Madonna With Galatasaray Shirt And Scarf In Istanbul, TURKEY

* Madonna With Galatasaray Shirt And Scarf In Istanbul, TURKEY. (07.06.2012)

Wonderful Nevizade Atmosphere - Match Day - Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe Derby

* Wonderful Nevizade Atmosphere - Match Day - Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe Derby (TURKEY)

Panathinaikos Fans Provoke Galatasaray Fans And Cause Fight In İstanbul/TURKEY

* Panathinaikos fans came to İstanbul for Euroleague Final Four.But Greek Hooligans provoked Galatasaray fans in Taksim and caused fight.(12.05.2012)

Claudio Taffarel Brazilian Style Birthday Celebration With Egg And Flour

* Claudio Taffarel Brazilian Style Birthday Celebration With Egg And Flour

Wonderful Choreography in TT Arena (22.04.2012) Galatasaray - Fenerbahçe Derby

* Wonderful Choreography in TT Arena by ULTRASLAN (22.04.2012) Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe Derby...

Atletico Madrid - The Story of Arda Turan from Galatasaray to Atletico Madrid

* Atletico Madrid - The Story of Arda Turan from Bayrampaşa, Galatasaray to Atletico Madrid...

Highlights: Anadolu Efes 65-82 CSKA Moscow (01.03.2012)

* CSKA defeats Anadolu Efes ending 5-1 its Top 16. Anadolu Efes 65-82 CSKA Moscow (01.03.2012)

Before Galatasaray 78-77 Olympiakos...Wonderful Tribune Show...ULTRASLAN..26.01.2012

* Wonderful tribune show from Galatasaray fans/ULTRASLAN.
* Galatasaray knocked greek Olympiakos 78-77 in Abdi İpekçi Arena,İstanbul,TURKEY.

Hector Cuper Reached An Agreement With Orduspor

The President of Orduspor Nedim Türkmen announced that they provided an agreement with experienced coach Hector Cuper in principle for 2.5 years (1.5 + 1). Cuper will come to İstanbul tomorrow or wednesday for signing.

Kobe shows support for Galatasaray

Kobe Bryant said he became a Galatasaray fan after he attended a training session of the Turkish football team on Sunday.


"Bryant wears a Galatasaray shirt as he attends a training session of the team."



The American basketball superstar was at Türk Telekom Arena as part of his visit to Istanbul, organized by his sponsor Nike. Bryant opened a basketball court and took part in a basketball tournament named Own The Court (Sahayı Ele Geçir) before visiting the Istanbul team during its training match.

“From now on, I am a Galatasaray fan,” said Bryant, who has been a transfer target for Beşiktaş, an archrival of Galatasaray.

Bryant took three penalty shots against Galatasaray goalkeeper Ufuk Ceylan but scored only one of them.

Turkish teams went for NBA players during the lockout, and the Los Angeles Lakers guard was one of them. He had offers from China, Turkey and Italy, and said he was still pondering those options.

Beşiktaş Milangaz has signed New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams and center Semih Erden due to the lockout, while Ersan İlyasova and Mehmet Okur signed contracts with Efes and Telekom.

Galatasaray SK Desktop Wallpapers

        Galatasaray SK Desktop Wallpapers

Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi  is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups. It is one of the three European clubs to ever achieve a continental quadruple, by winning the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Turkish Super League Championship and the Turkish Cup in 2000. The club's colors are red and yellow, and their home stadium is the Türk Telekom Arena.

Beşiktaş J.K. , İstanbul

                                                  Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü l

Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (English: Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club), or simply Beşiktaş (Turkish pronunciation: [beˈʃictaʃ]), is a Turkish sports club. The club's football team is one of the major teams in Turkey. The professional sports club, founded in 1903, is based in the Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey. The club competes in numerous branches including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, chess, bridge, gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, and paralympic sports.
The home ground of Beşiktaş is Fiyapı İnönü Stadium with a 32,786 seating capacity after a renovation conducted in 2004. The stadium is located by the Bosphorus, near the Dolmabahçe Palace.
Beşiktaş last won the Turkish Süper Lig championship during the 2008–2009 season, also achieving the double after winning the Turkish Cup.

