Galatasaray S.K. (football)

Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (Turkish pronunciation: [galataˈsaɾaj spoɾ kuˈlyby], Galatasaray Sports Club), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray, is a Turkish professional football club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul. It is the association football branch of the larger Galatasaray Sports Club of the same name, itself a part of the Galatasaray Community Cooperation Committee which includes Galatasaray High School where the football club was founded in October 1905 consisting entirely of student members. The team traditionally play in dark shades of red and yellow at home, with the shirts split down the middle between the two colours.
Galatasaray is one of three teams to have participated in all seasons of the Süper Lig since 1959, following the dissolution of the Istanbul Football League.
Galatasaray also has the most Süper Lig (24), Turkish Cup (18) and Turkish Super Cup (17) titles in Turkey, thus making them the most successful football club in Turkey, as those competitions are the top nationwide Turkish professional leagues and cups that are recognized and accounted for in accordance to the regulations set by the Turkish Football Federation and UEFA.
Galatasaray is also the most successful Turkish club in European competitions. Internationally, Galatasaray has won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2000, becoming the first and only Turkish team to win a major UEFA competition. In the 1999–2000 season, the club achieved the rare feat of completing a treble by winning the Süper Lig, the Turkish Cup, and the UEFA Cup in a single season. Despite having reached several times the quarter-finals and also once the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League campaign, the club has not won the trophy so far. Galatasaray is also the only Turkish club to have been ranked first on the IFFHS World Rankings. According to the same international organization, Galatasaray is the best Turkish club of the 20th century, and the 20th most successful club in Europe. Galatasaray is the 11th most participated team in the Champions League, the 18th team to play the most matches and the 24th team to collect the most points.
Since 2011, the club's stadium has been the 53,798-capacity Rams Park in Seyrantepe, Istanbul. Previously, the club played at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, as well as a succession of other grounds in Istanbul, which included groundshares with Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe at the Taksim Stadium and İnönü Stadium.
The club has a long-standing rivalry with other Istanbul teams, namely with Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe. The derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe is dubbed the Kıtalar Arası Derbi (English: Intercontinental Derby) due to the location of their headquarters and stadiums on the European (Galatasaray) and Asian (Fenerbahçe) sides of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul.
Galatasaray SK was founded in October 1905 (the exact day is disputed, but is traditionally accepted as "30 October 1905" according to the Gregorian calendar) by Ali Sami Yen and other students of Galatasaray High School (a high school in Istanbul which was established in 1481) as a football club. Ali Sami Yen became Galatasaray SK's first president and was given the club's membership number "1". The team's first match was against Cadi-Keuy FC and Galatasaray won this match with a score of 2–0. There were discussions about the club's name, in which some suggested Gloria (victory) and others Audace (courage), but it was decided that its name would be Galatasaray.
In addition to Ali Sami Yen (Club member No. 1), who was the driving force behind the club's foundation, Asim Tevfik Sonumut (2), Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu (3), Celal İbrahim (4), Boris Nikolov (5), Milo Bakić (6), Pavle Bakić (7), Bekir Sıtkı Bircan (8), Tahsin Nihat (9), Reşat Şirvanizade (10), Hüseyin Hüsnü (11), Refik Cevdet Kalpakçıoğlu (12) and Abidin Daver (13) were also involved in the decision to organize such a club.
The name Galatasaray itself comes from that of Galatasaray High School, which in turn takes its name from Galata Sarayı Enderûn-u Hümâyûn (Galata Palace Imperial School), the name of the original school founded on the site in 1481, and which in turn took its name from the nearby medieval Genoese citadel of Galata (the modern quarter of Karaköy) in the Beyoğlu (Pera) district of Istanbul. Galatasaray literally means "Galata palace".
According to researcher Cem Atabeyoğlu, Galatasaray took its name from one of its first matches. In that match, Galatasaray won 2–0 over a local Greek club, and the spectators called them "Galata Sarayı efendileri" (English: "Gentlemen of Galata Palace"), and, after this incident, they adopted that name and started to call their club "Galata Sarayı". In 1905, during the era of the Ottoman Empire, there were no laws for associations so the club could not be registered officially, but, after the 1912 Law of Association, the club registered legally.
Since there weren't any other Turkish teams, Galatasaray joined the Istanbul League that was consisting of English and Greek teams in the season of 1905–1906. With their first championship title they won in 1908–1909, they heralded the beginning of Turkish football history.
