Worthy champions

Monday, May 15, 2006

İlker Yasin

 

It was as pure as mother's milk. The goal Marcio Nobre scored in the match Fenerbahçe won 1-0 could not have been the game that made Galatasaray lose the championship, because this league's champion is Galatasaray. The goal Hasan Kabze scored against Beşiktaş in the third minute of extra time was like a proclamation that this year's champion would be declared in Denizli, and that was what exactly happened.

  Both teams, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, need to be congratulated. Turkish soccer history will take note of this season when the race for the championship was on until the last minute. After the 20th minute of the match at Ali Sami Yen Stadium, all eyes and ears were on what was happening in Denizli. The Denizli-Fenerbahçe game finished 16 minutes after the end of the Galatasaray match and the Ali Sami Yen stands were aching to sing their championship chants. The same could be said for the Galatasaray players, who completed this hard league marathon through thick and thin. The Galatasaray squad, playing with the mindset of a team in hard times, pushed the boundaries of professionalism and won this championship, which is as deserving and pure as mother's milk.

  Galatasaray Chairman Özhan Canaydın and his team deserve a round of applause. The Canaydın administration overcame some problems, and failed in solving others. Belgian coach Erik Gerets needs to be put on a pedestal. I would like to reserve a special thanks to Gerets, who in his first year in this league succeeded to manage a squad in trouble, instilled a sense of camaraderie that is unsurpassed.

  Should we talk about the match yesterday? I don't think that's necessary. There was no option but to win against Kayseri, one of the good teams in the league that was trying to make it to the UEFA Cup. A shot by Hasan Kabze that blasted off the post in the fourth minute, was the first proof that Galatasaray was out to win. Galatasaray, which strengthened its squad with Ilic and Heinz, two foreigners with modest capabilities who often were on the substitute bench, didn't have any stars this year. Team spirit was dominant and that was what won them the championship.

  Yes, Galatasaray are worthy champions. Fenerbahçe lost but Turkey didn't. All congratulations go out to champion Galatasaray. It is time for Fenerbahçe to assess what went wrong.