The Intercontinental Derby is any football match between rivals Fenerbahçe SK and Galatasaray SK. The fixture is widely regarded as the biggest football match in Turkey, and one of the biggest matches in international football because of the success both clubs have had in Turkish football, the intensity of the matches, and the immense rivalry between the two teams. The fixture has been in existence for more than a century and has developed into one of the greatest, most intense and often bitter derbies in the world, traditionally attracting very large attendances and nearly equal support for both teams throughout the country. The derby is known as "intercontinental" because Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are two of the major Turkish teams from the Asian and the European parts of Istanbul respectively.

History

The first game played between the two sides was a friendly game on Sunday, 17 January 1909. The game, staged at Papazın Çayırı where Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is located today, finished 2–0 in favour of Galatasaray. Fenerbahçe achieved their first victory over Galatasaray when they defeated them 4–2 in the 4th gameweek of the Istanbul Football League on Sunday, 4 January 1914. On 21 September 2003, the two clubs played the Süper Lig game in front of a record attendance of 71,334 people, with drawing the game 2–2. The biggest win is achieved by Galatasaray with winning 7–0 on 12 February 1911. The biggest modern-day victory is when Fenerbahçe achieved their biggest win against Galatasaray on 6 November 2002 with 6–0, where four goals were scored when Fenerbahçe was one man down. Fenerbahçe are known for rarely losing at home in the Intercontinental Derby, in the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Galatasaray could not defeat Fenerbahçe for 20 years (in 23 consecutive matches) since 22 December 1999 until 23 February 2020, when Galatasaray ended Fenerbahçe's streak. Since then, Galatasaray has won four of the six matches it played.

Idea to merge Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray

The first league games in Turkey were held in Istanbul in 1904. This league was called Istanbul Football League originally. The teams participating were called Cadi-Keuy FC, Moda FC, Elpis FC and HMS Imogene. These teams were made up of the English, Greek, and Armenian minorities living in Turkey. Galatasaray SK joined the league in 1906–07 and Fenerbahçe SK in 1909–10. Galatasaray SK did not participate in the 1911–12 season and the club suggested to loan Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu, Celal Ibrahim and two other Galatasaray SK players to Fenerbahçe SK for the match against Strugglers FC. But Fenerbahçe SK did not accept this offer. In 1912 Galatasaray SK president Ali Sami Yen and Fenerbahçe SK president Galip Kulaksızoğlu made a meeting. They arranged a protocol and agreed to form a strong Turkish team against the non-Turkish teams in the league. According to this agreement the new club would have been called Türkkulübü (The Turkish Club), full white kit with a red star. Additionally they also agreed to set up a museum. On 23 August 1912 they presented the petition to the International Olympic Committee – Ottoman section. Due to the Balkan Wars in 1913, this agreement could not be enforced.

Beginning of the rivalry

1934 Riots

Friday 23 February 1934 was the day when unexpected riots happened at a supposed to be friendly match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, played at Taksim Stadium. Milliyet reported the match by saying "those who went to watch the match yesterday watched a police chase, not football." Both teams wanted to win badly and therefore the match had to be stopped many times because of hard fouls. The high tension on the pitch caused high tension on the stands as well. The game ended with players fighting. The referee had no choice except to abandon the match. It was the end of friendly displays between both clubs.

Professionalization of Turkish football

The professional nationwide league (known as Super League today) was formed in 1959, a few years after the foundation of UEFA in 1954. It is the top-flight professional league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country. The 1959 Millî Lig (National League) was the first season of the professional league in Turkey. The league was made up of sixteen clubs split into two groups: the Kırmızı Grup (Red Group) and Beyaz Grup (White Group), the colours of the Turkish flag. The first season took place in the calendar year of 1959, instead of 1958–59, because the qualifying stages took place in 1958. The final consisted of two legs took place between the winners of each group. Galatasaray won the Red Group and Fenerbahçe won the White Group, so both teams played each other to determine the champion. Galatasaray won the first match 1–0 with Metin Oktay's legendary goal which the ball ripped the net, but Fenerbahçe won the second leg 4–0 and won 4–1 on aggregate.

