|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Real deal Respect for Galatasaray long overdue
Galatasaray's stunning Champions League comeback against title-holders Real Madrid must serve as the club's final vindication. This team is the real deal. Accept it. So many people over the months have bombarded my mailbag -- even telephoned me -- passionately putting forward their case for the pride of Istanbul: Galatasaray. Last season, just in case you don't know, it became the first Turkish side ever to win a major European trophy when it triumphed in the UEFA Cup. Galatasaray added the Turkish league and cup to complete an unprecedented treble. Then, for good measure, it won the European Super Cup as well -- beating Real Madrid. Still, it appeared the Turkish club was given scant respect. After an initial post-treble appearance in the CNN/World Soccer Magazine top 10 club poll, Galatasaray fell away when the poll returned after a mid-year break. "It's unfair" went the cry from Turkish soccer followers across the globe. "We get no respect." And even when Galatasaray's run in the Champions League saw them re-appear in the top 10, many believed seventh or eighth wasn't high enough for a team which was again flying high in the Turkish league, progressing in Europe and holding four trophies. Even this week, English Premier League team Liverpool leapt above the Turks -- coming from outside the top 10 to take sixth. Galatasaray stayed in eighth. Liverpool defeated Manchester United at the weekend and are UEFA Cup contenders, but to leapfrog the four-time cup holders again gave ammunition to the Galatasaray supporters who claim their club isn't given the respect it deserves.
All I could do was agree with the anguished fans. Having no power where the top 10 is concerned, nor the ability to change the opinion's of Galatasaray doubters, I could do little else. Then along come the mighty Turkish team to do it for me. Not only did Gheorge Hagi's side win the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, it triumphed after coming from 2-0 down at half-time against the defending champs. A remarkable comeback against the team currently ranked No. 1 in the poll and who many others consider to be the best in the world right now. Can we start giving Galatasaray some respect now perhaps? It's long overdue. Umit Davala, Hasan Sas and Okan Buruk might not roll off the tongue like Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul, but they're national heroes one and all. Doesn't matter that they're not household names across the globe. These guys are good. They're as underrated as Manchester United, so inept on home soil against Bayern, are overrated. I don't greatly care what the team does in the second leg in Madrid. Galatasaray have earned the right to be talked of in the same breath as the rich and glorified giants of the European game.
Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
| ||||||||||||||||||
