Galatasaray S.K. is a Turkish professional football club, found in 1905 by Ali Sami Yen, based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. The club is Turkey's most successful football team in UEFA competitions.
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. 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.
Gündüz Kñlñç started managing Galatasaray back in 1952, and it was under him that the team first competed in European competition in 1956âÂÂ57, 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 BucureÃÂti which ended up in a 3âÂÂ4 loss on aggregate.
The 1969âÂÂ70 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 1âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
The first-ever European success was achieved during the 1988âÂÂ89 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 BucureÃÂti and future Gala legend Gheorghe Hagi. Throughout the competition Galatasaray has played against Rapid Wien, Neuchâtel Xamax, Monaco and Steaua BucureÃÂti. 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 5âÂÂ0 and promoted to the quarter-finals on 5âÂÂ3 aggregate.
Galatasaray had built a strong squad that season and reached the quarter-finals after eliminating Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt and BanÃÂk Ostrava. In the quarter-finals, the opponents were German side Werder Bremen and Galatasaray took the lead 0âÂÂ1 in the first game, but eventually lost the game (1âÂÂ2). 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 2âÂÂ1 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.
The 1999âÂÂ2000 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.
Galatasaray entered the competition after finishing in third position in Group H after the first group stage of the 1999âÂÂ2000 UEFA Champions League, resulting in their transfer to the UEFA Cup, ahead of fourth-placed Milan. Their final group stage victory, against Milan, began a series of victories against Bologna, Borussia Dortmund, Mallorca and Leeds United en route to the final, held at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
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 à  uker missed for Arsenal, while Galatasaray's Ergün Penbe, Hakan à Âükür, ÃÂmit Davala all converted past goalkeeper David Seaman. Gheorghe Popescu then scored the winning kick to win the UEFA Cup for Galatasaray.
Galatasaray had won an impressive treble that season, also winning the Süper Lig and the Turkish Cup.
On 25 August 2000, Galatasaray won the 2000 UEFA Super Cup by defeating Real Madrid 2âÂÂ1 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 ÃÂnsal 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. With the win, Galatasaray became the first and the only Turkish club to lift this trophy.
In the 2000âÂÂ01 season season, Galatasaray reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the 1988âÂÂ89 season. After progressing through two group stages, they faced their last UEFA Super Cup final opponent Real Madrid again. Galatasaray won the first leg 3âÂÂ2 at Ali Sami Yen but lost 3âÂÂ0 in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, resulting in a 5âÂÂ3 aggregate defeat. The following season, 2001âÂÂ02, Galatasaray reached the second group stage but finished fourth in their group, which included Barcelona, Liverpool, and Roma. In the 2002âÂÂ03 season, Galatasaray participated in the first group stage but failed to progress, finishing fourth behind Barcelona, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Club Brugge. During the 2003âÂÂ04 season, Galatasaray entered the competition in the third qualifying round, defeating CSKA Sofia with a 6âÂÂ0 aggregate score. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup by Villarreal.
In the 2003âÂÂ04 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 2004âÂÂ05 season saw Galatasaray reach the group stage but fail to advance further. In the 2007âÂÂ08 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 4âÂÂ3 aggregate score. During the 2009âÂÂ10 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.
Legend: Pld = Matches played. W= Wins. D = Draws. L = Losses. GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference. W% = Win percentage.
All results (home, away and neutral) list Galatasaray's goal tally first.
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