The Intercontinental Derby (football)

The Intercontinental Derby (Turkish: Kıtalararası Derbi) is any football match between rivals Fenerbahçe SK and Galatasaray SK. The fixture is widely regarded as the biggest football match in Turkey 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.

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 played there.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 beat Galatasaray 2-1 at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi and continued its chances of championship by eliminating the point difference until the final 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 Kadıköy 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 announced the cup would be given 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.

On February 24, 2025, after the match against Galatasaray, José Mourinho used the expression “he jumps like a monkey” about Galatasaray Technical Director Okan Buruk. Following this statement, Galatasaray Club accused Mourinho of racism and filed a formal complaint with UEFA and FIFA. As the reactions grew, Mourinho filed a lawsuit against Galatasaray for damages amounting to 1,907,000 Turkish liras. Following an investigation by the TFF, Mourinho was banned for four matches. Three days later, he was also fined. Former Galatasaray footballer Didier Drogba shared an article about his former boss José Mourinho, stating that he is not racist.

On April 2, 2025, Fenerbahçe hosted Galatasaray at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in the Ziraat Turkish Cup quarterfinal match. The match ended with a 2-1 victory for Galatasaray and the yellow-red team advanced to the semi-finals. An incident that took place after the match was on the agenda. Fenerbahçe Technical Director José Mourinho pinched Galatasaray Technical Director Okan Buruk's nose with physical contact at the end of the match. The Turkish Football Federation's Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) banned Mourinho from 3 official competitions.

Both clubs compete with each other for the title of the most successful football club in Turkey. Galatasaray won the Turkish Super League (established in 1959) championship 24 times and Fenerbahçe 19 times, and Galatasaray won the local 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 Europa League semi-finals in the 2012–2013 season.

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 Lycée, 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 thrive 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.

• In a 2011 poll, 1.4 million Turkish citizens were asked for the team that they support in Turkey by bilyoner.com, the results ended with Galatasaray scoring 35% of the votes while Fenerbahçe scored 34% making up almost seven tenths of the fans. Fenerbahçe claimed the poll was unreliable for several reasons such as the number of people asked compared to the population and regions the poll was conducted in. Club officials stated Fenerbahçe is "always indisputably the most popular club in Turkey".
• According to the research conducted by Socios in July 2022, with the participation of 45,774 people in Turkey, Galatasaray had 37.6% of fan support from the population and Fenerbahçe had 32.3%.
• Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe are followed by large masses on social media. Galatasaray's social media accounts are followed by more people.

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.

As of 10 November 2024

Note: Calculated based on official tournaments. Preparatory and special tournaments are not included.

• Total: Galatasaray with 33 higher finishes, Fenerbahçe with 33 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2023–24 season).

• Title Wins: Of 66 seasons, 43 seasons ended with either a Galatasaray or a Fenerbahçe 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.

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 injuriy. After the injury of Fenerbahçe's goalkeeper, the remaining players replaced each other to keep the goal post.

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.

FENERBAHÇE: GK 1 Rüştü Reçber RB 20 Yusuf Şimşek  85' CB 22 Fatih Akyel CB 3 Ogün Temizkanoğlu LB 5 Ümit Özat DM 28 Samuel Johnson RM 23 Ariel Ortega CM 32 Miroslav Stević LM 17 Tuncay Şanlı CF 21 Washington  57' CF 9 Serhat Akın  80' Substitute: GK 13 Oğuz Dağlaroğlu DF 26 Erman Yıldırım  85' LB 16 Cem Karaca RM 30 Ali Güneş  80' AM 8 Ceyhun Eriş  57' AM 10 Haim Revivo LF 8 Milan Rapaić Coach: Werner Lorant

GALATASARAY: GK 1 Faryd Mondragon RB 22 Ümit Davala CB 3 Bülent Korkmaz  77' CB 5 Emre Aşık LB 16 Hakan Ünsal RM 17 Fabio Pinto CM 18 Ayhan Akman  46' CM 4 Mertol Karatay (João Batista)  73' LM 67 Ergün Penbe CF 11 Hasan Şaş CF 25 Christian Substitute: GK 16 Kerem İnan DF 21 Sergio Almaguer DF 23 Vedat İnceefe  77' MF 8 Suat Kaya CF 7 Berkant Göktan FW 6 Arif Erdem  46' FW 9 Ümit Karan  73' Coach: Fatih Terim

As of 2 April 2025, Fenerbahce leads over Galatasaray in Super Lig games which they won 15 games more: 53 won and 38 lost, 45 ended in draw. In total official games Fenerbahce leads 101-88 in wins, 92 ended in draw. However, in Turkish Cup and Super Cup games, Galatasaray is the more successful side with 18-4 wins, 12 ended in draw.