While football in Turkey began to fully develop, Galatasaray won ten more Istanbul League titles until 1952. Upon the initiation of professional football in 1952, the first professional but non-national league of Turkey, Istanbul Professional League, was played between 1952 and 1959. Galatasaray won three of these seven titles.
Türkiye Profesyonel 1. Ligi (Turkish Super League today) formed in 1959. This is the top-flight professional league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country. Galatasaray joined all seasons and won 24 league titles since then.
The Turkish Football Federation began organizing the Turkish Cup in the 1962–63 season for Turkish clubs to qualify for the UEFA competitions. This is the only national cup competition in Turkey. Galatasaray joined all seasons and won 16 trophies since then.
Historically, one of the clubs biggest achievements came in the 1986-1987 season where they won national championships in 15 different sport branches. Another achievement in this period was reaching the semi-final of the European Cup in the 1988–89 seasonmaking Galatasaray the first and only Turkish team to have played a semi-final in this competition.
Galatasaray's most successful era came in the late 1990s, when the club become the first and only Turkish football club to win a major UEFA competition with 1999–2000 UEFA Cup. They were aided in this by one of Turkey's best generation of homegrown footballers who went on to finish third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, after having played in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2000. Besides the talented local players, the home stadium of Ali Sami Yen Stadium created a huge advantage, as it was literally dubbed "Hell" by media and the visitors due to the intimidating atmosphere provided by the fans including chants and riots in the crowds.
There are many successful footballers who have played for Galatasaray and made their mark on Turkish football history. The team's legendary players include Nihat Bekdik nicknamed Aslan (Lion); the 1930s national hero Eşfak Aykaç; Boduri who died aged 21; Mehmet Leblebi who scored a domestic record of 14 goals in a single match; Gündüz Kılıç nicknamed Baba (Father) who was the coach but also the player of his team in the 1950s, with great success in both duties;
Bülent-Reha Eken brothers; Suat Mamat who scored three goals in the 1954 FIFA World Cup; Coşkun Özarı who devoted his life to Galatasaray; Turgay Şeren the heroic goalkeeper who was called "the Panther of Berlin" for his national duties; Fatih Terim, the team captain of Galatasaray and Turkish national football team for many years, who won the UEFA Cup in 2000 as the team's coach; Metin Oktay the legendary six-time top-scorer of the Turkish Super League; Zoran Simović, another skilled goalkeeper known for his penalty saves; Cüneyt Tanman who played a record of 342 games for Galatasaray; Tanju Çolak, an extraordinary goalscorer and the 1988 European Golden Boot winner with Galatasaray; Cevad Prekazi, an Albanian specializing in free kicks; Cláudio Taffarel the World Cup-winning goalkeeper for Brazil; Gheorghe Hagi, the Romanian football hero who is still described by some as the best foreign player ever to play in Turkey; Brazilian striker Mário Jardel, dubbed "Super Mário" by the fans and scored both of Galatasaray's two goals in the 2000 UEFA Super Cup match against Real Madrid along with Okan Buruk who was the man of the match and the current coach; and Hakan Şükür, the player who scored most goals in Süper Lig history with 249.
Galatasaray (Turkish pronunciation: [ɡalatasaˈɾaj]) is a quarter in Karaköy in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. Its name comes from that of Galata, which may in turn have derived from Galatai (meaning the "Galatians"), as the Celtic tribes were thought to have camped at Galata during the Hellenistic period before settling in Galatia in central Anatolia. Galatasaray translates directly as "Galata Palace" (saray means "palace" in Turkish). Galatasaray High School, established in the area in 1481, was the progenitor of Galatasaray S.K. as well as other institutions of Galatasaray Community.
Galatasaray is a compound word and is pronounced as such, with a very brief pause between the two words. There is no diminutive form of the club's name. Fans refer to the club either by its full name or by its nickname Cim-Bom(-Bom), pronounced: [dʒim bom (bom)]). The person who brought this slogan to Turkey was Sabit Cinol. While Cinol was in Switzerland for education, he also played football. Inspired by the slogan of Servette, the club he played for, Cinol adapted this slogan for Galatasaray, and this adaptation was embraced by the club and the wider community. However, the shortened form "Gala" is sometimes used by English speakers.
Galatasaray's first emblem was drawn by 333 [School Number] Şevki Ege. This was the figure of a spread-winged eagle with a football in its beak. The eagle was a model emblem that Galatasaray dwelled on in the beginning. But when the name did not attract too much interest, Şevki Ege's composition was pushed aside. It was replaced by the current design in the 1920s. This replaced in 1925 by the current "Ghayn-Sin" crest, which are the first two Arabic letters of "G"alata "S"aray, designed by Ayetullah Emin.
