Man Utd return to ‘hell’ – why Galatasaray brings back bad memories
The old Ali Sami Yen Stadium in the Sisli district of Istanbul did not look much. In fact, according to the demolition company who tore it down in 15 days – rather than the 75 allotted to finish the job – in 2010, Galatasaray supporters had escaped disaster “with the help of God”, such was the sorry state of the structure.
Those who had taken part on the pitch were not much safer, either.
“I can remember the lights being switched off in the tunnel after the game and it suddenly went dark,” Mike Phelan, part of the Manchester United team knocked out of the Champions League by Galatasaray on a chastening night in 1993, tells i.
“It felt like a minute but it was probably shorter – and all of a sudden, the lights come back on and we walked into the dressing room.
“I can remember seeing Eric [Cantona] sat in a corner and Robbo [Bryan Robson] with some blood on his eye. Robbo was saying he had been hit and Eric was saying somebody had hit him as well. It was one of those situations where everybody got really aggressive. Eric, particularly, was really, really angry.”
Having drawn the first leg 3-3 in an Old Trafford thriller, with Cantona netting a late equaliser to give United hope, Sir Alex Ferguson’s European novices travelled to Turkey as firm favourites. Galatasaray were considered a far inferior side.
This week, United prepare for a crucial crash against the same opponents, this time in the much more opulent surroundings of the newly constructed, safety certified Rams Park.
But in November 1993, the Ali Sami Yen and its sea of yellow and red in the stands – that gave the impression opponents had reached the depths of “Hell” – took no prisoners.
Right from the moment United landed, greeted by thousands of hostile fans holding placards reading “Welcome to Hell” (or worse), it was clear this was going to an experience like no other.
“I was picking up my bag from underneath the coach,” former defender Gary Pallister, who watched from the stands in the second leg clash due to injury, tells i. “I was walking through the stunning hotel, most of the lads are maybe 20 to 30 yards ahead of me, I passed this bellboy, he’s pushing one of the trolley things, and as I’m walking past him, I just went ‘afternoon’ or whatever and he just went like that (a throat-slitting gesture).
“I just carried on walking. I was like ‘wow, this is a bit different’. That’s what we faced most of the trip to be honest.”
When it came to dirty tricks, the locals pulled out all the stops. Down the years we have heard of plenty of tales of fireworks being set off outside team hotels, or even team buses being attacked.
Hotel staff in a five-star establishment? Only for the most special guests.
“Choccy (Brian McClair) said he had banging on his ceiling, so him and Jim McGregor, our physio, went upstairs and found a cleaner just sat there banging on the ceiling.
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“But he just looked at them and walked off. It’s crazy to think that this kind of stuff goes on.”
“It was top-dollar service and then on the day of the game, it seemed to change into ‘get your own food, look after yourself’,” Phelan adds. “The evening before the match, there was a lot of phone calls being made to the rooms. I picked up my phone a couple of times during the night. But match day we thought we were ready to go.”
Home supporters took to their seats six hours before kick-off to stir the cauldron and sharpen their pitchforks.
It worked. Other than a Lee Sharpe disallowed goal, United rarely dared to threaten the home goal, stumbling to a 0-0 stalemate and an unflattering Champions League exit.
As the home players, captained by former Blackburn metronome Tugay, celebrated a famous result, Cantona lost his head, smashing the ball into the turf with his fist after the Swiss referee, Kurt Rothlisberger, had decided to blow his whistle without adding any stoppage time.
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The Frenchman was sent off as the scenes began to get ugly. United supporters were treated to an uncompromising police reaction, while some players ended up bleeding by the end of the night.
“Everyone was a bit incensed that an assault had just happened,” Pallister adds. “We had the coach window put through on the way back. I think it was down near the front of the bus and we went back for part of the journey with the window missing. It was quite a trip for our first Champions League experience.”
The majority of United’s current side are no strangers to far-flung European adventures. The task at hand, this time around, is strikingly similar.
Just four points garnered from their opening four group matches leaves them needing a sizeable turnaround to reach the knockout stages of this season’s competition.
Two wins from their two final matches, starting in Istanbul, should do it. The experience for the current squad won’t be anything like as intimidating as 30 years ago, but just as they did in their impressive weekend win at a febrile Everton, United must thrive in the hostility, in their hour of need.
“In big football matches even now, there are all sort of things so you have to experience if you want to be successful,” Phelan adds.
“We’ve got to control the game, because you can’t control the atmosphere. You might be able to, in a little way, if your retention of the ball is good and you’re not making mistakes, control the ball and that can silence the crowd – don’t encourage the crowd.
“Everything is a challenge when you’re at Manchester United, particularly when you’re back in the Champions League and you want to go to the next level. So they have to perform. Istanbul is not somewhere you can go and sort of scrape your way through.”
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