CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
In the year 2000, the Galatasaray soccer team reached the semifinals in the UEFA Cup. I was still living in the dormitories on McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, and I was extremely excited.
Turkish soccer teams rarely had much success in Europe, but that year Gala (as they were known to fans) had a roster stacked with talent, including players like Hagi and Popescu from Romania, the Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel, and Hakan Sukur, a Turkish player.
Gala was scheduled to play Leeds United in the semifinal, and the first leg of the semis was to be played in Istanbul in April 2000. The day before the match, there was a fight between supporters of the two teams, and in the chaos, two Leeds fans, Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus, died.
I felt terrible about the whole thing. I remember watching video clips of fearful, bleeding Leeds fans and hearing Turkish people yelling for help for the injured. The excitement I felt about the game was tarnished by those pointless and tragic deaths.
The actual games were thrilling. Gala won the first leg 2-0 at home. The second leg was played in England, and Leeds fielded an ambitious young team that fought very hard. In the end, though, Gala’s mix of experience and raw talent was too strong for them. They tied the second leg in a fierce 2-2 match, and Leeds was knocked out of the tournament with an overall score of 4-2. Leeds’s European journey was over and they had lost two of their fans. I remember a Leeds player named Bridges taking off his cleats and handing them to a disabled fan in a wheelchair, a gesture that brought tears to my eyes.
After that game I started to follow Leeds United, and I still root for them in the English Premier League, now that they’ve climbed back up from a lower league.
Gala would go on to beat Arsenal in the final. It was a thrilling match that went all the way to penalty kicks. They became the first Turkish team to win a UEFA championship in my country’s history, as well as beating Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup. I will never forget the sight of the Gala players dancing to “I Will Survive” on the field, nor will I forget Kevin and Chris.
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