At first, the colours of Galatasaray were red and white. These are the colours in the modern Turkish flag. The Turkish Republic, however, was not founded at that time. Therefore, this decision caused the repressive administration of the day to feel uncomfortable and the administration subsequently pressured the footballers. For this reason, on December 26, 1906, the colors were changed to yellow and black. The eight-piece halved design kit was ordered from the Sports Outfitter William Shillcock based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. After a heavy 0–5 loss to Baltalimanı in a friendly match the new colours yellow and black were counted as inauspicious.
On 6 December 1908, for a match against the football team of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Barham, Galatasaray finally settled on playing in red and yellow, inspired by the roses which Gül Baba offered to Sultan Bayezid II. Ali Sami Yen stated, "After we have been in and out of several shops, we saw two different elegant-looking wool materials in Fatty Yanko's store at Bahçekapısı (between Eminönü and Sirkeci in Istanbul, now called Bahçekapı). One of them was quite dark red, resembling the cherry color, and the other a rich yellow with a touch of orange. When the sales clerk made the two fabrics fly together with a twist of his hand they became so bright that it reminded us the beauty of a goldfinch. We thought we were looking at the colors flickering in burning fire. We were picturing the yellow-red flames shining on our team and dreaming that it would take us to victories. Indeed it did."
The Galatasaray home kit has always been fundamentally the same since 1908. The traditional shirt of Galatasaray is the eight-piece halved design called "parçalı" (sectional). This consists of the shirt's front, back and sleeves being made up of two colours, resulting in the shirt being split into eight parts. (Two of the same colours are never next to each other within the 8 parts). The colours continue in an alternating order, from yellow to red. This results in the front of the shirt being the opposite of the back and the shirt also having an halved design from the side. This alternating colour order of eight parts creates a complete halved design for the shirt. The classic eight-piece halved design would become the iconic look of Galatasaray for years to come. The official colours are Pantone shades 1235 (yellow) and 201 (red).
On 20 November 2023, it was announced that Puma would be the new kit supplier of Galatasaray starting from the 2024–25 season, ending the club's 13 year partnership with Nike. Previous kit manufacturers have featured: Çamlıca (1978–79); Adidas (1978–82, 1984–91, 1995–2001, and 2005–11); Umbro (1979–81, 1982–83, 1991–95, and 2002–05); Puma (1980–81, 2024–present); Gola (1981–82); Fatih (1984–85); and Lotto (2001–02) and Nike (2011–24) and Puma (2024–29).
Since 2020, Galatasaray's primary shirt sponsor has been Sixt. Previous sponsors include: Volvo and PeReJa (1977–78); Halı Fleks (1979–80); Telefunken, Alo, and THY (1980–81); Borsaş and Meban (1981–83); Telefunken (1983–84); Modell's (1984–85); Denizbank (1984–86); TürkBank (1986–91); ADEC Saat (1991–92); SHOW TV (1991–95); Emek Sigorta (1992–95); VakıfBank (1995–97); Bank Ekspres (1997–98); Marshall (1998–2000); Telsim (2000–01); Aria (2001–04); Avea (2004–09); Türk Telekom (2009–14); Huawei (2014–15), Dumankaya (2015–16), UNDP (2016), Nef (2016–19), Terra Pizza (2019–20) and Sixt (2020–) for domestic matches. SOCAR has been the primary shirt sponsor for international matches since 2023.
When Galatasaray were formed no Turkish teams had their own home ground, and all games in the Istanbul Football League took place at Papazın Çayırı – now the site of Fenerbahçe's Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. In 1921 the city's first proper football stadium was constructed, Taksim Stadium, which was used as the home ground for all of Istanbul's teams. When historic Taksim Stadium was demolished in 1940, Galatasaray decided to build a large, modern stadium. Due to difficulties stemming from World War II, construction was delayed for over two decades. In this period, they played in Şeref Stadi and Dolmabahçe Stadi On 20 December 1964, Ali Sami Yen Stadium opened. Named after the founder of Galatasaray, Ali Sami Yen, it is in the Mecidiyeköy quarter of the Şişli district at the center of the city. In 1964, the stadium had capacity over 35,000. Due to improvements in security and prohibition of non-seater spectators, the all-seater capacity reduced to 22,000 in 1993. A few years later, the rebuilt of main stand, which was damaged by an earthquake, slightly increased the capacity. After 2002, when Atatürk Olympic Stadium was built for Istanbul's Olympic Games bid, Galatasaray started to play European Cup matches there. The attendance record among Turkish stadiums was broken there, in Galatasaray–Olympiacos match played in front of 79,414 spectators. Yet, Ali Sami Yen Stadium has historic importance for Galatasaray fans although it is smaller and older. The stadium was demolished in 2011 after Galatsaray moved to the newly built Rams Park.
