Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, known as the “Opposite Brothers” and two of the defining clubs of Turkish football, will meet for the 407th time in their history. The Week 9 Trendyol Süper Lig match will be played at RAMS Park at 21:30.
Over more than a century, the rivalry has been marked by many unusual events.
First goal and first match
Galatasaray’s Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu scored the first goal in the rivalry. The first match was played on January 17, 1909, at a venue called “Papazın Çayırı” (Priest’s Meadow). Galatasaray won 2-0. Galatasaray also conceded no goals in the first seven matches against their rivals.
The 2024 Super Cup walkover
The TFF Super Cup match between the two clubs on April 7, 2024, lasted only one minute. Fenerbahçe fielded its U-19 team at Şanlıurfa 11 Nisan Stadium. Galatasaray arrived with its full squad and Mauro Icardi scored in the first minute to make it 1-0. Fenerbahçe then withdrew its players from the pitch on the club’s decision. Galatasaray were awarded a 3-0 win by forfeit.
Lowest and highest attendances
The smallest crowd at a Fenerbahçe–Galatasaray match was 14 spectators, at the November 17, 1922, game at İttihat Sahası. The match was played in heavy rain, and referee Fethi Tahsin Başaran had to use an umbrella during the game. On September 21, 2003, 70,125 spectators watched a league match at Atatürk Olympic Stadium. This remains the record attendance for a match between the two clubs.
Goals, results and streaks
Fenerbahçe scored their first goal and won their first match against Galatasaray in the 8th meeting between the two sides. On January 4, 1914, Fenerbahçe beat Galatasaray 4-2 in an Istanbul League match at Union Club, ending a silence of about five years. Hasan Kamil Sporel scored Fenerbahçe’s first goal against Galatasaray.
Zeki Rıza Sporel of Fenerbahçe has scored the most goals in the rivalry, with 27 goals in 42 matches. He is followed by Fenerbahçe’s Alaattin Baydar with 24 and Fenerbahçe’s Lefter Küçükandonyadis with 20. Galatasaray’s Metin Oktay has 19. Tanju Çolak, who played for both clubs, has 22 goals in total, 14 for Galatasaray and 8 for Fenerbahçe. In league matches, Galatasaray’s Metin Oktay scored 9 goals and Fenerbahçe’s Aykut Kocaman scored 8.
The record for most appearances in the derby belongs to the late Turgay Şeren. The former Turkey national team and Galatasaray goalkeeper kept the Galatasaray goal 55 times against Fenerbahçe.
Fenerbahçe went 11 matches without a win against Galatasaray, and Galatasaray went 18 matches without a win against Fenerbahçe, at different periods. Fenerbahçe ended their 11-match run on February 22, 1953, with a 1-0 win. Galatasaray ended their 18-match run on December 1, 1946, with a 1-0 win.
The most common result in the 406 matches is 1-0, which has occurred 75 times. A 2-1 score has occurred 50 times. Galatasaray’s 7-0 win in the Istanbul League on February 12, 1911, is the largest margin of victory in the rivalry. Fenerbahçe’s biggest win was a 6-0 victory at Kadıköy on November 6, 2002. It is also the largest margin in a league match between the two sides.
Matches with the most goals
In the most high-scoring matches, excluding penalty shootouts, eight goals were scored. Two matches ended 4-4. The first was a league match at Ali Sami Yen Stadium on June 5, 1983. The second was a Turkish Cup semi-final on February 7, 2001. Four players have scored four goals in a single match: Galatasaray’s Celal İbrahim, Cemil Gürgen and Metin Oktay, and Fenerbahçe’s Zeki Rıza Sporel.
Stadiums and referees
The clubs have played in 19 different stadiums, including İstanbul İnönü, Ali Sami Yen, Fenerbahçe, Taksim, Şeref, Ankara 19 Mayıs, Atatürk Olympic, İzmir Atatürk, Ankaragücü, RAMS Park, Erzurum Kazım Karabekir, Kayseri Kadir Has, Manisa 19 Mayıs, Antalya and Şanlıurfa 11 Nisan. They have also played abroad in Offenbach, Frankfurt, Cologne and Mönchengladbach.
Referees from Czech, English, Greek, Italian, Austrian, German, Swiss, Romanian, Hungarian, Yugoslav, Belgian and Bulgarian backgrounds have officiated the matches. The most recent derby of the 2024-2025 season, in the second half of the league campaign, was refereed by Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic.
