There were reports that thousands of Galatasaray fans gathered at the Istanbul Airport, Turkey, to welcome Victor Osimhen on Monday as he finalized his transfer from Napoli to the Turkish club. And the man arrived at about 3:30am, but the fans were waiting! That is football fanaticism for you. The real deal!
If Osimhen knows Turkish football and their fans, then he must know that if he doesn’t start banging in goals two or three per match, from the beginning, they won’t spare him. The same way they have ‘welcomed’ him is the same way they will harass him out, if it comes to that. And Galatasaray fans and that their stadium are famous for that. That is why the stadium is hell to opponents and sometimes, friends and their players! The noise from the terraces is something else so, since Osimhen has accepted Gala, he has better be prepared for hell, by learning the meaning of the stadium legend – ‘Welcome to Hell’.
Turkish Super Lig is one of the best funded and sponsored in UEFA and the country’s clubs play in Europe, as the country is in both Europe and Asia. The clubs have some of the largest and loudest fan base and venues in the world so there’s lots of money in the league. Lots of big players and coaches like Jose Maurinho are there earning big bucks. Don’t write them off. And I hope Osimhen will appreciate this.
Established in 1905, Galatasaray, in their famous red and yellow jersey, is the only Turkish club to have won a UEFA competition when in 2000 they defeated Arsenal in the UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen.
Several Nigerian footballers have recently played for Galatasaray, including Henry Onyekuru, Oghenekaro Etebo and Dominic Iorfa, while Didier Drogba leads the list of top African players like Cameroonian Rigobert Song at the stadium called ‘hell’. Top players like Romanians Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu, Brazilian goalie Claudio Taffarel, Radamel Falcao of Colombia, Steven Nzonzi and Franck Ribery of France, Dutchmen Frank de Boer, Nigel de Jong and Wesley Sneijder, US goalkeeper Brad Friedel, Harry Kewell of Australia and German Lukas Podolski have all plied their trade there.
Why is the stadium called hell?
The Nef Stadyumu is part of the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex, named after club’s founder. Galatasaray S.K. Nef Stadium was the first stadium in Turkey to meet the UEFA Euro 2016 requirements during the country’s bid to host the European Championship.
Nef Stadyumu Ali Sami Yen Stadium, is nicknamed “Hell” by club supporters due to the intimidating atmosphere provided by the fans, including chants and riots in the crowds, the sea of red and yellow, and the enthusiastic support of over 35,000 fans who often wave torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters. Apart from visiting teams, even their players sometimes have reservations about going into the arena.
These days, the Galatasaray stadium is officially called the Turk Telecom Arena, after its sponsors. It is not the biggest stadium in the world. That title belongs to Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea, which can officially accommodate 150,000 spectators. In Turkey, Nef Stadyumu is also not the largest. Ataturk Olympic Stadium, is the largest stadium of Turkey. It takes its name from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, and is the home stadium of football club Istanbul BBSK and hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan on 25 May 2005, won by Liverpool.
But in terms of fan base, Galatasaray is the most supported club in Turkey, followed by Fenerbahçe.
Galatasaray is also regarded as the most successful Turkish football club, having won 21 Süper Lig titles, 17 Turkish Cups and 15 Turkish Super Cups.
So back to the name, hell.
Officials of the Guinness World Records acknowledge the Galatasaray Turk Telecom Arena as the noisiest and loudest football stadium in the world, at 131.76 decibels and it is from its passionate fan support. So, visiting teams and fans have nightmares about their trip to Galatasaray, where fans greet them with banners screaming, “Welcome to Hell” and “Hey, these are your last 48 hours”.
There is usually a seeming hostility from the crowd but it is really viewed as a genuine passion and fanatical support for the home side. Goals are often met with deafening noise that can shatter the eardrums.
So, from the records, ‘Hell’ at Galatasaray beats other loud stadia, hands down, and the other loud venues follow behind, with Besiktas’ Inonu Stadium, Turkey rated second; at No. 3 is Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion; 4th is Napoli’s Diego Armando Maradona Stadium while No. 5 is Liverpool’s Anfield.
Those are the 5 loudest football stadia in the world!
But, for Osimhen, Welcome to Hell! Welcome to Galatasaray!!
IMAGE CREDIT: wikipedia, youtube