Officiall Web Site    : http://www.bjk.com.tr/
Facebook Fan Page : http://www.facebook.com/Besiktas/
Fan Page                  : http://www.karakartal.com/

Photos/Wallpapers 

            History

         Early years 1902–1911

Beşiktaş established in 1903 during the late Ottoman period. A group of 22 young individuals gathered on certain days of the week to perform bodily exercises in the Serencebey neighborhood of Beşiktaş. They began in the fall of 1902, in the garden of the mansion of Osman Paşa, who was then a part of the Medine Guard. The various sporting activities that these youths participated in included the horizontal bar, parallel bar, wrestling, weight lifting and gymnastics. They included such members as the sons of Osman Paşa, Mehmet Şamil and Hüseyin Bereket, and other youths of the neighborhood – Ahmet Fetgeri, Mehmet Ali Fetgeri, Nazım Nazif, Cemil Feti and Şevket. Sultan Abdul Hamid II had secret agents go around the city, reporting on any gathering activities that might be political in nature. When these agents heard about the group, the exercising youths were taken to the police station after a raid. The tense situation was relaxed as some of these youths were close to palace officers. Since others did not play football, which was in disfavor in those days, they only participated in bodily exercises. In fact, Şehzade Abdülhalim, who had relations with the Palace, supported these youths and started to watch their practices frequently. Famous boxer and Wrestler Kenan Bey came to the practices and started to show wrestling and boxing tricks.


                                                      

"Beşiktaş S.K. in 1903"

Bereket Gymnastic Club was founded under special permission in 1903. Their sporting activities gained more freedom with the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy in 1908. After the political events of March 31, 1909, Fuat Balkan and Mazhar Kazancı, who were in Edirne, came to Istanbul with the Movement Army. After the political events settled down, Fuat Balkan, who was a good fencing coach and Mazhar Kazancı, who was a good wrestler and weight lifter, found the youths involved in gymnastics in Serencebey and got them to agree to participate in sports together. Fuat Balkan made the space under his home in Ihlamur the Club’s headquarters, and the title of Bereket Gymnastics Club was changed to Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club. Thus, a stronger sports club where gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, fencing and athletics were emphasized was formed. Refik and Şerafettin Beys, friends of Fuat Bey, were also good fencers.

In the meantime, Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club became the first registered Turkish sports club on January 13, 1910 with the encouragement of Beyoğlu Governor Muhittin Bey. The interest among the youths of the neighborhood in the sports club grew and the number of members involved in sports suddenly went up to 150. The headquarters of the club was moved from Ihlamur to Building 49 in Akaretler. When this building became too small, Building 84, also in Akaretler, became their headquarters. The yard behind this building was turned into a sports pitch.


Some of the young patriots from the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul formed two football clubs called "Valideçeşme" and "Basiret" under the leadership of Şeref Bey. The Valideçeşme and Basiret football clubs joined under the Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club in 1911. In a very short time, football became the foremost branch in the club.

                                                   Initial years of football



"Istanbul League – Besiktas JK 1923–24 Champion"

With football becoming the main sport of the Ottoman Empire around 1910, Beşiktaş members slowly started to give more attention to football. In August 1911, Ahmet Şerafettin Bey started the football team. Beşiktaş didn't enter in the Istanbul Friday and Sunday leagues, and didn't have any championships until 1918, when they won the Istanbul Turkish 1st Sports League. In 1921 they won it again. 1921 also was the leagues final season. In 1924, Beşiktaş entered the Istanbul Football League along with Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and other Istanbul teams. Beşiktaş became the leagues first champion in 1924, but wasn't able to get more success in the league. Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were the 2 dominant teams until the 1930s. Beşiktaş won their 2nd Istanbul League championship in 1934, as well as their first Turkish Football Championship in the same year. In 1937 the Turkish National League was formed. Beşiktaş finished in 4th place in the Istanbul League, giving Beşiktaş a berth in the National League. Beşiktaş finished 3rd place in the National league behind Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. In 1938 Beşiktaş finished 3rd place in the Istanbul league and 2nd place in the National league behind Güneş. Beşiktaş won a record 5 consecutive Istanbul league championships between 1939 and 1943. In the National league Beşiktaş finished 4th in 1939, 5th in 1940, 1st in 1941 and 3rd in 1943 (1942 was not held). Beşiktaş won the Istanbul league in 1945 and 1946, as well as the National league in 1944, and 1947.

