Galatasaray welcomes new president with humiliating defeat

ISTANBUL

The humiliating defeat on Oct. 26 came four days after a 4-0 home loss in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund. AA Photo

Galatasaray’s slump has continued in the Spor Toto Super League with a 4-0 loss at Istanbul Başakşehir.

The humiliating defeat on Oct. 26 came four days after a home loss in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund with the same score and one day after Duygun Yarsuvat was elected the new president of the club.

Marcio Mossoro scored the home side’s first goal in the 16th minute, followed by a strike by ex-Fenerbahçe player Semih Şentürk four minutes later.

Massoro added another in the 69th minute and prepared one for Doka in the 79th to seal the score of the game.

Galatasaray’s Italian coach Cesare Prandelli, whose future at the club is doubtful, declined to participate in a post-game press conference, while also rejecting an interview with the official broadcaster Lig TV.

Galatasaray supporters were furious at the poor performances and the eight goals conceded in the last two games. Thousands of fans shouted for Prandelli’s resignation in the stands, while a small group of fans went to the club’s facilities in Florya after the game to protest the coach and players.

Abdurrahim Albayrak, one of the club’s new board members, had a meeting with Prandelli at the facilities after the game and reportedly warned him about the team’s situation.

Galatasaray’s Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo defended his coach, while taking the blame in the name of the players.

“We should show Galatasaray’s quality on the pitch, regardless of the score,” Melo said after the game. “I have heard some speculations about our coach. It is not his fault; we are the ones on the pitch. We must change our mentality and do our best. I will watch this game again and again and will find out what went wrong. We must now shut up and do our jobs.”

Galatasaray hosts Kasımpaşa on Oct. 31 for a league game and will travel to Dortmund on Nov. 4 for a Champions League match. The results may decide whether the Istanbul club will continue with Prandelli.

There were two other games with goal frenzy in the Spor Toto Super League on Oct. 26.

Trabzonspor held onto a 4-4 draw at home against Gaziantepspor, thanks to a header from Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardozo in the final minutes. The result, however, failed to ease the pressure on Trabzonspor coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

In Mersin, the 10-man Mersin İdmanyurdu came from two goals behind to beat Eskişehispor 4-2. Oktay Delibalta shined for the home side with two goals and a brilliant performance.

In other games over the weekend, Fenerbahçe beat Gençlerbirliği 2-1 at home on two penalty goals, leading to outcry on the Ankara club side.

In Balıkesir, Bursaspor, struggling in the mid-table in standings, routed Balıkesirspor with a 5-0 victory as 23-year-old striker Cedric Bakambu enjoyed a hat trick. Çaykur Rizespor also won its away game, beating the 10-man Sivasspor 1-0.

“Greek God” Theofanis Gekas’s eighth goal of the season was not enough for the third-placed Akhisar Muncipality, as it lost 2-1 at Karabükspor.  

Tırku Konyaspor lost 2-0 to Kasımpaşa, leading to the departure of coach Mesut Bakkal. The club announced yesterday that it agreed to a contract with former Fenerbahçe coach Aykut Kocaman to replace Bakkal. Kocaman was the Fenerbahçe coach during the 2010-2011 season, during which the Istanbul club won the league title but was later involved in a match-fixing investigation, resulting in a three-year ban from the European stage imposed by the UEFA.