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[Did You know?]
That Precious Feeling Reserved for Members of Galatasaray Community
Written by: Ali Sami Yen
Translated by: Murat & Elif Gökcigdem
"I first mentioned my interest in forming a soccer club to my best friend
Emin Bulent. He was older than me and had already graduated from
school. Since I was still in school, we could only meet during summer
vacations.I worked closely with Asim Tevfik who skillfully handled multiple responsibilities. In a joint effort, we expanded our network and finally created our beloved club with much hard work.
As our wishes were becoming reality, we took the initiave of registering Asim Tevfik as a Number 2 and Emin Bulent as Number 3 in our official records which were kept in our museum.
Years passed with many misunderstandings and fights within the club. Emin Bulent increasingly became frustrated with the club s affairs. In fact, he was at a point of hating the game of soccer and its players. Looking back to those days, I think the only reason we kept in touch was not the fact that we had formed a sports club but because of our deep-rooted friendship.
The years rolled on.
It was a dark day which I will never forget. Emin Bulent was sick in
bed, living his last few hours in his home in Goztepe. When I went to
visit him, Sayin asked me to brace myself before I went in to see him
because he did not want Emin to know from my facial expressions what his
fate was. Emin had fought hard to stay alive during the past few month;
he was a beaten man physically and emotionally. He signaled me with his
hand to come and sit next to him. He indicated that he was about to
tell me something he had kept inside for a long time. He said
The team has not been fair to me. I feel I should have been ranked as the
Number 2 member of the team. Tell all our friends if you do not grant me my
wish, I will not rest in peace and my soul will be the judge of your
decision and always seek what is rightfully mine.After ridding himself of the only resentment he had of the club, Emin turned his head to one side, took his last breath and rested his lifeless hands on his blanket. I was shocke; was this the same guy who did not even want to say the clubs name with his own mouth?
To carry out Emin's last wish, I first spoke with the Number 2 member of the club, Asim. Asim personally liked Emin and cared for him as much as I did. The Clubs problems made us grow close together like the three musketeers. Asim would have given his life for Emin but he was not willing to give up his official affiliation with the team for Emin.
Faced with this emotional issue, Galatasaray Sports Clubs Assembly debated the issue and decided to honor both of these loyal founders of the team as Number 2 members leaving Number 3 spot vacant.
The above statement may not be true after all!
The truth of the situation is that the empty Number 3 spot was immediately filled by all loyal fans love, loyalty and sportsmanship for Galatasaray."