                                                                        After 1959

In 1959 the Turkish First League was formed. It was Turkey's first professional league. Beşiktaş came in 3rd place in inaugural year of the league. Beşiktaş won the league title in 1960. In 1960 they also took part in the European Cup, and became the first Turkish team ever to participate in that cup. Beşiktaş finished 3rd place in 1961 and 1962 and a second place in 1963, 1964 and 1965 till consistency paid off and they were finally the champions again in 1966 and 1967. In 1967 they also won their first Turkish Super Cup. In 1968 Beşiktaş finished in 2nd place.

                                                                       Silent 1970s

After 1968 Beşiktaş' performance declined greatly, finishing in 9th, 11th, 5th, 6th many times, while Trabzonspor, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray continued their success however Beşiktaş had shown a good performance to put a stop to their success. Beşiktaş only finished 2nd place 1 time in 70s (1974).

                                                                      1980s Revival

Beşiktaş put an end to their bad performance in 1982 with a surprise Turkish championship. Beşiktaş got another championship in 1986 as well. They finished the league in the second place four times in the second half of the decade except the championship in 1985–186 season. Hooliganism was also a major problem that had started in Europe and spread throughout Turkey as well. Besiktas fan hooliganism has been a major issue with many fights inside and outside the stadium however fan violence has decreased recently for a couple years.

                                                                         Milne era

Beşiktaş had their most successful run in the Süper Lig with three consecutive championships under the management of Gordon Milne in the early 90s. Three players of the squad; Metin Tekin, Ali Gültiken, Feyyaz Uçar were notable for significant contributions to the team during this period. These players had been called Metin-Ali-Feyyaz (shorty: MAF) and they formed the front of the team line-up. The supporters composed various chants for the trio devoted to their delighting style on the pitch, their goals and above all for their friendship and modesty. They are regarded by supporters as the best trio and attacking line of the club ever.
This was the only three-in-a-row title term of club history in 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. Most notably, Beşiktaş became the first undefeated champion in Süper Lig history. It is the only team to achieve the honors.
Milne had adopted the 4-4-2 system. By playing down the lines and crossing, the team scored many goals through aerial challenges. On 15 October 1989, Beşiktaş broke the Süper Lig record for the biggest margin in a game with a 10–0 victory over Southern Turkey team Adana Demirspor. This match was enrolled as one of the 16 biggest matches of the club history.

                                                 Legend of the Black Eagles

There is a legend surrounding the initial naming of the team "The Black Eagles." Beşiktaş, the title holder of the previous two seasons started the 1940–41 season with a young and renewed team. Beşiktaş, which opened up its lead as weeks went by, was the leader in the league. With five weeks remaining to the end, the opponent was Süleymaniye. Beşiktaş had started the game in Şeref Stadium refereed by Semih Turansoy on Sunday January 19, 1941, with the following players: Faruk, Yavuz, İbrahim, Rıfat, Halil, Hüseyin, Şakir, Hakkı, Şükrü, Şeref, Eşref. As in all games of that season, the team played well. Half way through the second half of the game, Beşiktaş attacked continuously despite being in front. And then, according to legend, a voice was heard from the stands towards which Beşiktaş was attacking. The voice said "Come on Black Eagles. Attack Black Eagles". The Beşiktaş players who had so successfully defeated their opponents that season, being described as "Black Eagles” and the football they played compared to “Attacking like Black Eagles”. According to legend, the owner of the voice from the stands was a fisherman called Mehmet Galin. Beşiktaş closed the game with a 6–0 win with 3 goals volleyed in by Şeref Görkey, who was known as volleyer Şeref and one goal each by Captain Hakkı, Şakir and Şükrü.

