History: Galatasaray SK (1905-2005)

The oldest and most successful team in Turkish football history, Galatasaray have turned themselves into a force to be reckoned with, winning the UEFA Cup in 2000. They have also often embarrassed(beaten) the best Europe can offer in the UEFA Champions League - especially in front of their fanatical supporters at the Ali Sami Yen stadium. (Ali Sami Yen is our first president. To show Ali Sami Yen respect the fans named the stadium after him)

Ali Sami Yen Stadium

Trophies(Cups & medals) galore
Since their foundation in Istanbul in 1905 through to 2002, Galatasaray have won an astonishing 43 domestic trophies, including a record 15 league titles (significantly, one more than their city rivals Fenerbaçhe SK ) and a record 13 Turkish Cups. They were the first team to win the championship three times in a row (between 1971-73), a feat they then surpassed from 1996 to 2000 when they did it four times in a row. Given that record, it is something of a mystery how they managed to go 14 years after 1973 without winning the league once.

Derwell the transformer
That all changed with the arrival of Jupp Derwell(Derwell is from Germany ) as coach. The German transformed not only the club but also Turkish football as a whole, to such an extent that at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan, Turkey(Turkey finished third the 2002 FIFA World Cup) - with five Galatasary players in the squad, including one of the stars of the tournament, Hasan Sas(He plays left winger, He became really famous after he scored to Brazil) - reached the semi-finals.

Fundamental(Basic) changes
Derwell altered(changed) the mentality of the club, making fundamental changes and his team responded by finally taking the championship again in 1987. His successors in the coaching role, including Karl Heinz Feldkamp and Fatih Terim, have continued the good work, consolidating Galatasaray's position. The team won seven out of ten championships from 1992 to 2002 and also became the first Turkish side to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League where, despite winning the first leg, they were knocked out by Real Madrid CF in the 2000/01 competition.(First game we beat Real Madrid 3-2 but next game we lost 3-0)

GALATASARAY' S PLAYERS and FATIH TERIM

Finest moment
Galatasary's finest moment, though, came in 2000 when they became the first Turkish side to win a European trophy, beating Arsenal FC(one of the best team in England) 4-1 on penalties following a goalless draw in the UEFA Cup final. Terim, who coached the side to that triumph and to their four league titles in a row, returned to the club in May 2002 after a brief sojourn(stay) in Italy with AC Fiorentina and Milan AC.

2001/02: Turkish champions. Qualified for 2002/03 UEFA Champions League

2000 UEFA SUPER CUP FINAL-Galatasaray beat Real Madrid (2-1)