There’s a huge difference between Galatasaray’s away and home performances. Of course, every team can be extra motivated and improve their performance in front of their own fans. However, the reasons for this significant difference in Galatasaray’s home and away performance need to be investigated and addressed. The team has had an up-and-down performance throughout the season. True success will come when they can maintain a certain level of quality throughout the season.
Galatasaray’s only away win this year was against Ajax, a game I attended. I’m happy to have witnessed this historic 3-0 victory in a fantastic atmosphere. Apart from that game, Galatasaray lost all five of their other away games. This tendency for Galatasaray to be a lion at home and a cat away needs to be stopped.
Having made this observation, let’s now turn to the recent Liverpool game that eliminated us from the Champions League. It was a serious disappointment for all of us. Putting aside the defeat itself, the way the game was played and how subdued Galatasaray was personally upsetting me. In the Juventus game, our team was wandering around like ghosts on the field with a similar psychology until Osimhen’s goal in extra time. But in this game, the gap kept widening and the team couldn’t react at all.
Especially after Osimhen was substituted at halftime, the team’s morale dropped, and in the early part of the second half, they conceded three goals in quick succession within 11 minutes. Of course, the Juventus game was different, in my opinion. There, the Italians won fairly, without any foul play, and even though they were down to 10 men, they went 3-0 up.
Injustices and Scandals
The Liverpool game unfolded differently. The injustices and scandals throughout the game caused our morale to drop. Now let’s look at the injustices and scandals that occurred before, during, and after the game:
1) The cancellation of Galatasaray’s legitimate goal in the first game: The injustices began in the very first game in Istanbul, where we beat Liverpool 1-0. Osimhen’s legitimate goal was disallowed. Our goal was disallowed due to a passive offside decision that we cannot understand, even though Barış wasn’t involved in the play. If it hadn’t been disallowed, we would have gone to England with a 2-0 lead. Furthermore, a penalty could easily have been awarded for Sara being pushed inside the penalty area in the first game. In that case, the game would have ended 3-0.
2) Davinson Sanchez’s yellow card suspension: Davinson Sanchez, the backbone of our defense, received a yellow card in the first game and was unable to play in the second. Sanchez’s absence from defense significantly weakened Galatasaray’s defensive strength, forcing them to field a lineup composed of players unfamiliar with each other. While the team wasn’t particularly good, the defensive weaknesses led to the score difference widening.
3) Fan ban: Due to the Juventus game, Galatasaray fans were banned. This effectively eliminated the away section of the stadium, a key element in Galatasaray’s chanting, even in away games, where fans often dominate despite small numbers. The presence of their supporters is a great source of morale for Galatasaray. In the Liverpool game, Galatasaray was deprived of this strength.
4) Last-minute referee change: The game referee, Szymon Marciniak, took over as fourth official due to an injury sustained before the game. Pawel Raczkowski, the original fourth official, then refereed the game. The fourth official, who lacked proper experience, also ruined the game. He used all his discretionary powers in favor of Liverpool. He consistently ignored Liverpool’s excessive roughness and didn’t issue a single card. He awarded a scandalous penalty in favor of Liverpool in the first half. The roughness he ignored led to our team becoming intimidated.
5) Systematic roughness on the field: Liverpool players who tackled our players so hard that they could have injured them received no cards. For example, Osimhen, a striker who greatly strengthens the team, broke his arm. Mac Alister, who clearly stepped on Torreira’s foot, received no card. Players like Kanote and Szoboszlai seemed to have come onto the field to fight and intimidate our team with roughness. Our players were pushed and shoved throughout the game. Despite all this, Liverpool didn’t receive a single card.
6) The first goal, a turning point in the game, was a clear foul: Everyone saw it. Salai, running towards the ball from a corner, was grabbed and brought down by Kanote, who was essentially a butcher on the field. Szoboszlai, left unmarked, scored. A neutral referee would have given the foul without hesitation and disallowed the goal.
7) Osimhen’s broken arm: Osimhen’s substitution at halftime psychologically impacted the team. Osimhen is a great asset to the team, both on and off the field. His departure at halftime psychologically affected the team, leading to a collapse in the second half with three consecutive goals conceded.
8) Noa Lang’s scandalous negligence: None of us knew that Liverpool’s soccer field was 101 meters long and that the stands (and advertising boards) were right next to the field. We learned this with Noa Lang’s injury, which nearly severed his finger. If this had happened to a Turkish team, they would have faced all sorts of penalties, including stadium closure. What does it mean to have a finger severed? Is there anything more important than human health?