                                                             Colours and badge

Since only individual sports were done at the beginning in the Osman Pasha Mansion, there was no need for any colours for a uniform. However, the number of sportsmen increased with new youths who joined sport teams each passing day. Mehmet Şamil Bey (first president of the Club), who had graduated from the French school gathered the Founders Committee. He removed the pin he used in his school days bearing the colours of his school from his lapel and showed it around. He said “We must have a pin just like this one made and we must force all members who attend sports in our Club to bear this pin”. Those attending the meeting eagerly agreed to Mehmet Şamil Bey’s proposal. At the end of the meeting, the colours of the Club to be shown on the pin were decided. The two principal colours of nature in full contrast to each other were chosen as the Club colours: black and white.
The date Beşiktaş’s first badge was made was written as “1906” in Latin years inspired by the badges in the French school. On top, it said “Beşiktaş” in Arabic letters, the letter “J” was placed on the rights and letter “K” was placed on the left. On the back of the badge, there was a script saying it was made in Constantinople and there was the seal of the craftsmen who made the badge on the inside. It is interesting that the star on the crest on the badge has 6 points. This 6-pointed star was used until the 2nd Constitutional Monarchy (1908). This badge was donated by Iskender Yakak to Süleyman Seba, the Honorary President of Beşiktaş J.K.
The current emblem of Beşiktaş symbolizes the foundation date. There are two white and three black bars on the emblem. It consists of nine parts in total. There is one white bar, three black bars, and another white bar, and there are nine parts in total. Thus: 1319, the year of the club's foundation. (The Islamic calendar was still used in the Ottoman Empire at the time of the club's foundation. 1319 is the equivalent of 1903 in Gregorian Calendar.)
Colours of Beşiktaş used to be red and white, but when the whole team died in World War I, they decided to change their colours to black and white out of respect for those that died. Also they started as a club before 1903, stopped due to the war, then re-started after the war.

                                                                     Stadium

BJK İnönü Stadium is located near the Bosphorus and very close to Taksim Square. the stadium can be reached easily by every means of public transport (bus, ferry, metro, light-rail, funicular etc.) easily due to its central location.
There are four different parts in the stadium; 1."Kapalı" is where the most hot-blooded fans stay in the upper part during the matches; 2."Yeni Açık" is the larger side, which has a view of the sea; 3."Eski Açık" is the smaller curve on the seaside, where visitor supporters are typically placed; 4."Numaralı" where press, VIP and protocol stands can be found.

                                                                      Honours

Domestic championships

Süper Lig:

• Winners (13): 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 2002–03, 2008–09

Turkish Cup:

• Winners (9): 1975, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011

Turkish Super Cup / President Cup:

• Winners (8): 1967, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2006

Defunct domestic competitions

Amatör Futbol Şampiyonası: (shared-record)

• Winners (4): 1934, 1951, 1985, 1988

Milli Küme Şampiyonası:

• Winners (3): 1940–41, 1943–44, 1946–1947

Turkish Federation Cup:

• Winners (2): 1956–57, 1957–58

Chancellor Cup:

• Winners (6): 1943–44, 1946–47, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1996–97

TSYD Cup: (shared-record)

• Winners (12): 1964–65, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1996–97

Atatürk Cup:

• Winners (1): 2000

Istanbul Football League:

• Winners (13): 1923–24, 1933–34, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1953–54

Istanbul Futbol Kupası: (shared-record)

• Winners (2): 1944, 1946

Istanbul Shield:

• Winners (1): 1935

Spor-Toto Cup: (record)

• Winners (4): 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970

Fleet Cup:

• Winners (1): 1986

UEFA achievements

• European Cup
  • Quarter Finals (1): 1987

• UEFA Cup
  • Quarter Finals (1): 2003

Records and honors

The only undefeated winner of the Süper Lig (1991–92 season)

Biggest win ever in the Süper Lig against Adana Demirspor with 10–0 during the 1989–90 season

Longest streak of undefeated games in the Süper Lig with 56 games, hence the nickname Yenilmez Armada (Invincible Armada)

10 seasons unbeaten at home to Anatolian teams in the Süper Lig (with the exception of rival Istanbul teams Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray)

Most games won in a row by any club in the Süper Lig with 18 games

Won 5 consecutive Istanbul League titles (1939–1943)

Most goals scored in the Istanbul League, 90 goals in a season, 599 in 8 seasons

First winner of the Turkish Super Cup in 2006 against Galatasaray, 1–0

The record away win in a UEFA competition match in the club's history was against FK Olimpik Sarajevo with 0–5 during the 2002–03 UEFA Cup

Galatasaray S.K., İstanbul

                                       GALATASARAY SK


Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (Turkish pronunciation: [ɡa ɫatasaˈɾaj ˈspoɾ kulyˈby], Galatasaray Sports Club) is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding the joint record for the Turkish Super League titles until the 2010–11 season, and the highest number of Turkish Cups.It is one of the three European clubs to ever achieve a continental quadruple, by winning the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Turkish Super League Championship and the Turkish Cup in 2000. The club's colors are red and yellow, and their home stadium is the Türk Telekom Arena.



