History of Galatasaray S.K. flames shining on our team and dreaming that it would take us to victories. Indeed it did." Ali Sami Yen is the founder of the club, and the first president of club that served until the 1920s. Since the Turkish republic founded in 1923, Ali Sami Yen did a great job, both founding and developing the first Turkish football club and protecting it against the strict rules of the former state of command in Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire. Between 1905 and 1906 Galatasaray just played friendly matches. Since there were not any Turkish teams, Galatasaray joined the Istanbul Football League
Galatasaray S.K. (football) was recorded. According to media polls since 1978, Galatasaray is the most popular team among football fans in Turkey. The latest poll by June 2012 places Galatasaray in the first place with a 41.8% level of popularity while Fenerbahçe S.K. comes second with a 35.9% level, Beşiktaş J.K. third with 16.3% and Trabzonspor fourth with 4.7%. "The big three" clubs of Istanbul – Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray – have a century-long history of rivalry. The Galatasaray–Fenerbahçe rivalry is the primary Istanbul derby and the most important rivalry in Turkish football. The rivalry poses a symbolic importance to supporters as much