Galatasaray have officially become Turkish champions for the 24th time on Sunday evening. In the very last game of the season, Cimbom achieved this goal – and another milestone
True to the motto “Defense wins championships”, record champions Galatasaray have once again won the Turkish championship, their 24th in total. This is the first time a team has defended the most important national title since 2019, the last time Galatasaray did so. Cimbom conceded just 26 goals in 38 league games, significantly fewer than their rivals. Keeper Fernando Muslera alone kept 17 clean sheets. When the number 1 was out due to a yellow card suspension, substitute Günay Güvenc also kept a clean sheet.
Galatasaray also have the most prolific striker in the SüperLig in their ranks, Mauro Icardi (25 goals) triumphed for the first time in Turkey after winning two Serie A top scorer awards (2014/15, 22 goals and 2017/18, 29 goals)
In addition to the championship, coach Okan Buruk’s team also broke the 100-point barrier for the first time in the history of the SüperLig against “fearful opponents” Konyaspor. On the final matchday, they won 3:1 away in Konya, taking their tally to 100, 101 and 102 points.
It was a season of superlatives: there have never been 33 wins in a season before, and 17 three-pointers in a row (from matchday 20 to 36) is a new record. In the decisive moments, Galatasaray simply had the better nerves than Fener, who made the championship decision exciting once again on the penultimate matchday, but could not get any closer despite a 6-0 victory over Istanbulspor on the final matchday.
Fenerbahce’s wait continues – relief for Demirbay
The wait goes on for the disappointed rivals, with the last championship title dating back to 2014. This season, even a new away record – nine wins in a row from matchday 15 to 30 – did not help. Added to this was the farce in the Turkish Super Cup, which made waves across Europe because the protesting Fener sent off the U19s and abandoned the match after just one minute.
Kerem Demirbay, who missed out on a season of superlatives in Leverkusen and has now won two titles himself, is also likely to feel some relief. Like Demirbay, it is also the first championship of his career for winter signing Derrick Köhn – who joined from Hannover 96
Disappointment against Prague – memories of 1999
Next season, Galatasaray will also want to attack internationally again. In the Champions League group stage, the last in this form, the Turks had certainly impressed. It was only on the last matchday that the dream of reaching the round of 16 was shattered by a 1-0 defeat in Copenhagen.
The hunger for European success is likely to be great, not least because Buruk’s team were completely unsurprisingly defeated by Sparta Prague (3:2, 1:4) in the Europa League knockout play-offs. In the 2024/25 season, the next chance in the top flight beckons – and the chance to win the championship treble. The last time that happened was in 1999 – “thanks” to Galatasaray, of course