Officiall Web Site    : http://www.galatasaray.org/
Facebook Fan Page : http://www.facebook.com/Galatasaray
Fan Page : http://www.webaslan.com/


Photos/Wallpapers 

   

 

           
            History

Galatasaray Sports Club was founded in the fall of 1905, by Galatasaray High School (a high school founded in 1481) students as a football club. Galatasaray's first president was Ali Sami Yen. Their first match was against Cadi-Keuy FC and they won this match by 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.
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 colony of Galata. Galatasaray translates directly as 'Galata palace'.


First photo of Galatasaray SK (1905)

 According to researcher Cem Atabeyoğlu, Galatasaray took its name from one of its first matches. In that match, Galatasaray won 2–0 over Rûm club and the spectators called them "Galata Sarayı efendileri" (in English: Gentlemen of City 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.

“	Our aim is to play together, to have a color and a name and to beat the teams of outside of Turkey.	”
—Ali Sami Yen

Among with the founder Ali Sami Yen, the co-founders were the ones who were keen to do this sport, such as Asim Tevfik Sonumut, Reşat Şirvani, Cevdet Kalpakçıoğlu, Abidin Daver and Kamil.
At first, the colors of the Galatasaray Sports Club were red and white. These are the colors in the Turkish flag. However, the Turkish Republic was not founded at that time. Therefore, this inspiration caused repressive administration of the day feel uncomfortable and the administration hounded the footballers.For this reason, the colors were changed to yellow and dark blue until 1907. In 1908, new colors were chosen as red and yellow. 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."
Since there were not any 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 1907–1908, they heralded the beginning of Turkish football history.
While the football in Turkey began to fully develop, Galatasaray won ten more Istanbul League titles, six Sunday League titles and three Friday League titles until 1952. Upon recognition of professional football in 1952, the first professional but non-national league of Turkey, Istanbul Professional League played between 1952 and 1959. Galatasaray won three of these seven titles. Galatasaray is also the first Turkish team among the big teams (Besiktas, Fenerbahce) who is relegated to 2nd division.
Türkiye Profesyonel 1. Ligi (Turkcell 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 17 league titles since then.
The Turkish Football Federation starts to organize "Turkish Cup" (today it is organized with the name Fortis Turkey 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 14 trophies since then.

Probably the greatest record that club holds is winning national championships in 15 different sport branches in 1986–87 season.
Galatasaray's most successful era came in late 1990s, when the club become the first Turkish football club ever to win a European trophy. They were aided in this by one of Turkey's best generation of home grown footballers who went on to finish third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played quarter finals of UEFA Euro 2000. Besides the talented players, visiting teams also disliked traveling into Ali Sami Yen Stadium which is literally called "Hell" by the supporters of Galatasaray due to the intimidating atmosphere provided by the fans including chants and riots in the crowds.

There are many successful footballers that have played for Galatasaray and made their mark on Turkish football history. Few examples may be 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 1950s with great success on both,Bülent-Reha Eken brothers, Suat Mamat who made a hat-trick in 1954 FIFA World Cup, Coşkun Özarı a life devoted to Galatasaray,Turgay Şeren the heroic goalkeeper that called "the Panther of Berlin",Fatih Terim the team captain of Galatasaray and Turkish National Football team for years and won Uefa Cup at 2000 as the coach,Metin Oktay the legendary six time top scorer of the Turkish 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 European Golden Boot 1988 winner with Galatasaray,Cevad Prekazi an Albanian teammate of Tanju specializing in free kicks,Taffarel the world cup winner goalkeeper of Brazil, Gheorghe Hagi, the Romanian football hero who is still described as the best foreign player ever to play in Turkey,Brazilian striker Mário Jardel, who was called Super Mário by the fans and scored Galatasarays only two goals in the European Super Cup Final in 2000 against Real Madrid, and last but not least, Hakan Şükür, the player who scored most goals in the first division of Turkish football history (249 goals).

Name and Pronunciation

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 colony of Galata. Galatasaray translates directly as 'Galata Palace'.

There is no diminutive form of Galatasaray. Fans refer to the club either by its full name or by its nickname "Cim Bom Bom" (pronounced 'Jim Bom Bom') or the shortened 'Cim Bom'. The shortened form 'Gala' is sometimes used in Europe/Americas.

