Besiktas the Real Winners as Fenerbahce Draw Blank at Galatasaray

For Galatasaray, the game was little more than a chance to carve out some form of respectability from an utterly forgettable season. But for Fenerbahce, chasing Besiktas at the top of the Turkish Super Lig, the latest installment of the Intercontinental Derby provided a crucial opportunity to pick up points. As both sides trudged along to a 0-0 draw, Galatasaray sunk to their eighth consecutive game without a win, while Fenerbahce stumbled to within five points of Besiktas. If anyone gained victory from this match, it was Senol Gunes’ side.

Lukas Podolski had a legitimate goal ruled out for offside and Volkan Sen did his best to squander clear-cut openings, but this was a disjointed game played in disjointed circumstances.  

The original fixture was due to be held on 20 March, yet more pressing concerns intervened. The day prior to the game, a terrorist attack targeted Istanbul’s Istklal Caddesi, one of the main shopping boulevards in the city. Five people died in the area, adjacent to Nevizade Sokak, where Galatasaray fans congregate before games. Despite the attack taking place a day before the game, the authorities only sought to intervene around two hours prior to kick off.  

With fans already in the stadium, the tannoy system announced that the game was to be played behind closed doors. Then, with many disappointed and journeying back from the stadium, the game was called off an hour before kick off due to security fears.  

In the intervening period, Galatasaray have continued their sorry demise, while Fenerbahce have attempted to keep pace with Besiktas. Falling 20 points behind their bitter rivals and 25 behind Besiktas, Galatasaray’s season has seen a number of mismanaged chickens come home to roost. While Besiktas brought in Mario Gomez and moved to a new stadium on Monday, and Fenerbahce acquired Robin van Persie, Nani and Fernandao, Galatasaray blundered in the transfer market.  

Lukas Podolski may have been an adequate signing, but feeble support from the likes of Jem Karacan, Martin Linnes and Ryan Donk suggests that president Dursun Ozbek has lost interest in winning the league. That the club have also been handed a European ban by UEFA adds further scrutiny on the disastrous president.

Despite Galatasaray’s endemic problems, Fenerbahce were unable to capitalise. In the pressure cooker of Turkish football, either of these two sides failing to win the league is greeted as a failure by the fans of each club. And though Galatasaray’s issues are graver, Fenerbahce risk enduring a season of relative failure too. Having been unable to put their dreaded rivals to the sword during one of their great nadirs did little to suggest Fenerbahce have the ability to overtake Besiktas at the top of the league.  

Twice Volkan Sen could have won this game for the visitors, but like much of the season, they really failed to click into gear. Robin van Persie has bristled with contempt whenever left on the bench by Vitor Pereira this season, but the former Manchester United man has failed to take to Turkish football as well as many predicted. In another ineffectual display, he was withdrawn after 65 minutes, with Fernandao making a greater impact from the bench than the Dutchman had made all game. Fenerbahce created chances throughout, but with 18 shots on goal, just four on target and zero goals, the statistics tell a story of profligacy. 

Galatasaray will be the happier of the two sides though, really, the result was one that neither would have wanted. The hosts are desperate for a win, without one in their last eight matches and for Fenerbahce every point is crucial in the title race. Thoughts will now turn to the final stretch of the season, with Galatasaray solely aiming for further damage limitation in this disastrous campaign.

The summer will provide an opportunity for those at the club to take stock of the situation and act to halt further decline. Players will undoubtedly come and go and another new head coach will be required, as the club begins the difficult journey back to the top of Turkish football.  

For Fenerbahce, the future is both brighter and more immediate. They still have a realistic but fading chance of overhauling Besiktas at the top of the table, finally earning the prestigious fourth star above their club crest that denotes 20 league title wins. Galatasaray managed to win theirs last season, providing an endless source of frustration at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium, and Jan Olde Riekerink’s side may well play a part in delaying that achievement further.  

Three games before the end of the season, Galatasaray take on Besiktas, torn between the desire to ensure that Fenerbahce miss out on the league title and the need to avoid an Istanbul derby defeat. While a fascinating prospect, that it has come to this speaks volumes of Galatasaray’s decline.

Do you think Fenerbahce can now make up the five-point gap between themselves and Besiktas? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below