9) The vileness of shouting at a player with a broken arm: Fueled by Arne Slot, they claimed that Galatasaray players were wasting time on the ground, and they shouted at them every time they got injured. The most extreme example of this was Hungarian player Szobozslai shouting at Osimhen, who had a broken arm, “Get up, stop faking it!” Unfortunately, we witnessed this despicable behavior. Similarly, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard made an unfortunate statement saying, “Galatasaray was shameful from start to finish. You saw them rolling around on the ground, which is pathetic. They had a few serious injuries, but Liverpool made Galatasaray look ordinary.” One Galatasaray player broke his arm, another lost a finger. The truly shameful thing, in my opinion, was Gerrard still attacking Galatasaray instead of criticizing the Liverpool players who showed excessive roughness. Emotions shouldn’t override reason to this extent.
The fact that Uğurcan was the star of the game clearly shows how low Galatasaray’s team performance has fallen. While Uğurcan made some outstanding saves in this game, he could become a truly useful goalkeeper if he abandoned his obsession with bringing the ball out from the back, seemingly trying to prove his good footwork. His insistence on passing the ball from the back while the team is under pressure is causing us to concede unnecessary chances.
Statistics beyond excuses
And of course, we shouldn’t hide behind excuses. Yes, Liverpool played very aggressively, the referees favored Liverpool, Galatasaray fans weren’t allowed into the stadium, and all sorts of unfortunate events occurred. However, despite everything, the following results shouldn’t have emerged:
Shots: Liverpool 32, Galatasaray 4
Possession: Liverpool 56%, Galatasaray 44%
Passings: Liverpool 442, Galatasaray 256
Saves: Liverpool 1, Galatasaray 11
Total running distance: Liverpool 120.3 km, Galatasaray 116.9 km
Moreover, Liverpool had 2 shots hit the post, 2 goals disallowed, and missed a penalty.
For success in Europe next year…
So, Galatasaray got off lightly with a 4-0 score. We could have suffered a historic defeat. A big team like Galatasaray shouldn’t hide behind any excuses and should learn from these defeats. For Galatasaray to be successful in Europe next year, they need to take the following measures to solve their problems:
1) They need to acquire another central defender, at least as fast and intelligent as Sanchez, to play alongside him in the central defense.
2) They need to acquire at least one foreign and one domestic striker of Osimhen’s quality or close to it.
3) They need to transfer a playmaker in the midfield who can direct the game and make a mark in the Champions League.
4) They need to acquire athletic wingers to back up or replace Barış and Noa Lang.
5) They need to acquire young players capable of backing up every position in the Champions League, Turkish league, and cup. These young players must also get at least 10 minutes of playing time in every game.
Patient loyalty before club loyalty
Having said all this, I would like to state that my favorite team in England is Liverpool. My criticism of Liverpool in this article doesn’t change that. However, despite everything, my national consciousness remains intact. When my two favorite teams play against each other, of course I want Galatasaray to win.
I would advise Turks who support Liverpool in the Galatasaray-Liverpool game to prioritize patriotism over sports club fanaticism. Those who wear English jerseys and support English teams in these gamees, and those who lose control to the point of hurling unspeakable insults at Galatasaray, need to question themselves. People need to prioritize correctly and uphold the rights of being citizens of the Republic of Türkiye, founded by Atatürk, under all circumstances. National consciousness demands this.
Türk Telekom’s morale-boosting victory.
Of course, speaking of national consciousness, I’d also like to mention the victory achieved by Türk Telekom that same evening. During halftime, I turned on the quarter-final game between Türk Telekom basketball team and Hapoel Jerusalem in Belgrade, Serbia. When I started watching, it was the beginning of the fourth quarter, and the score was very close.
Basketball is like that. There was plenty of action, and the lead kept changing. With 5 seconds left, the Israeli team took the lead again. My favorite player on Türk Telekom, Allman, won the game with a last-second three-pointer. The celebration of our players after the game was worth watching. I remember jumping up and down in my seat and letting out a huge cry of victory when they won the game with that last-second shot.
In this sense, I wholeheartedly congratulate the entire team, especially Türk Telekom sports club president Savtekin Şentürk, manager Önder Külçebaş, and coach Erdem Can, and I wish Türk Telekom a championship in the Eurocup.
Turkish Basketball Teams Challenge for the Top
With this motivation, I started watching the Galatasaray game. I was leading 1-0, but it had become 2-0. While I was wondering “How did this happen?”, we conceded a third. Trying not to let it ruin my mood, I finished the game, and frankly, Türk Telekom lifted my spirits that evening.
Meanwhile, I want to emphasize that three of the four teams competing in the Eurocup semi-finals are Turkish teams. Türk Telekom will play their semi-final series against the French team JL Bourg in a best-of-three series, while Beşiktaş and Bahçeşehir will compete in the other gameup. I would very much like to see the top three teams in this tournament being Turkish teams. Similarly, in the Euroleague, I would like Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahçe to at least reach the Final Four, and even win the championship if possible.
My national consciousness demands it.
