No Sneijder No Party

As you might have noticed, I have taken a vow of silence on all GS-related matters since the unforgivable expulsion of Wesley Sneijder.
The whole long and drawn out experience has been a great source of trauma for millions of fans, myself included. Never before has my support of the club been so precarious. I have tweeted 38,000 times since 2012 and I have observed the trials and tribulations for more than two decades, but this is the worst. Imagine supporting a club, whose chairman you despise, whose manager is a brainless, uncharismatic oaf, whose entire squad is full of talentless traitors, whose “official” supporters UltrAslan are unprincipled and corrupt, whose world class home, the Turk Telekom Arena, is forcibly renamed by a mad dictator, who forces the only world-class player to walk for free, who makes a net loss on the sale of a fifth –rate goalkeeper just to replace him with a tenth-rate one, who sells its prized real estate assets in a hasty and improper deal, who sends in bulldozers to dismantle its own iconic property on the Bosphorus and whose entire vision is so far removed from its extraordinary potential that it is tragic to observe.
More than a player
So it’s not just because of Sneijder that I am writing with such bitterness, but because the nature of his eviction has brought many things to light. He was the one shining beacon of hope in a club which has become defined by chaos. He was the one player that people around the world recognised — someone who at one time was revered ahead of Messi and Ronaldo. To think, he stood up in front of 50,000 fans and sang “Fener Ağlama”, he made history against Juventus, he even said he wanted to retire in Istanbul. He was the symbol, the ambassador, the de facto captain and ultimate poster-boy for Galatasaray around the world.
And without a single explanation, we ditched him. Like a piece of dirt.
How can I forgive that?
How can I forgive his team-mates, who, still, to this day, have not even shared a “thank-you” message via social media. I expected that from Selcuk Inan — a man who lacks any soul — but not from Muslera? Only Mert and Sabri showed any sort of gratitude.
New transfers Gomis, Belhanda, Maicon, Mariano are naturally exempt from my analysis. But while the aforementioned parasites are still crawling in and out of Florya I will continue have my doubts.
Östersunds FK
Where does that leave me tonight? I am almost indifferent. Gala play against a collection of virgins in European footballing terms and face the very real possibility of elimination in July. We cannot cry if we are eliminated, because a club so bent on self-destruction surely deserves it. I will not be overjoyed if we progress, because Dursun/Igor et all will live to fight another day. I condemn everyone involved for putting this club in such a position.
But for the future of this club, our love for our colours, our emblem and our history, we must prevail. Failure to advance tonight could destroy Galatasaray completely. When the disastrous duo of Dursun & Tudor finally falls, the incoming leadership will need a club to rebuild.
And another thing: Sneijder is a true Galatasaray fan. Let’s win it for him, it’s the least we can do…
Red&Yellow | @Ataqoz
