Galatasaray absolutely destroyed the competition this past year in the Turkish league, demolishing the rest of the teams by sealing the victory with over 100 points. Not only is this total dominance in the Turkish top league of football, but they ended their season with a bang, scoring three goals against their city rivals, Konyaspor.
Was anyone close to challenging for the title this year? Maybe. But next year, the story could be totally different.
Galatasaray Won on the Pitch Despite Turmoil and Chaos
Thats’s a real party going on right now 😮💨#Back2BackCh4mps pic.twitter.com/2juxB1PHSJ
— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray) May 27, 2024
Galatasaray had a fantastic 3-1 win in their final match of the season, with goals coming from Icardi from Argentina and Kutlu, a Swiss international, both scoring for their squad. The two teams in Istanbul have always been rivals, and early goals from Galatasaray amped up the crowd and got everyone on their feet.
This game mattered for every single Galatasaray fan, as they always hope to beat their inner-city rival taem – plus, they wanted to keep their streak alive of only losing two games this season, one against Fenerbahce and one fresh in their minds just six days ago. The crowd, coaches, and players did not want to lose two games in two weeks to delay the crowning of being champions any longer.
But, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses with Galatasaray this year. Despite success on the pitch, the club was marred by chaos, controversy, and crime off of the field.
Faruk Koca, president of another club in the Superlig in Turkey, was arrested for assaulting a referee at the end of a match in December. The official also made a statement to the authorities that the president had threatened to kill him based on his decisions during the game.
Only two weeks later, the infamous cup final game between Galatasaray and Fenerbache was delayed before kick off was set to start due to fighting and controversy between the two teams’ warm up kits and colors.
Once the match was finally good to go, the opposing team’s players walked off of the pitch due to rules regarding the European fixtures and matches rescheduled during the Superlig season. Galatasaray had no idea what was about to happen, as they were ready to play the full 90 minutes of the game.
And the fighting and manipulation didn’t end there. Fenerbahce was involved with yet another incident in March, when Trabzonspor fans invaded the pitch and attacked the opposing team’s players, officials, coaches, and security personnel.
Galatasaray Win the League
Even with the chaos surrounding the Turkish league this year, Galatasaray still found a way to win. They ended the season with more than 100 points, with Fenerbahce coming in second place – even with the fighting with the fans, walking off of the pitch, and scheduling issues. There was a huge gap between the top two teams in the league, with the third place team – Trabzonspor – earning only 67 points compared to Fenerbahce’s 99 points and Galatasaray’s 102 points.
This shows the huge discrepancy in talent, investment, and money in the Turkish Super Lig. The bottom teams have only 16 and 37 points, whereas the entire middle of the table is between 40 points and 50 points. Ninth place and 18th place are only separated by ten points after playing 38 matches this season.
If Galatsaray keep up their winning streak, there is no doubt they will win the league for the third year in the row next season. But, they need to stay focused on and off the pitch in order to be successful.
About the Author
Emma is an athlete and sports fan who currently plays professional soccer. Growing up, she reached a high level in track and field, distance running, and soccer on both club and university teams.