Players who wore both shirts
Many players have worn both clubs’ shirts during their careers. Among them are Raşit Çetiner, Güngör Tekin, Erdoğan Arıca, Engin Verel, Mehmet Oğuz, Erhan Önal, Arif Kocabıyık, İlyas Tüfekçi, Tanju Çolak, Semih Yuvakuran, Selçuk Yula, Hasan Vezir, Benhur Babaoğlu, Elvir Boliç, Sedat Balkanlı, Saffet Sancaklı, Ahmet Yıldırım, Sergen Yalçın, Emre Aşık, Fatih Akyel, Haim Michael Revivo, Abdullah Ercan, Mehmet Yozgatlı, Stjepan Tomas, Servet Çetin, Emre Belözoğlu, Caner Erkin, Kazım Kazım, Mehmet Topal, Burak Yılmaz, Olcan Adın, Serdar Aziz, Şener Özbayraklı, Tolga Ciğerci, Garry Rodrigues, Sinan Gümüş, Emre Mor, Michy Batshuayi, Kerem Aktürkoğlu and Bartuğ Elmaz.
Bahri Altıntabak of Galatasaray, and Şeref Has and Nezihi Tosuncuk of Fenerbahçe, have scored own goals as well as goals against their former clubs. Şevki Şenlen, Raşit Çetiner, İlyas Tüfekçi, Hasan Vezir, Saffet Sancaklı and Tanju Çolak have all scored in the derby for both clubs. Fenerbahçe captain Naci Erdem and Galatasaray captain Mehmet Oğuz are among the players who moved between the clubs after serving as captain of their former teams.
Fair play and sportsmanship
Over the years, the rivalry has seen many examples of fair play. Before one derby, Fenerbahçe captain Galip Kulaksızoğlu sent a message to Galatasaray saying the Oberle brothers were ill and Hasan was injured, and that he did not want to see them without a full squad. He offered to postpone the match. Galatasaray accepted, and the match was played on October 20, 1914, after the players recovered. Galatasaray won 6-1.
Before a match on November 17, 1922, Galip Kulaksızoğlu called Galatasaray to say the pitch was in poor condition and suggested postponing the game. Galatasaray captain Necip Şahin replied, “Our mothers gave birth to us for today, Galip Bey. We will come and play the match.” Galatasaray travelled to Kadıköy, played, and won 3-0.
Historical sources say players from both clubs once shared a rented house in the early years of the rivalry. Ali Sami Yen of Galatasaray warned Fenerbahçe’s Said one night, “Said, we have a match with you tomorrow. Go and rest.”
Galatasaray’s official magazine reported in its February 2003 issue, citing documents, that the presidents of the two clubs, Ali Sami Yen and Hulusi Bey, had signed an agreement in 1912. According to the report, they agreed to form a joint team against foreign opponents, even though the clubs did not merge, and had even drafted its statutes.
On January 23, 1925, during a Vatan Newspaper Cup match at Taksim Stadium, the large balcony section collapsed just before a penalty kick won by Fenerbahçe. Fenerbahçe’s Cafer Çağatay then deliberately handed the ball to goalkeeper Ulvi Yanal before the kick.
In 1934, after each club played a friendly against a visiting foreign team, they played a third match as “Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray Combined.” The shirt for that combined team mixed the two clubs’ colours of navy blue, yellow and red.
Brawl and suspensions
On February 23, 1934, an Istanbul League match at Taksim Stadium was abandoned after a fight among players. In the 60th minute, Galatasaray’s Kadri Dağ kicked Fenerbahçe’s M. Reşat Nayir. Fenerbahçe’s Fikret Arıcan then ran toward Kadri, and Galatasaray’s Tevfik lifted him and threw him off the pitch. The players began to fight, and spectators joined in, which made the situation worse.
The Mıntıka Football Committee, which met after the match, handed down one of the harshest punishments in Turkish sports history. It suspended 17 players for long periods: nine from Fenerbahçe and eight from Galatasaray. Beşiktaş benefited most from these punishments and finished the season as champions ahead of their rivals.
Gesture of sportsmanship from a club president
During a period when many matches between the two clubs were marked by incidents, the late Galatasaray president Özhan Canaydın was praised for his sportsmanship. At the match on November 6, 2002, in Kadıköy, which Galatasaray lost 6-0, Canaydın attended his first Fenerbahçe derby as president. He applauded the goals scored by the opposing team and congratulated Fenerbahçe’s officials. Some members of his club criticised him for this gesture. Even so, the World Fair Play Council (CIFP) awarded him the 2002 World Fair Play Award. The Turkish National Olympic Committee (TMOK) also gave him its Fair Play Sportsmanship Award for the same act.
