world’s transition to a clean energy economy, we believe we can support your efforts through a unique platform dedicated to promoting the latest solutions developed and offered by EkoRE.” It’s an honor for me to receive such a message from a team like Liverpool before we even begin production at EkoRE. I want to help my favorite teams promote sustainability, not just this year, but in the future. Soccer is a crucial stage, and these messages, which will encourage sustainability for human development, absolutely must be conveyed on this stage. To illustrate, I’d like to share some images from the file Liverpool sent me: