Every Goal Scored is a Bullet, Every Ball Kept is Defending the Homeland

There is a saying we often hear: "The Republic in Turkey came from the top down, this society did not experience a Renaissance and Reformation like in Europe." In connection with this, it is said that society does not appreciate the republic, democracy, fundamental rights and freedoms, and secularism, which realizes freedom of belief, enough. Leaving aside the issue of appreciation, the truth is quite the opposite in the sense that the Renaissance and Reformation did not happen. The Turkish Renaissance and Reformation, which refers to the process of restructuring the state and social order in a modern and contemporary way, was actually realized at great cost. The only difference from Europe is that it did not take place over centuries, but over a period of about a quarter of a century. 

After the Treaty of Sèvres was accepted, the capital Istanbul was occupied. The Sultan was subjugated and the Majlis Mebusan was dissolved. Thus, the Ottoman Empire came to an end "defacto". At this stage, organizations and resistance movements for liberation started in many parts of the country. Under the leadership of Gazi Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, this great struggle would evolve into a modern and contemporary state and society through revolutions. The film "The Color of Victory" offers a small slice of history that reminds us of the great price paid in the process leading to this liberation and establishment and the value of the victory achieved.  

In 1899, in the meadow area where Fenerbahçe Stadium is still located, the first spark of unity was lit with the kicks made by Fenerbahçe youngsters who called themselves Black Stockings FC (Black Stockings Football Club). In 1902, it develops under the name Kadıköy Football Club, and in 1907, the strong association that extends to the present day comes to life under the name Fenerbahçe Football Club. The love for football, which had just begun to blossom, had begun to find reflection in all segments of society, similar to its examples in the West. However, the Balkan Wars, the Battle of Gallipoli and World War I, which took place in the following period, naturally had a negative impact on Fenerbahçe, just like all Turkish sports clubs. The defeat in World War I, significant human and territorial losses, and the occupation of Istanbul caused a great psychological devastation in the society. The movie begins with a scene reflecting this atmosphere, depicting the return of Fenerbahçe's legendary captain Mr. Galip (Kulaksızoğlu) from the war.

The scenes of the film have extremely realistic mise-en-scenes. To achieve this, the ease of digital was not avoided. On an area of twenty thousand square meters on the Seka Plateau in İzmit, the Pastor's Meadow, where football matches were reenacted, the Topçu Barracks-Taksim Stadium, the Kuşdili Fenerbahçe Clubhouse and the Gülistan Gazinosu were built in accordance with the original. 

We are not surprised to learn that this big production is one of Turkey's highest budgeted films. It is a pleasure to see that no effort and expense was spared in the production of this movie, which claims to revive a mission with a high historical value. 

The screenplay of the movie was written by Abdullah OĞUZ, Evren OĞUZ, İsa YILDIZ and Safran Banu ERDOĞAN. The great master Abdullah OĞUZ also produced and directed the movie. In the movie, the history of Fenerbahçe Sports Club is told in a simple language without any hamasas. In addition, and more importantly, it is possible to see the perspectives and attitudes of various segments of society, both Muslim and non-Muslim, living in Istanbul towards the Occupation and the National Struggle. This perspective takes the film out of the confines of being the propaganda, history and achievements of a football team and elevates it to the standard of a historical film that appeals to all segments of society. (1) 

In particular, the inclusion of a speech made by the legendary President of Galatasaray, Mr. Ali Sami YEN, before a Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray match reinforces the film's appeal to all individuals with high national sensitivity, who feel sensitive about freedom and value full independence.

The cast of the movie The Color of Victory is quite rich and strong. Kubilay AKA plays Galip KULAKSIZOĞLU, one of the first captains of Fenerbahçe; Gülper ÖZDEMİR plays Peyker Hanım, Galip Bey's love and a volunteer of the Kuvayi Milliye; Nejat İŞLER plays Mehmet Sabri TOPRAK, one of the founding presidents of Fenerbahçe; Timuçin Esen plays Cambaz Mehmet from Topkapılı, the head of the Istanbul Intelligence Organization of the Musellâh Müdâfaa-i Milliye (Mim-Mim Group); Yılmaz BAYRAKETT plays Captain John G. BENNETT, and Gonca VUSLATERİ as John BENNETT's lover, the Russian Woman.