Graeme Souness Flag Incident

In the 1995–96 season, when Galatasaray reached the cup final against Fenerbahçe, Fenerbahçe were expected to win easily. However, Galatasaray beat Fenerbahçe in the first leg by a Dean Saunders penalty. Galatasaray manager Graeme Souness took a large Galatasaray flag after the match and planted it in the center of the pitch. According to Souness, he did it as a result of an insult from a Fenerbahce manager.

"The Watery Derby" Incident

During the 2006-07 Süper Lig season, Fenerbahçe was guaranteed to be the champions before the derby on 19 May 2007. Because of thousands of plastic water bottles, stadium seats and other materials thrown by Galatasaray fans in Ali Sami Yen Stadium, the match earned the nickname "watery derby" (Turkish: sulu derbi). The match ended with a Fenerbahçe victory.

"Kadıköy Memory" Incident

In the first match of the 2011-2012 season, Galatasaray beat Fenerbahçe 3-1 in its first match at home on 7 December 2011. The match played in the second half of the league ended 2-2. Although Galatasaray had finished the regular season with a 9-point lead over Fenerbahçe that came in second place, it was decided during the season that a play-off format would be introduced just for that year. As the leading team Galatasaray had an advantage in the championship group but Fenerbahçe first beat Galatasaray 2-1 at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi and continued its chances of championship by eliminating the point difference until the last week. The match played on 12 May 2012 ended goalless and Galatasaray was declared champions at Şükrü Saraçoğlu stadium. After the match, clashes broke out between security forces and Fenerbahçe fans, with fans flooding the stadium and throwing their seats. The clashes then spread into the district with Fenerbahçe fans fighting with the opposition fans and setting nearby places on fire. After the events were suppressed, the stadium lights were turned off and Turkish Football Federation wanted to give the cup in the dressing room following the events, effectively cancelling the planned ceremony. However, Galatasaray management and the team protested this decision and TFF President Yıldırım Demirören gave the cup to Galatasaray players on the grass of Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium after the crisis that lasted about 3 hours,. Galatasaray players wrote their names on the walls of the dressing room at the end of the match and added the note 'Kadıköy Memory' (Turkish: Kadıköy Hatırası), causing this event to be remembered by the public with this name.

Rivalry

Both clubs compete with each other for the title of the most successful football club in Turkey, as well as the greatest Turkish sports club overall. Galatasaray won the Turkish Super League (established in 1959) championship 24 times and Fenerbahçe 19 times, and Galatasaray won the Turkish Cup 18 times, while Fenerbahçe won it 7 times to date. Galatasaray has been a more successful club than Fenerbahçe in almost any period of European cups. Apart from the 2000 UEFA Cup champion and 2000 UEFA Super Cup champion titles, it has played quarter-finals many times in the European Cup and the Champions League and has the title of the Turkish club that has collected the most points in the Champions League so far. Fenerbahçe's greatest achievements in European cups are the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2007–2008 season and the Europe League semi-finals in the 2012–2013 season.

