Turkish Super Lig Weekly: Fenerbahce steal the headlines as Besiktas lay down marker
Fenerbahce slip up
I promised myself that I would make these roundups short and concise. Unfortunately, just two weeks into the season, I've had to go back on that, after some astonishing scenes that really need some fleshing out for the casual reader.
So there's only one place to start. Fenerbahce were back in Super Lig action after failing to qualify for the Champions League following a third qualifying round loss to Lille earlier in the week.
Fenerbahce went into the game on Saturday against Goztepe with the future of one of their star players, Ferdi Kadioglu, up in the air, as a move to Premier League side Brighton looks on the cards. The full-back began the game on the bench.
But Ferdi was not the main talking point of this match, as Fenerbahce made the first big mistake of the title race, squandering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Goztepe, during a match that had one truly remarkable incident.
Fenerbahce led the game 2-0 at the half-time break, when club president Ali Koc (more on him later) entered the pitch during the interval, and went over to the away fans. Bear in mind that he did not have permission to do this, so it was officially an illegal act, as later confirmed by the Turkish Football Federation and Goztepe CEO Kerem Ertan.
Some of the Fener fans with tickets had apparently not been granted access to the match, so Ali Koc took it upon himself to go see the fans and make sure they were all okay. A bizarre decision.
What made it more bewildering, was that he remained with the away fans throughout half time and even five minutes into the second half. On the 50th-minute mark, he marched around the pitch with several security guards around him, even cutting across by the corner flag, forcing the match to be paused for a few seconds as he headed to the exit.
In doing that, Goztepe fans were furious, hurling items at him. But then, one man, Fatih Ozkan - who was confirmed to be a volunteer at the stadium and not a Goztepe official - shoved Ali Koc in the back, causing him to take a heavy fall.
The TFF came out to condemn the actions of Ali Koc and Fatih Ozkan, and said they would be conducting an investigation and would act accordingly. The latter was arrested after the incident, before later being released.
The last year of Turkish football has been blighted by moments of violence and carnage on the pitch, and this is just another remarkable chapter highlighting the elevating tensions in the chaotic world of the Turkish Super Lig.
And this is only the second week of the season.
In regards to the match itself, Youssef En-Nesyri scored his first goal for the club at the end of the first half to put them two goals to the good, and it looked like they were on course for three points.
However, defender Koray Gunter headed home to make it 2-1 with around 25 minutes to go, and the pressure began to pile on Fenerbahce in front of a raucous home crowd, who had been riled up by Ali Koc's antics.
Then in the 95th minute, Brazilian striker Romulo Cardoso - who had a goal ruled out in the first half perhaps unfairly - struck home in fabulous fashion to snatch a well-deserved draw for the home side.
Special mention to Romulo, who has impressed since joining Goztepe on loan in January, and looks to be a good Super Lig striker.
It has been a tough week for Jose Mourinho, who seems to not yet know his best starting XI. Winning the title is his only option, so the pressure could ramp up very quickly on him.
Onto defending champions Galatasaray, who kicked off proceedings on Friday, and in similar fashion to last week, it was lethargic and sluggish.
Yet, Galatasaray still found a way to win, edging past Konyaspor 2-1. Kerem Akturkoglu and Baris Alper Yilmaz got on the scoresheet, while Mauro Icardi and Lucas Torreira put in excellent performances.
During Okan Buruk’s two-year tenure at Galatasaray, he has won back-to-back titles, but the style of football has never been the most free-flowing or eye-catching in any way shape or form. Relying on individual quality, player freedom, and his man management has been the general vibe.
This has held them back in important European games. But in the league, the quality of his players has always come up trumps. However, there have been a number of off-the-field issues this summer, with the future of several players up in the air, and new signings yet to be fully integrated. As a result, Okan Buruk’s lack of coaching has been further amplified.
But they keep winning, and at the moment, that is all that matters.
They have a vitally important Champions League playoff first-leg against Young Boys up next on Wednesday.
Besiktas continue to look the best out of the three title-chasing sides early on, and laid down a marker with an emphatic offensive display on Sunday, dismissing Antalyaspor 4-2.
Ciro Immobile bagged a brace, while fellow new signing Rafa Silva's sharp start to his career in Turkey continued, also scoring for his second goal of the season.
These two players look set to be transformative signings for Besiktas, who finished sixth last season and a whopping 46 points behind Galatasaray.
They are far sharper in attack, with a front four of young talent Semih Kilicsoy, Milot Rashica, Silva and Immobile looking supremely dangerous and relentless in their pressing. The firepower they possess is going to make them a big force.
But defensively, it looks like there are still some issues. Antalyaspor went 1-0 up in the match, and managed to peg Besiktas back to 2-2. Sorting out the backline will certainly be a big priority for Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Who is Ali Koc?
