The misery of Istanbul continued in the Cup tournament – Galatasaray reached the final and it looked like they will save face. Their opposition was not much – Altay. But the old rivalry between Izmir and Istanbul was stronger than momentary form. Altay won the first leg 1-0. The result favoured Galatasaray… but Altay managed 1-1 tie in the second match and the Cup went to Izmir. Disastrous season for Galatasaray.
Great victory for the old club, no doubt. Football in Izmir is old, yet, success was rare – the rivalry with Istanbul was not in their favour at all. And worse – the clubs declined during the 1970s and lost their historic significance to Trabzon and Ankara. They were not even ‘also run’ mid-table clubs anymore, but fighting to escape relegation. Altay barely survived this season. Which enjoyed, because their local enemies Goztepe did not. It was even better to end the season with a trophy, when poor Goztepe went down. It was great to beat Galatasaray and come on top of Istanbul. It was a rare success too – so far, Altay won a single trophy: the Turkish Cup in 1966-67. A second trophy was fantastic. It is also their last so far…