In reality, Galatasaray’s drama began before the league even began. For the first time in its history, a Swedish team, Östersunds, was eliminated by the European champions in July. Having achieved their greatest success in history by winning the Swedish Cup the previous season and securing a Europa League ticket, Östersunds FK continued their run of historic successes by also eliminating Galatasaray in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League.
Östersund, the red-and-black team that eliminated Galatasaray, a team with a history spanning over a century and of which we have always been proud, was founded in 1996 by merging three teams from its home city and began its journey in 1997 in the third division of Swedish soccer.
They defeated Galatasaray 2-0 at home in their first game. A 1-1 draw against Galatasaray in the second game secured their place in the next round, a feat everyone considered highly unlikely.
Overloading the team with conditioning in July
In fact, before this game, an acquaintance of mine who had played professional basketball in the past commented to me:
“I’ve noticed that Tudor puts a lot of conditioning on its players. In the first few weeks of these training sessions, there’s a significant drop in players’ performance, and then the professional athletes get into great shape. I’m afraid the drop in performance caused by this demanding schedule doesn’t translate to Östersunds, which could knock us out. Then, when the league starts, they’ll probably easily beat everyone. This lasts for 7-8 weeks. Then, as the body naturally reacts, players generally experience a slump after such an intense effort and a performance that overwhelms their opponents. I hope Galatasaray makes it through those weeks without any serious losses. If so, Galatasaray is the strongest contender for the championship.”
The predictions of this acquaintance, who possesses considerable knowledge of professional sports, are spot on.
The Galatasaray players were practically unable to lift themselves against Östersunds. Their exhaustion was palpable. Due to the timing of the Swedish league, Östersunds, who had been in better form than our teams, looked very sharp against Galatasaray and deservedly eliminated us.
When the league started, just as my friend predicted, they drew only at Antalyaspor’s home turf in the first eight weeks. They won all the remaining games, scoring a total of 20 goals. The decline began with the home game against Fenerbahçe in Week 9. We drew 0-0 with Fenerbahçe and lost 2-1 away to Trabzonspor. After that, we suffered defeats in the games we played against our biggest rivals. Our 5-1 defeat to Başakşehir and 3-0 defeat to Beşiktaş in Week 12 deeply upset the entire club. Our 2-1 defeat to Yeni Malatyaspor in Week 16 was the final straw, and the management decided to part ways with Tudor and appoint Fatih Terim, who has served Galatasaray well in the past, to manage the team for the fourth time. This move proved successful.
Fatih Terim’s biggest motivation was to “make up for his personal mistake”
Because this time, Fatih Terim took over the team at a time when he was perhaps most hungry for success.
You may recall that Fatih Terim, while still in charge of the national team, was first worn down by the Arda Turan incident. It was alleged that he had cited Burak Yılmaz and Selçuk İnan, along with Arda, as potential culprits in raising bonuses and had even misled a journalist into this matter. I also wrote a blog post about Arda Turan: http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/arda-turana-abi-nasihatlari
Incidentally, after this post, Arda, through intermediaries, said he wanted to meet me and invited us to Barcelona, but unfortunately, Arda’s transfer to Başakşehir canceled that trip. Arda did the exact opposite of my advice. We never got to meet him after he came to Türkiye. He needs to get his act together. His career, in my opinion, is currently being ruined by bad decisions.
Returning to Fatih Terim, following the Arda Turan incident, Terim was also involved in a scandalous altercation. Terim, already criticized for his aggressive and arrogant demeanor, committed the most negative act of his life. Of course, we read about the incident in the newspapers: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/kebapcida-yumruk-yumruga-1862017-40521357
According to reports, Fatih Terim’s son-in-law, Ahmet Baran Çetin, opened a restaurant called Beeves Steak House next to Yüzevler Kebab in Alaçatı, Çeşme. When Çetin erected a screen in front of his restaurant, objections arose, saying it “didn’t fit into the overall landscape” and demanded its removal. Çetin then contacted his father-in-law, Fatih Terim, to ask for his assistance. Fatih Terim called Selahattin Aydoğdu, the owner of Yüzevler Kebab, at 8:15 PM the night before, saying, “Why are you intervening? Don’t make me come there!” Aydoğdu, in turn, cursed him, saying, “If you don’t come, your f*ck…!” Following these words, Fatih Terim, along with his sons-in-law Ahmet Baran Çetin and Volkan Bahçekapılı, and two of his personal guards, left Bodrum for Çeşme, Alaçatı, after 9:00 PM. Around 12:10 AM, Fatih Terim jumped over the wall of Yüzevler Kebab and approached Selahattin Aydoğdu. He threw a punch at Aydoğdu, but it missed. Aydoğdu then punched him several times. Terim’s entourage and the restaurant’s waiters joined in, and a major brawl broke out. The brawl, which sent tables, chairs, and plates flying, lasted three to four minutes. Terim and his entourage then fled the scene.
Ironically, Fatih Terim, a native of Adana, had a falling out with Selahattin Aydoğdu, another Adana native and a former member of the Turkish Soccer Federation, and was subsequently dismissed from his position as Director of Soccer by the Turkish Soccer Federation. I’m not writing these incidents to offend anyone, and perhaps there were other circumstances we’re unaware of. However, from my outside observation, I can confidently say this: It was unbecoming of Fatih Terim, one of the two most successful managers in Turkish soccer (the other being Şenol Güneş), to be involved in such an incident. The Turkish Soccer Directorate carries a certain weight. He likely got carried away and couldn’t contain himself. Instead of fleeing from Bodrum to Alaçatı, he could have complained to the relevant authorities about Selahattin Aydoğdu and acted accordingly. In short, this incident was unbecoming of Fatih Terim. Knowing this, he encountered a much more mature, success-hungry, and deliberate Fatih Terim in his speech and actions this time at Galatasaray. And it was a very good thing.