I hadn't been planning on doing anything like this, but I think after this week's antics, it is absolutely necessary to give you a bit of an explanation about just who Ali Koc is, and why he constantly finds himself at the centre of attention. I would be gobsmacked if his name doesn't come up again this season.
Ali Koc is a businessman and a member of the Koc family - one of the wealthiest families in the entirety of Turkey. In 2018, he was elected as the President of Fenerbahce, and vowed to bring a league title to the club after going four years without being champions.
However, during six years in charge, he has failed to bring the Super Lig to Kadikoy, leaving them stuck on 19 Super Lig titles for a decade, while arch-rivals Galatasaray have picked up three more titles during his tenure.
Additionally, they haven't been in the Champions League since 2009.
With such failure, the pressure has seemingly caught up to Ali Koc in the last year, resulting in bizarre behaviour that would be more fitting of a madman - as seen on Saturday.
Where do I begin?
Well, the battle for 'stars' has been a matter of pride in Turkey in the last few years. Fenerbahce have been stuck on three stars (each star represents five league titles and you can see it above the club's badge) while Galatasaray are on four stars (24 league titles), and could now reach five stars before Fenerbahce even get to their fourth.
So Ali Koc came up with a solution.
Prior to the formation of the Super Lig in 1951, there was a national championship in Turkey. That format was a number of regional mini-leagues - some consisting of groups with just four teams in it, and the champions in each local region would qualify for the knockout stage.
In 1951, the Turkish Football Federation wanted an official league format and not a knockout competition, so formed the Super Lig and a league pyramid system.
Ali Koc's idea was that if he couldn't get that fourth star, he would rewrite history.
From the beginning of the 2023/24 season, on all official club merchandise, posters around the stadium, imagery during press conferences and so forth, the Fenerbahce badge had a fifth star.
He took it upon himself to add nine more titles to Fenerbahce's name for the competitions they won prior to 1951. They even appealed to the TFF, but with little success.
Yet UEFA and the TFF don't officially recognise the Fenerbahce badge, so the version which you see on television or on UEFA's website doesn't have any stars at all. The only place you can see the five-star badge is at the Fenerbahce stadium or training ground, or on their merchandise.
Additionally, over the next year, Ali Koc created a victim mentality around the club, accusing the TFF of discriminating against them. He claimed referees were corrupt and intentionally trying to make them lose games, which was apparently the reason why they hadn't won the league for years.
In the Turkish Super Cup final towards the end of the campaign, he told then-manager Ismail Kartal to field the youth team to protest against the 'corruption', then after conceding within a minute of the match against Galatasaray, the players were ordered to walk off the pitch.
He went on about Turkish football needing a 'revolution', and it was his way of making a stance.
Soon after that, another incident surrounding him occurred.
Following Fenerbahce's 1-0 victory at Galatasaray in the penultimate game of the season, a riot broke out on the pitch, with Ali Koc one of the many club figures who caused damage to the Galatasaray stadium, as well as attacking stadium director Ali Celikkiran, who suffered a neck fracture.
He was charged with "rioting on sports fields and damaging facilities", while several other Fenerbahce players and management were charged with "deliberate bodily harm resulting in bone fractures or dislocation of bones".
Violence and riots in Turkish football have unfortunately increased dramatically in the last year and a half. The incident between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, as well as when Ankaragucu President Faruk Koca infamously punched referee Halil Umut Meler, are prime examples of that.
Ali Koc certainly isn't the sole reason for it, but his attitude and behaviour towards officials in Turkey, and his ridiculous lambasting of the TFF, have helped contribute to a toxic atmosphere surrounding the people in power.
Many have started to feel that they can take matters into their own hands, and that taking dramatic action (such as violence) is necessary.
And that is Ali Koc. I most certainly recommend that you remember the name.
History for promoted teams
Eyupspor - led by legendary former Turkish footballer Arda Turan - and Bodrumspor faced off on Monday. Two teams who are in the Super Lig for the first time, both managed to achieve a piece of club history in a 4-1 win for Eyupspor.
The victory for Eyupspor was their first ever in the Super Lig, and despite losing the game, it was the first goal Bodrumspor had managed in Turkey's top division.
Eyupspor have made a fine start to life in the Super Lig, picking up four points in their first two games while sitting sixth in the table. It has been tougher going for Bodrumpor, however, who sit rooted at the bottom.
Highlight of the week
Istanbul Basaksehir needed a stoppage-time winner to beat Alanyaspor 4-2 on Sunday, but it was a truly stunning halfway-line goal from Basaksehir's Joao Figueiredo which was the moment of the week.
Team of the week
According to Flashscore's player ratings, Sivasspor centre-back Uros Radakovic was the star of the weekend. The defender joined the club from Ankaragucu in the summer, and against Kayserispor, he made his presence felt. Radakovic scored a brace and helped guide his side to a 2-1 win despite playing the last 20 minutes with 10 men.