Source:

(In bold: Subsequent Clubs)

• Hamit Hüsnü Kayacan (Gala 1905–1912, Fener 1912–1913)
• Galip Kulaksızoğlu (Gala 1906–1907, Fener 1907–1922)
• Hasan Kâmil Sporel (Gala 1910–1911, Fener 1918–1923)
• Hikmet Topuzer (Gala 1909, Fener 1909–1915)
• Ismail Kurt (Gala 1956–1960, Fener 1960–1966)
• Mehmet Oğuz (Gala 1967–1979, Fener 1979–1980)
• Engin Verel (Gala 1973–1975, Fener 1975–1979/1983–1986)
• Güngör Tekin (Gala 1975–1980, Fener 1981–1983)
• Erdoğan Arıca (Gala 1977–1981, Fener 1981–1986)
• Semih Yuvakuran (Gala 1983–1990, Fener 1990–1995)
• Tanju Çolak (Gala 1987–1991, Fener 1991–1993)
• Mustafa Yücedağ (Gala 1990–1992, Fener 1992–1993)
• Benhur Babaoğlu (Gala 1993–1994, Fener 1996–1997)
• Elvir Bolić (Gala 1992–1993, Fener 1995–2000)
• Emre Belözoğlu (Gala 1994–2001, Fener 2008–2012/2013–2015/2019–2020)
• Sedat Balkanlı (Gala 1994–1995, Fener 1996)
• Saffet Sancaklı (Gala 1994–1995, Fener 1996–1998)
• Fatih Akyel (Gala 1997–2001, Fener 2002–2004)
• Mehmet Yozgatlı (Gala 1999–2001, Fener 2004–2007)
• Caner Erkin (Gala 2009–2010, Fener 2010–2016/2020–2021)
• Mehmet Topal (Gala 2006–2010, Fener 2012–2019)
• Tolga Ciğerci (Gala 2016–2018, Fener 2018–2021)
• Serdar Aziz (Gala 2016–2019, Fener 2019–)
• Garry Rodrigues (Gala 2017–2019, Fener 2019–2020)
• Sinan Gümüş (Gala 2014–2019, Fener 2020–2022)
• Emre Mor (Gala 2019–2020, Fener 2022–)
• Bruma (Gala 2013–2017, Fener 2022–2023)
• Bartuğ Elmaz (Gala 2020–2022, Fener 2023–)

• Dalaklı Hüseyin (Fenerbahçe 1907–1911, Galatasaray 1911–1913)
• Horace Armitage (Fener 1908, Gala 1908–1911)
• Bekir Refet (Fener 1912–1914, Gala 1921)
• Niyazi Tamakan (Fener 1952–1960, Gala 1960–1962)
• Naci Erdem (Fener 1953–1964, Gala 1964–1966)
• Raşit Çetiner (Fener 1978–1981, Gala 1981–1986)
• Hasan Vezir (Fener 1988–1989, Gala 1989–1991)
• Selçuk Yula (Fener 1979–1986, Gala 1991–1993)
• Erhan Önal (Fener 1981–1982, Gala 1985–1992)
• İlyas Tüfekçi (Fener 1983–1986, Gala 1986–1990)
• Emre Aşık (Fener 1993–1996, Gala 2000–2003/2006–2007/2008–2010)
• Ahmet Yıldırım (Fener 1993–1994, Gala 1999–2001)
• Elvir Baljić (Fener 1998–1999, Gala 2002–2004)
• Abdullah Ercan (Fener 1999–2003, Gala 2003–2004)
• Sergen Yalçın (Fener 1999–2000, Gala 2000/2001–2002)
• Haim Revivo (Fener 2000–2002, Gala 2002–2003)
• Servet Çetin (Fener 2003–2006, Gala 2007–2012)
• Stjepan Tomas (Fener 2003–2004, Gala 2004–2007)
• Colin Kazim-Richards (Fener 2007–2011, Gala 2011–2012)
• Burak Yılmaz (Fener 2008–2010, Gala 2012–2016)
• Olcan Adın (Fener 2003–2008, Gala 2014–2016)
• Bilal Kısa (Fener 2000–2003, Gala 2015–2016)
• Şener Özbayraklı (Fener 2015–2019, Gala 2019–2021)
• Michy Batshuayi (Fener 2022–2024, Gala 2024–2025)

• Peter Molloy (Gala 1947–1949, Fener 1949–1951)
• Tomislav Kaloperović (Gala 1968–1970, Fener 1976–1978)
• Tomislav Ivić (Gala 1983–1984, Fener 1995)
• Mustafa Denizli (Gala 1987–1989/1990–1992, 2015–2016 Fener 2000–2002)

• Jozsef Svensk (Fener 1932–1935/1938–1939, Gala 1947)
• László Székely (Fener 1951–1953, Gala 1953–1954)

  Fenerbahçe win
  Galatasaray win
  Draw

• Beşiktaş–Fenerbahçe rivalry
• Beşiktaş–Galatasaray rivalry
• The Intercontinental Derby (basketball)
• List of association football rivalries
• List of association football club rivalries in Europe
• Sports rivalry
• Big Three (Turkey)

• Fenerbahçe SK official website
• Galatasaray SK official website