Fener does what it does best again

For a Galatasaray supporter, watching a derby at Fenerbah?e is like watching "The Sixth Sense." Despite knowing the final twist Ğyour hero is already dead Ğ you have to endure 90 minutes of horror to see it all unfold.

For a Fener fan, it is more of an action movie, no matter how bad everything looks at first, the plot always changes halfway through and the heroes come back and save the world.

That was pretty much the situation leading into Sunday's big Turkcell Super League derby at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. Fenerbah?e looked vulnerable in defense and unproductive on offense. This was, at the end of the day, a team that was beaten 4-1 by Kayserispor at its home ground. Many of Galatasaray's attackers, such as Harry Kewell, Milan Baros, Arda Turan, or Lincoln, could do what Julius Aghahowa did to Fenerbah?e.

However, the Fenerbah?e-Galatasaray derbies do not work that way. They have nothing to do with squad quality. They cannot be predicted by considering which side is performing better at the time. Actually, it works out just the opposite: The better Galatasaray looks on paper, the closer Fener is to a win. It never makes sense but that is simply the way it is.

Psychological edge
Some call it a psychological edge that Fenerbah?e has at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, where Galatasaray is yet to win a game in this decade. For a long and painful period of nine years, the Lions have failed to roar on the Anatolian side of the city. Chances to put an end to this painful statistic looked decent, when Lincoln capped some superb teamwork in only the first minute of the game, which was the first time Galatasaray ever got in front in a game at that stadium during the same period, but a rare goal from defensive midfielder Sel?uk Şahin leveled the game for Fener minutes after. From then on, the momentum was with Fenerbah?e's side till the end.

Somehow, psychological factors seem rational in Galatasaray's eternal disappointments against Fenerbah?e. Otherwise it is just so much more difficult to explain how experienced stars of Galatasaray, who have played in almost every top-flight tournament there is, from the Champions League to World Cup or European Championships, can be found making the most basic of mistakes. Lincoln firing an indirect free kick directly at the goal, then fails to understand why his goal is disallowed; or an unbelievable three Galatasaray players are booked for ball-handling on separate occasions.

It gets even sourer at the defensive end: after Fener's Sel?uk sees his shot cleared from the line, later he is able to slip one in from virtually the same position, after the defenders succeed in making the same mistake twice in the same minute. Similar errors dominate the third goal, when only one man is used in a wall against a Roberto Carlos free kick, with the Brazilian set-piece expert getting a great shot that would be eventually tipped in by completely unmarked Diego Lugano.

Credit to whom credit is due, while the Galatasaray players looked like nervous amateurs, Fenerbah?e players performed as cool as you like. Josico and Sel?uk showed how modern midfielders should play at both ends of the pitch, Deivid de Souza dictated the tempo of play, even playing on the wing, and defender duo of Edu Dracena and Diego Lugano never gave the Galatasaray attackers breathing space.

For Fenerbah?e, a Galatasaray game played at its own Saracoğlu Stadium has always been a joy in the last decade. Although it is seventh in the league and seven points behind the leader, the morale boost will maintain peace within the club.

On the other hand, for Galatasaray there will be consolation in the fact that every time it has been trounced by its archrival, it has gone on to do well in the league. Losses by four goals in 1996/97 and 2005/06 were always canceled out by eventual title wins, which only goes to show Galatasaray at least knows how to survive after routs at the Şükrü Saracoğlu.

Though the question of whether the day will come that it can survive the Şükrü Saracoğlu nightmare is likely to remain in effect for some time to come.