To attribute the lead role to a single actor feels unfair to the actors who successfully portrayed other historical figures. Especially Birce AKALAY's performance as Halide Edip ADIVAR, who gives a speech at the Great Sultan Ahmet Rally, is remarkable despite having a short scene. 

Leaving aside the physical resemblance and make-up elements of Yiğit ÖZŞENER, it must be said that the scenes in which he portrays Mustafa Kemal Pasha are successful. 

It is necessary to underline some of the issues in the film. The first of these is the episode in which the members of Fenerbahçe Sports Club act together with the Mim Mim Group to support the National Struggle and send the weapons they smuggled from the British Armories to Anatolia. It is known that this episode, which includes scenes that excite, flatter and move the viewers, is based on historical facts and is not a fiction. 

Again, the arrest of Fenerbahçe President Sabri Bey by the Occupation Forces and his subsequent exile to Malta ironically reminds us of the conspiracy against Fenerbahçe and its President Aziz Yıldırım by the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization on July 3, 2011 and the process leading to the arrest of the President. 

The most powerful part of the movie is the scenes depicting Fenerbahçe's capture of the General Harington Cup after a hard-fought victory. Before that, Fenerbahçe played 129 times in the five years between November 24, 1918, when it played its first match against the occupation forces, and November 9, 1923, when it played its last match, including matches against the teams of the British/French occupation forces. Fenerbahçe was victorious in 104 of these matches, drawing 10 and losing 15. Fenerbahçe's record showed that the Turks could be successful in every field and gave great morale to the people of captive Istanbul. Mustafa Kemal Pasha visited Fenerbahçe on May 3, 1918 for its contribution to the national consciousness and wrote a note in his own handwriting in the memorial book, wishing Fenerbahçe eternal success. In the movie, it is cleverly emphasized as a motivational element that "eternal success" is not a wish, but an order of the Great Leader.

Fenerbahçe had won the 1922-1923 Istanbul League without conceding a goal and won the Istanbul Press Tournament by beating Galatasaray 1-0. 

The war was over and the British had been defeated along with the Greeks. The British Occupation Forces wanted to leave Turkey with a victory. For this reason, they invited the Coldstream Guards, who had previously defeated Fenerbahçe, to play for the General Harington Cup. They stated that their team would receive reinforcements from the Grenadier Guards and the Irish Guards, and that Fenerbahçe could also receive reinforcements if they wished. The newspapers of the time considered each of these teams to be "formidable", and the combination of these teams to be "impossible" to beat. (2) Fenerbahçe accepted this challenge with its own players. The match was played on June 30, 1923 at Taksim Stadium. The first half ended with a 1-0 victory for the English. However, in the second half, with the extraordinary support of the Turkish fans and two wonderful goals by Zeki Rıza SPOREL (3), one of the top goal scorers in Turkish sports history, Fenerbahçe managed to leave the field with a victory. The scenes depicting the match and the awarding of the trophy in the movie give the audience emotional moments and form the finale of the documentary-like movie. 

To describe the movie in the light of all this beautiful narration; As Producer/Screenwriter/Director Abdullah OĞUZ stated, this movie: "It is an epic story, a movie that shows the unification of the masses with sporting achievements, a movie of psychological warfare against the British forces, this is a resistance movie..."

We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has devoted their hearts to the Fenerbahçe community from its foundation to the present day for their vision, efforts and all their contributions for bringing such a magnificent film to the history of Turkish cinema, as well as to the producers, sponsors, actors and other veterans of the film, especially Fenerbahçe Sports Club President Ali KOÇ.

Footnotes

(1) I find it useful to share the assessment of a Galatasaray fan here: "I also disagree that the film has turned into a tool to glorify the club, not to resist the occupation, as some critics say. As a Galatarasay fan, I watched the film as a story of the national struggle above football. Because I think that Zaferin Rengi is not a team commercial or propaganda, but a work that will be proudly carried to the future in our historical film genre." See: https://www.beyazperde.com/filmler/film-319350/elestiriler-beyazperde

(2) For Harington Cup newspaper reports see: https://fenerbahcetarihi.org/harington-kupasi

(3) Zeki Rıza SPOREL: He scored 470 goals in 352 matches for Fenerbahçe, two of them in the General Harington Cup. He scored the first goal for the Turkish National Team and was given his surname by Atatürk himself. He was the captain of the Fenerbahçe Football Team in the first Turkish championship in 1933.