Culture

The rivalry between the two top Turkish clubs can be traced back to some social, cultural, and regional differences. Galatasaray were founded in 1905 by Galatasaray High School students in the district of Beyoğlu. On the other hand, Fenerbahçe were founded by middle class men in the district of Kadıköy in 1907. Galatasaray were founded by old boys from Istanbul’s equivalent of Eton, the Galatasaray High School, a 400-year-old institution built to provide a French-language education for the elites of the Ottoman Empire. It was there, in 1905, that Ali Sami Yen convinced a group of his friends that they should start a football team, presenting them with a ball repaired with leather cut from his own shoes. Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, were a club built on the new money of an economically thriving Anatolia. They were regarded as a microcosm for the rapidly modernizing Anatolia: ambitious, hard-working, and financially astute. These differences caused the derby between the two clubs to be considered a clash between Turkish aristocracy and bourgeoisie. During the 1970s, Fenerbahçe were supported by an estimated amount of 60% of the country while Galatasaray were still heavily supported by the upper class society of Istanbul. However Galatasaray managed to close the popularity gap between the two clubs after the club started to rise from 1987 onward especially in the 1990s eventually winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2000, matching and in many cases surpassing Fenerbahçe's historical success. The class differences between the fanbases have slowly faded out and the social gap that once separated the two sides has closed over the years. Nowadays, both clubs boost fanbases that represent all the social classes.

Supporters

Cups

The rivalry reflected in the Intercontinental Derby matches stems from the fact that Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are the most successful football clubs in Turkey. As can be seen below, Galatasaray leads 24-19 in Super League victories since its foundation in 1959, and 85 to 71 in total national and European cups. Note: Calculated based on official tournaments. Preparatory and special tournaments are not included.

Highest attendance

Head-to-head ranking in Süper Lig

Total: Of 68 seasons, 33 seasons ended with either a Fenerbahçe or a Galatasaray championship. Championship Rivalry: 39 seasons ended with Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe finishing in the top three, with 19 of them having them in the top two. Lowest Finishes: The league is played with an average of 18 teams and Galatasaray's lowest finish was 13th in the 21-22 season and Fenerbahçe's lowest finish was 10th in 1980-1981 season. Neither team has ever been relegated.

Biggest difference wins

Fenerbahçe 6–0 Galatasaray (2002)

Fenerbahçe 6–0 Galatasaray was the league match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in the sixth week of the 2002–03 Süper Lig season. The match was played on 6 November 2002 at Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and it went down in history as the Intercontinental Derby with the biggest score difference in the Süper Lig. Fenerbahçe's goals were scored by Tuncay Şanlı, Ariel Ortega, Serhat Akın (2), Ceyhun Eriş and Ümit Özat. The first two goals came in the first half, after which Ariel Ortega was sent off. 10 men Fenerbahce scored 4 more goals against Galatasaray in the second half.

Match details

Fenerbahçe 0–7 Galatasaray (1911)

It is claimed mostly by Galatasaray side that the 1910–11 Istanbul Football League match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe at Union Club Field took place on Sunday 12 February 1911. According to Galatasaray sources, on 12 February 1911, Galatasaray achieved the club's highest Intercontinental Derby win by beating Fenerbahçe 7–0. They started the match with only six players since they could not cross the Bosphorus by ferry due to a heavy storm. Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu could join the team after the match started. Galatasaray played with seven players ten minutes into the game. Fenerbahçe started the match with 10 players but finished the game with only 9 due to injuries. After the injury of Fenerbahçe's goalkeeper, the remaining players replaced each other to keep the goal post.

Matches

Head to head

''As of 21 September 2024, Fenerbahce leads over Galatasaray in Super Lig games which they won 15 games more: 53 won and 38 lost, 44 ended in draw. In total official games Fenerbahce leads 101-87 in wins, 91 ended in draw. However, in Turkish Cup and Super Cup games, Galatasaray is the more successful side with 17-4 wins, 12 ended in draw.''

Biggest wins (5+ goals)

Most consecutive wins

Most consecutive wins in Super League

Most consecutive wins at home in Super League

Most consecutive draws

Most consecutive matches without a draw

Longest undefeated runs

Longest undefeated run at home

Highest scoring matches

Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal

Most consecutive games scoring

Player Statistics

Most appearances

Top scorers

Most goals by a player in a match

Crossing the Bosphorus

(In bold: Transfer between both clubs)

Players

Galatasaray to Fenerbahçe

Fenerbahçe to Galatasaray

Manager

Galatasaray to Fenerbahçe

Fenerbahçe to Galatasaray

List of all matches