Zenit St. Petersburg, Anzhi Makhachkala and Shakhtar Donetsk are the three sides leading the resurgence of Eastern European football, as big money catapults them into the continent’s elite. Yet on the other side of the Black Sea lies a club who could be even bigger still – Turkish giants Galatasaray.
In January, the Super Lig champions signed Ivorian centre forward Didier Drogba and Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder, two of the most iconic players of the current generation. Both are arguably past their best, yet not by much, and that they have chosen Galatasaray is a substantial coup for the Istanbul outfit.
It is not just Drogba and Sneijder who underline Galatasaray’s growing stature though. Johan Elmander, Emmanuel Eboue and Albert Riera have all moved to Turkey from England’s Premier League. Fernando Muslera, the Uruguay goalkeeper, like Felipe Melo, was lured from Italy. Hamit Altintop arrived from Real Madrid. This is a team increasingly capable of attracting genuine stars and quality, although Drogba completed the 10-strong allocation of foreign players Turkish teams are allowed.
On the outskirts of the European side of Istanbul, Gala have much going for them at present. To afford the marquee signings of Sneijder and Drogba requires substantial wealth, but in that Galatasaray are not quite the usual story of a ridiculously wealthy billionaire cherry picking the lucky recipients of his generosity. They do have an owner, energy magnate Unal Aysal, who boasts a fortune of some €380M, which of course helps boost the club coffers. Yet generating revenues naturally is the order of the day in the age of UEFA’s financial fair play rules and two other major factors have helped in this respect. One was a complex share issue which raised in excess of €75M in 2010. The other was the construction of a new stadium as Galatasaray moved from the Ali Sami Yen stadium in the centre of the city to closer to the outskirts, and the Turk Telekom Arena.
Moving to a new stadium might seem nothing out of the ordinary, but this was no normal move. The new stadium was funded by the government, effectively meaning taxpaying Fenerbahce and Besiktas fans, among others, have poured money into building a ground which has helped elevate Galatasaray above them. Not just controversial, it is also a little strange given that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a Fenerbahce fan.
Unlike Fenerbahce and many of their rivals, Galatasaray have also been boosted by being the only major side in Turkey not affected by the match fixing scandal of 2011. The scandal led to Fenerbahce being kicked out of the Champions League and although numerous officials, players and clubs were implicated, the champions were not amongst them. Revelling in the moral high ground off the pitch, they roared to success on it when they lifted the Super Lig title last season.
All of these factors and more make Galatasaray Turkey’s leading force and there is no reason to think that they cannot now go on and emerge as a coming giant of the European game. Signings like Sneijder and Drogba can do for Gala what Robinho did for Manchester City or Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Paris Saint-Germain and act as a magnet for other stars, illustrating the club’s growing ambition and profile. And given that Turkey has been relatively unaffected by the same economic problems afflicting the rest of Europe, there is yet more reason for optimism. The only country with both the will and the finances to afford to host an enlarged 24-team European Championship in 2020, Turkish football is on the rise and Galatasaray are leading their charge.
However, unlike some of the nouveau riche of Europe, from Manchester City in the west to Shakhtar Donetsk in the east, the Istanbul outfit have a rich and illustrious history of success. Turkey’s most successful club, they will set a new record of 19 league titles if they retain the Super Lig this year. One of only three teams to have competed in every season of the Turkish top flight, they are also the most well-supported club in the country and accountants Deloitte rated Galatasaray as one of the clubs to watch in their latest financial report of European football. This is not a team who have needed a helping hand to the top. They are also the only Turkish team to have won a European trophy, when they lifted the UEFA Cup in 2000.
And their fans are quite loud too. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville rates the noise at Galatasaray as the loudest he ever heard during his playing career and the notoriously boisterous fans have only got louder if anything since their move to the outskirts of Istanbul. With over twice as many supporters now able to watch games, a recent recording at the Turk Telekom Arena found the noise level as high as 131 decibels.
The most important thing as ever is what happens on the pitch though and Galatasaray have a very safe pair of hands in veteran coach Fatih Terim. His side are well organised, combative and attacking, and look to use width to stretch their opponents before sending crosses into the box for their two centre forwards. The central midfield duo of Felipe Melo and Selcuk Inan is a match for most, a combination of defensive nous, technical skill and passing prowess. Their forceful partnership negates the need for a central three, as many teams play, although the addition of Sneijder means a rethink is now necessary for Terim if he is to accommodate the Dutchman in his side. As ever, signing big names is no guarantee of success and integrating them into a winning team is a dilemma for any coach. But if Terim can get it right, he can guide Galatasaray on a path that could see them join Europe’s leading clubs.
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