After one of the worst performances in history by the "Big Three" in 2021/22, there is an almost re-assuring familiarity to the top three positions in the Turkish Super League this season. With one round of matches to go, the top three positions are:

1st Galatasaray 85pts
2nd Fenerbahce 77pts
3rd Besiktas 77pts

I'm very pleased to announce that Galatasaray are the Turkish Champions 22/23! We will enter the Champions League qualifying process at the second qualifying round, so need to win three two legged ties before qualifying for the group stage. No problem, Wembley here we come! ;-)

Fenerbahce and Besiktas can swap places depending on their results in the final round and whilst they will no doubt want to finish ahead of the other, it makes no difference to their European qualification with both clubs set to enter the Europa Conference League second qualifying round.

Galatasaray sealed the title midweek with a 4-1 win away at Ankaragucu. That left them five points clear of Fenerbahce with two rounds left, but with Galatasaray's final fixture being against Hatayspor, who have withdrawn from the league due to the Earthquake earlier in the year (thus granting all their opponents automatic wins), the title was guaranteed at that point.

Galatasaray lifted the trophy today in front of their home fans following a 3-0 win over Fenerbahce. I'm not sure If other European clubs do this or it's a Turkish thing but the ceremony building up to lifting the trophy went on longer than the match, there was a pop singer with dancers, seemingly every director or person in an official capacity at the club was introduced to the crowd, every single player got to run out (accompanied by spouses and children and wearing their national flag if they were a foreign player) to entrance music, a different theme for each player as if they were professional wrestlers. It seemed to go on forever. What I did really like was that former manager Graeme Souness was present to reprise his role as "Ulubatli" and did a circuit of the pitch waving the Galatasaray flag (he famously planted the Galatasaray flag in the centre circle of Fenerbahce's old ground after winning the Cup Final away to Fenerbahce in 1996 and has been a Galatasaray folk hero ever since).

Manager Okan Buruk seems to have put together a team with a strong sense of collective purpose and it will be interesting to see whether he can keep enough of the squad together to build on his first championship as a manager..

RM