The Fatih Terim difference is hungry for success
He instilled the belief, motivation, and ambition Galatasaray needed. The players performed well in the most crucial games, and despite some away losses against Sivasspor, Kasımpaşa, and Gençlerbirliği, they won all their home games and, in the final weeks, collected the necessary away points, bringing Galatasaray its 21st championship.
The sweetest expression of championship
The best part was that they achieved this by establishing a strong connection with the fans. The most memorable event of the season was when Galatasaray fans filled Galatasaray Türk Telekom Stadium the day before their away game against Fenerbahçe, demonstrating just how much support they could bring to their team even during a simple training session. Naturally, this enthusiasm fueled Galatasaray’s eventual home victory over their biggest rival, Fenerbahçe, years later.
They defeated their biggest rivals, Trabzonspor, Başakşehir, and Beşiktaş, each with a dominant performance, scoring two goals each, and won the championship in a manner that no one could dispute. Congratulations to the entire community.
I’d like to share the footage of the championship celebration at our stadium with you. We all share this immense enthusiasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khqC2UfSud8
I can say that there are two important architects of this championship. As you can tell from the title of this article, I’ve already cited Fatih Terim as one of its architects. However, perhaps there’s another factor even more important than Fatih Terim. It’s important to give credit where credit is due: former Galatasaray manager Tudor and the scouting team that worked closely with him built a strong team practically from scratch. Tudor’s managerial tenure was ineffective, but he left Galatasaray with a strong team. Without players who had proven themselves throughout their careers and possessed strong character, this championship wouldn’t have been possible. Fatih Terim capitalized on the solid foundation he built. I hope he continues to work with the same scouting team.
The lack of Turkish soccer players in the team is a shame
In this regard, I’d also like to offer some self-criticism. The low number of Turkish players on the team personally bothers me. The fact that some games have no Turkish players at all, and others feature only one, clearly demonstrates the decline of Turkish soccer. Can you imagine, the fans constantly chanting at games: “We won the championship four years in a row, we became the kings of Europe… We won the championship four years in a row, we became the kings of Europe… History will write the truth, and history will be written by Galatasaray…”
I used the emotional chant above as an example. Do Turkish soccer players get pumped up by this chant and play extra hard? They do. But do these chants mean anything to foreign players? Only our fans get the feeling that “they’re singing something like a song, an anthem, they’re behind us,” right? It’s like a joke, the entire stadium erupts with pumped-up chants, but foreigners don’t understand the chants. I used this as an example. I believe a 50-50 rule should be implemented in Turkish soccer, excluding the goalkeeper. This means at least five Turkish players must be on every team. Then, we can call our teams the ‘Turkish Team.’ Don’t let anyone tell me the clichés that “industrial soccer is going somewhere else.” We must maximize the contribution of amateur and professional sports in the country to the citizens. Otherwise, these sports competitions are meaningless. In this regard, I want to emphasize this point again, referring to sports club managers: MAKE THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE! MAKE THIS INVESTMENT WITH A LONG-TERM THINKING AND BE PATIENT! BRING THE MOST PROFESSIONAL MANAGERS IN THIS BUSINESS TO WORK SCIENTIFICALLY ON INFRASTRUCTURE!
Implement models like Ajax and Barcelona. Develop new models that will encompass all of Türkiye. Who knows what valuable assets are being lost due to a lack of system.
Has Fatih Terim been cleared of this championship?
One of the issues those around me are discussing is whether Fatih Terim has been exonerated by this championship. In my opinion, this championship hasn’t exonerated him. It’s only increased his popularity. For him to be exonerated, he must be proven right in the courts and demonstrate the same mature attitude from now on, everywhere.
Ali Koç’s declarations
I’d like to emphasize one last time: The presidential race at our arch-rival Fenerbahçe continues at full speed. Appearing on CNN Türk this weekend, Ali Koç stated that the federation and clubs could come together off the field to stop the atmosphere of violence in soccer, saying “The environment we’re in is one of violence and hatred. The atmosphere of violence between clubs must end. It’s common to hear things like, ‘Galatasaray fans hate Fenerbahçe fans, Fenerbahçe fans hate Galatasaray fans.’ It wasn’t like that in the past. There needs to be constructive competition off the field. Fenerbahçe can be a driving force for change.” You can find the relevant news at https://www.cnnturk.com/spor/futbol/fenerbahce-baskan-adayi-ali-koc-cnn-turkte.
I hope he’s sincere in what he says. Because if this atmosphere of brotherhood and common sense were to prevail, a significant portion of the problems in Turkish soccer would be resolved.
Personally, as a die-hard Galatasaray fan, I don’t hate Fenerbahçe. In fact, I wholeheartedly support Fenerbahçe in all its European Cup games. Our hope is that Turkish soccer will move away from the perception of championships as the sole criterion for success, fostering brotherhood and ensuring that sports contribute significantly to the development of our country.
I’m including the image I took of a T-shirt sold at the Galatasaray Store here as a symbolic representation. Turkish sports should be shaped exactly as Atatürk said, “I like athletes who are intelligent, agile, and moral.”
Tag: lifestyle
