Gala has first participated in a European competition in 1956, entering the European Cup, and have competed in forty eight seasons of European competitions since then. The club has achieved their most successful period in late 80s, the millennium year (2000) and beyond. They have won once both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup title. Making them the first and only Turkish club to have won a European competition trophy. The successful millennium year resulted also in a qualification to the FIFA Club World Cup, but the second edition of the tournament had been cancelled owing to a combination of factors such as the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner in same year.[1] 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.
History
"Our aim is to play together like Englishmen, to have a color and a name, and to beat the non-Turkish teams".
—Ali Sami Yen, about the founding mission of Galatasaray.
Begin of the European era
Gündüz Kılıç started managing Galatasaray back in 1952, and it was under him that the team first competed in European competition in 1956–57, qualifying for the European Cup by winning the regional Istanbul Football League the previous season. The first game was a preliminary round game against Romanian side Dinamo București which ended up in a 3–4 loss on aggregate.
The 1969–70 European Cup season was a remarkable one, because the club make it to the quarter finals. In that round the opponent Legia Warsaw won the clash 1–3 on aggregate.
Knocking the doors of Europe: 1988–89 European Cup
Line up of Galatasaray in 1988-89 European Cup semi-finals.
The first-ever European success was achieved during the 1988–89 season of the European Cup club competition, when the club was being coached by Mustafa Denizli. Galatasaray started in the first round and reached the semi-finals where they got eliminated by Romanian club Steaua București and future Gala legend Gheorghe Hagi. Throughout the competition Galatasaray has played against Rapid Wien, Neuchâtel Xamax, Monaco and Steaua București. The second round game against Neuchâtel Xamax was an incredible one; Galatasaray lost the away game by 3-0 and the return game was being played in front of 35,000 fans at the Ali Sami Yen stadium and Galatasaray won the game by 5–0 and promoted to the quarter-finals on 5–3 aggregate.
The weather conditions were the real opponents: 1991–92 season
Galatasaray had built a strong squad that season and reached the quarter-finals after eliminating Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt and Baník Ostrava. In the quarter-finals, the opponents were German side Werder Bremen and Galatasaray took the lead 0–1 in the first game, but eventually lost the game (1–2). Unfortunately, the second leg at Ali Sami Yen was played in bad weather conditions due to snowfall during the match. Both sides failed to score and Werder Bremen won 2–1 on aggregate. That year, the German side won the trophy and according to many analysts, Galatasaray would have won the cup if they could have knocked out Werder Bremen in Istanbul.
UEFA Cup Final match line-up against Arsenal, 17 May 2000
The 1999–2000 UEFA Cup competition was won by Galatasaray after they defeated Arsenal in the final. The victory marked the first time a Turkish side had won a European club football trophy, prompting wild celebrations on the streets of Istanbul.[5]
The final was scoreless through both the first 90 minutes and after extra time. After 94th minute Gala played remaining part of the extra time with 10 players; Gheorghe Hagi received a straight red card, after game footage showed the player holding and striking Tony Adams in the back; the Arsenal captain was awarded a yellow card for hitting Hagi during the altercation. In the ensuing penalty shoot-out, Patrick Vieira and Davor Šuker missed for Arsenal, while Galatasaray's Ergün Penbe, Hakan Şükür, Ümit Davala all converted past goalkeeper David Seaman. Gheorghe Popescu then scored the winning kick to win the UEFA Cup for Galatasaray.
Super Cup match line-up against Real Madrid, 25 August 2000
2000 UEFA Super Cup
On 25 August 2000, Galatasaray won the 2000 UEFA Super Cup by defeating Real Madrid 2–1 after extra time at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. The match featured new signing Luis Figo, making his first competitive appearance for his club.
Galatasaray opened the scoring in the 41st minute with a penalty converted by Mário Jardel, after Hakan Ünsal was fouled in the box. Real Madrid equalised in the 79th minute through a goal by Raúl. In the 103rd minute of extra time, Jardel struck again with a "golden goal", securing Galatasaray's first UEFA Super Cup title.[9][10]
With the win, Galatasaray became the first and the only Turkish club to lift this trophy.[11]
2000s
UEFA Champions League Campaigns
In the 2000–01 season season, Galatasaray reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the 1988–89 season. After progressing through two group stages, they faced their last UEFA Super Cup final opponent Real Madrid again. Galatasaray won the first leg 3–2 at Ali Sami Yen but lost 3–0 in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, resulting in a 5–3 aggregate defeat.[12]
The following season, 2001–02, Galatasaray reached the second group stage but finished fourth in their group, which included Barcelona, Liverpool, and Roma.
In the 2002–03 season, Galatasaray participated in the first group stage but failed to progress, finishing fourth behind Barcelona, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Club Brugge.
During the 2003–04 season, Galatasaray entered the competition in the third qualifying round, defeating CSKA Sofia with a 6–0 aggregate score. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup by Villarreal.
UEFA Cup and Europa League Appearances
In the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, after being eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers, Galatasaray entered the competition but were knocked out in the first round by Villarreal.
The 2004–05 season saw Galatasaray reach the group stage but fail to advance further.
In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, Galatasaray progressed to the Round of 16, defeating teams like Bordeaux in the Round of 32 but were eliminated by Hamburger SV with a 4–3 aggregate score.
During the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, under coach Frank Rijkaard, Galatasaray had a strong group stage performance, finishing first in Group F. They were eliminated in the Round of 32 by Atlético Madrid, who went on to win the tournament.
"UEFA Cup finals"(PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. pp.63, 71. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 16, 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
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