The new home ground of Galatasaray is the newly built Rams Park in the Seyrantepe area of Sarıyer. It is also known as Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi. The new stadium, which was opened 15 January 2011, has a capacity of 53,798 seats, making it the largest private stadium used by a club in Turkey.
Since 1992, after every goal scored by Galatasaray, the "la la la" part of the song "I Will Survive" by the Hermes House Band is played, followed by the sound of a roaring lion. However, rare players have a unique song played in the stadium after they score, including: Mauro Icardi (Aşkın Olayım by Simge), and Bafetimbi Gomis (O Sen Olsan Bari by Aleyna Tilki). In addition, after the starting 11 is announced in the stadium, the Galatasaray "Warchant" is played, accompanied by what the fans call a "scarf show," where they display and wave their Galatasaray scarves, banners and flags as the start of the song "Gerçekleri Tarih Yazar" is played. Throughout the match, the fans loudly whistle whenever the opponent team gets the ball. After the match, if Galatasaray wins, the fans will call the team to the stands to celebrate. In these celebrations, the players and fans perform a signature chant called an "üçlü", where the chant leader (usually the player chosen by the fans as the player of the match) raises their arms and signals the crowd to be silent by bringing their index finger to their lips and going "shh". Once the stadium is completely quiet, the leader counts to three ("bir, iki, üç"), followed by three synchronised claps and everyone shouting "Cimbom bom!" twice. Afterwards, the fans shout "Lay lay lay lay lay lay lay lay lay, ohh Cimbom bom!" multiple times. This "üçlü" ritual is also always performed by the fans at the start of every match.
Galatasaray fans attach high importance to European competitions, and Galatasaray is known as the Conqueror of Europe by their fans. This nickname underlines the importance of the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup Galatasaray managed to win during the 1999–2000 season. Galatasaray fans also have a reputation in Europe as being one of the most fanatic in the world, along with ultrAslan. Ryan Giggs once said I've never experienced anything like Galatasaray. Three hours before kick-off, we went out to have a look at the pitch and the stadium was overcrowded! The chanting was brilliant: one side starts, then the other, then quiet, then all of them chanting! The players really enjoyed it. Before it was good, after it wasn't for us.'
Galatasaray fans broke the "loudest crowd roar at a sport stadium" record on 18 March 2011 at Galatasaray's new stadium Rams Park in Istanbul. A peak reading of 140.76 dBA was recorded.
On May 12, 2024, Galatasaray broke the longest home winning streak record (17), beating their own record (14 in 11 March, 2023) in Turkish Süper Lig history with a 3–2 win over FK Karagümrük.
Galatasaray fans' chants are an integral part of their football culture, creating a hostile and loud environment. This leads to their fans being known as one of the best, if not the best, fanbases in the world. Some of Galatasaray's most well known chants include:
There are dozens of other chants however those listed above are the most popular.
"The big three" clubs of Istanbul – Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray – have a century-long history of rivalry. The Galatasaray–Fenerbahçe rivalry is the primary Istanbul derby and the most important rivalry in Turkish football. The rivalry poses a symbolic importance to supporters due to an assumed superiority that comes with winning the derby. Supporters are often quoted as stating that winning the league without winning the derby is hollow. There is always huge interest in the derby due to its fierce nature on and off the pitch. Many documentaries have been made about the derby including an episode of "The Real Football Factories International". The rivalry has led to violence among supporters on numerous occasions, though this has been on the decline in recent years. The typical features of derby days include jammed traffic near the sold out stadium, loud support throughout the match and taunting choreography displays by supporters before kick off. Other top level Istanbul derbies include the teams İstanbul BB and Kasımpaşa, although these teams pose a minor rivalry as the history and the nationwide attention to the derbies among the big three is unmatched.
Torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters are used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on visiting teams, which fans call "welcoming them to hell".
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Galatasaray has one of the most successful youth facilities in Turkey. Gündüz Kılıç Youth Facilities in Florya is the center of the department. Galatasaray U21 have won the Turkish Youth League three times.
Galatasaray football academy trains children between seven and fifteen. They are located in 79 sites, in Turkey, Australia, Germany, Belgium and the UK.
Companies that Galatasaray S.K. currently has sponsorship deals with include: