Fenerbahce Sports Club

Fenerbahce Sports Club

Fenerbahce's football branch currently plays in the Turkcell Super Lig. They are nicknamed the Yellow Canaries and play their home games at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Kadikoy. Fenerbahce is celebrating its centennial year, as of 2007.

Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu was first founded in 1899 by Fuat Husnu Kayacan, Reşat Denyal, and Mehmet Ali. In those times, there were no football teams in the Ottoman Empire as it was forbidden to play football. In Kadikoy some Turkish men were playing football in "Papaz'in cayiri". Papaz'in cayiri is the same place where the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium was built. These men founded the first football club — Black Stockings F.C. (Siyah coraplilar Futbol Kulubu) — in the Ottoman Empire. They were one of the first football clubs in Istanbul, along with Kadikoy F.C., Moda, Elpis, and Imogene. Black Stockings were shutdown by the Sultan's men soon thereafter. James LaFontaine and Horace Armitage founded the Istanbul Football League in 1902, its founding members being "Cadikeuy Football Club" (Kadikoy Futbol Kulubu). Five years later, in 1907, most of the same people who played for Black Stockings F.C. and Kadikoy F.C. founded Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu.

Nurizade Ziya Songulen and Necip Okaner founded Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu a century ago in 1907 on Beşbiyik Street in Moda. The club had to be kept under wraps because of the strict Ottoman rule under Sultan Abdul Hamid, where Turkish youth were not allowed to set up clubs or play football. Songulen was elected the first president of the club, Ayetullah became the first General Secretary, and Okaner was given the post of the General Captain. The lighthouse situated on the Fenerbahce cape was a big influence on the design of the club's first emblem, which sported the yellow and white colors of daffodils around the lighthouse. The kits were also designed with yellow and white stripes.The emblem and colors of the club were changed in 1910 when Topuz Hikmet redesigned the badge and changed the colors to yellow and navy, still seen today. Fenerbahce's activities were kept in secrecy until a legislation reform in 1908, when, under a new law, all football clubs had to register to exist legally. Fenerbahce joined the Istanbul League in 1909, finishing fifth in their first year. The first line-up included Ziya Songulen, Ayetullah Bey, Necip Okaner, Galip Kulaksizoğlu, Hassan Sami Kocamemi, Asaf Beşpinar, Enver Yetiker, Şevkati Hulusi Bey, Fuat Husnu Kayacan, Hamit Husnu Kayacan, and Nasuhi Baydar. They did not achieve any success until the 1912-13 season, when they won the league undefeated.

Fenerbahce played against the staff of the Royal Navy that occupied Istanbul during the Turkish War of Independence. Some British soldiers formed football teams that were named after the players speciality, for example Essex Engineers, Irish Guards, Grenadiers, and Artillery. These teams played against each other and against local football teams in Istanbul. Fenerbahce won many of these matches.

The Turkish Football Federation founded a national league in 1959, which continues today under the name of the Turkiye Super Lig. Fenerbahce won the 1959 Turkish First Football League, beating Galatasaray S.K. 4-1 on aggregate.The next year, Fenerbahce participated in the UEFA Champions League for the first time. They qualified through a 4-3 win over Csepel SC. They lost their first round game to OGC Nice 1-5 in a playoff game after drawing on aggregate.Fenerbahce became the most successful Turkish club of the 1960s, winning five out of 10 leagues. They were also runners-up three times.

The 1970s saw Fenerbahce win four more league titles. The decade also saw the first non-Istanbul club and a club outside of Fenerbahce, Beşiktaş J.K., and Galatasaray S.K. win a league title. Trabzonspor went on to win four times during the decade. Fenerbahce won three titles in the 1980s, a period where each club in the "Big Four" won at least two titles. Galatasaray S.K. and Beşiktaş J.K. dominated the Turkish League during the 1990s, combining to win nine out of 10 times. Fenerbahce's only Turkish League success during the 1990s came in 1995-1996 season.

Fenerbahce won the league in 2001, denying Galatasaray a fifth consecutive title. They followed up the following year with a runners-up place behind Galatasaray with new coach Werner Lorant. The next season, however, did not go so well as Fenerbahce finished in sixth place.After firing Werner Lorant, they hired another German coach, Christoph Daum. Daum had previously coached in Turkey, winning the league with Beşiktaş J.K. in 1994-95. Fenerbahce brought in players including Pierre Van Hooijdonk, Mehmet Aurélio, and Fabio Luciano as a rebuilding process. These new players helped lead Fenerbahce to their fifteenth title and third star.The next year was followed up by a narrow championship over Trabzonspor, winning the then record of sixteen Turkish First Football League championships.Fenerbahce lost the title in the last week of the 2005-06 season to Galatasaray. Fenerbahce needed a win, but instead drew 1-1 with Denizlispor while Galatasaray won 3-0 over Kayserispor. Soon after, Christoph Daum stepped down as manager, and was replaced by Zico on July 4, 2006. Zico began his reign by signing two new defenders, highly-touted Uruguayan international Diego Lugano, and fellow Brazilian Edu Dracena. Zico also signed two strikers, Serbian international Mateja Kezman, and another Brazilian, Deivid. Fenerbahce's 2006-07 domestic season started off with a 6-0 win over relegation candidates Kayseri Erciyesspor. In round 32 of the Turkcell Super League, Fenerbahce drew Trabzonspor 2-2, while Beşiktaş J.K. lost to Bursaspor 0-3, putting the former out of contention for the title.Fenerbahce won their seventeenth Turkish Super League title in 2007, the most in Turkey.