It is important to keep in mind Galatasaray is a compound word and it is pronounced as such. The most common mistake that is done by non-Turkish speakers is to intonate as Gala-tasaray, while the correct enunciation should be Galata-Saray with a very brief pause between the two words.

                                                        Team colors and kit

Galatasaray wore red and white colors when founded, then played in dark yellow and dark blue in 1907-1908 season. For a match against the British Royal Navy cruiser HMS Barham football team played in 8 December 1908, Galatasaray finally settled on playing in red and yellow. Ali Sami Yen, the main founder of Galatasaray wrote the following in his diaries: “Our goalkeeper Asım Tevfik, left-forwarder Emin Bülent and right midfielder Ali Sami Yen are commissioned for the task of determining new team colors. “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 red and yellow were inspired from the colors of the roses which Gül Baba offered to Sultan Bayezid II.

                                                                  Kit history

Stadium

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.

Ali Sami Yen Stadium





"Galatasaray fans at the stadium"

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. Today, due to improvements in security and prohibition of non-seater spectators, it has an all-seater capacity of 24,990.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.

                                                          Türk Telekom Arena

The new home ground of Galatasaray is the newly built Türk Telekom Arena in the Aslantepe quarter near Maslak financial district in Şişli. The new stadium, which was opened 15 January 2011, has a capacity of 52,695 seats, making it the largest private stadium owned by a club in Turkey.

                                                             Stadium Anthem

Since 1998, after every goal scored by Galatasaray, the last part of the song "I Will Survive" by the "Hermes House Band" played. Although the song is in English, the part used has no lyrics except "la la la la". In addition, before every game the Florida State Warchant is played accompanied by what the fans call a "scarf show" where fans display and wave their Galatasaray scarves, banners and flags.A lot of people call stadium "Cehennem" (hell) because of stadium anthem.

                                                              Player records

Most Süper Lig appearances

• Bülent Korkmaz – 430

Most Süper Lig goals

• Hakan Şükür – 228

                                 Supporters and rivalries
European matches


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 Super Cup Galatasaray managed to win during the 1999–2000 season. Galatasaray fans also have a reputation in Europe as being one of the fiercest in the world, along with ultrAslan. Ryan Giggs once said I've never experienced anything like Galatasaray. Two hours before kick-off, we went out to have a look at the pitch and the stadium was packed! 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!'


Record


Galatasaray fans broke the "loudest crowd roar at a sport stadium" record on 18 March 2011 at Galatasaray’s new stadium Türk Telekom Arena in Istanbul. A peak reading of 131.76 dBA was recorded.

                                                          İstanbul derbies

"The first Kıtalar Arası Derbi on 17 January 1909 at Papazın Çayırı"

"The big three" clubs of İstanbul, Beşiktaş J.K., Fenerbahçe S.K. and Galatasaray S.K. have a century-long history of rivalry. Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray rivalry is the primary Istanbul derby and the most important rivalry in Turkish football. The rivalry has led to violence among supporters on numerous occasions.Other top level İstanbul derbies include the teams; İstanbul BB and Kasımpaşa although these teams pose a minor rivalry as the history and the nation-wide attention to the derbies among the big three is unmatched. Torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on visiting teams, which fans call "welcoming them to hell".  
                                    
                                 Honours and achievements

International competitions

• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2000

• UEFA Europa League:
  • Winners (1): 1999-2000

• UEFA Champions League:
  • Semi-Finals (1): 1988–1989
  • Quarter-Finals (4): 1962–1963, 1969–1970, 1993–1994, 2000–2001

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
  • Quarter-Finals (1): 1991–1992

Domestic competitions

• Süper Lig:
  • Winners (17): 1961-62, 1962-63, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2005-06, 2007-08
  • Runners-up (9): 1959, 1960-61, 1965-66, 1974-75, 1978-79, 1985-86, 1990-91, 2000-01, 2002-03

• Türkiye Kupası: (record)
  • Winners (14): 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2005
  • Runners-up (5): 1969, 1980, 1994, 1995, 1998

• Süper Kupa: (record)
  • Winners (11): 1966, 1969, 1972, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2008
  • Runners-up (7): 1971, 1973, 1976, 1985, 1994, 1998, 2006