[4][2] The fixture has been in existence for more than a century and has developed into one of the greatest, most intense and often bitter derbies in the world, traditionally attracting very large attendances and nearly equal support for both teams throughout the country.

[10] The derby is known as "intercontinental" because Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are two of the major Turkish teams from the Asian and the European parts of Istanbul respectively.

The game, staged at Papazın Çayırı where Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is located today, finished 2–0 in favour of Galatasaray.

Fenerbahçe achieved their first victory over Galatasaray when they defeated them 4–2 in the 4th gameweek of the Istanbul Football League on Sunday, 4 January 1914.

Friday 23 February 1934 was the day when unexpected riots happened at a supposed to be friendly match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, played at Taksim Stadium.

It is the top-flight professional league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country.

Because of thousands of plastic water bottles, stadium seats and other materials thrown by Galatasaray fans in Ali Sami Yen Stadium, the match earned the nickname "watery derby" (Turkish: sulu derbi).

As the leading team Galatasaray had an advantage in the championship group but Fenerbahçe beat Galatasaray 2-1 at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi and continued its chances of championship by eliminating the point difference until the final week.

The match played on 12 May 2012 ended goalless and Galatasaray was declared champions at Şükrü Saraçoğlu stadium.

The rivalry between the two top Turkish clubs can be traced back to some social, cultural, and regional differences.

It was there, in 1905, that Ali Sami Yen convinced a group of his friends that they should start a football team, presenting them with a ball repaired with leather cut from his own shoes.

These differences caused the derby between the two clubs to be considered a clash between Turkish aristocracy and bourgeoisie.

However Galatasaray managed to close the popularity gap between the two clubs after the club started to thrive from 1987 onward especially in the 1990s eventually winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2000, matching and in many cases surpassing Fenerbahçe's historical success.

The class differences between the fanbases have slowly faded out and the social gap that once separated the two sides has closed over the years.

[35] The rivalry reflected in the Intercontinental Derby matches stems from the fact that Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are the most successful football clubs in Turkey.

As can be seen below, Galatasaray leads 24-19 in Super League victories since its foundation in 1959, and 85 to 71 in total national and European cups.

[40] The match was played on 6 November 2002 at Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and it went down in history as the Intercontinental Derby with the biggest score difference in the Süper Lig.

[40][41] Fenerbahçe's goals were scored by Tuncay Şanlı, Ariel Ortega, Serhat Akın (2), Ceyhun Eriş and Ümit Özat.

They started the match with only six players since they could not cross the Bosphorus by ferry due to a heavy storm.