Curious things, friendships. How they wax and wane as people’s lives and circumstances change, strained by time or distance. Friendships between football supporters can be similarly curious in their formation. Some are more easy to understand, often born out of shared values, perhaps colours, or out of a simplistic attitude of “my enemies’ enemy is my friend”, but as in life tight bonds can occasionally form between the most unlikely of partners.
In 2013, as St Johnstone unveiled a black and red striped away kit, much of Scottish football will have moved on fairly quickly. Just another kit launch. But there was something more to it than that. The red and black stripes were a tribute to a club from almost the other side of the European continent, who in turn were unveiling a blue and white away strip of their own in honour of the Perth Saints.
Like all the best relationships, this started out as a summer thing, taking place beneath the dreamy sunsets and floodlights that are common in the early qualifying rounds of European competition, warm air and short sleeves on the terraces.
Eskisehir is a city in Turkey, around 300 kilometres southeast of Istanbul and home to 800,000 people. It is a university city known for hot springs and manufacturing. Those red and black stripes are the colours of its most successful football team, Eskisehirspor. With one Turkish Cup to their name, and for five months the employer of Kris Boyd, they are not a famous club in a country where big teams from the capital dominate the discussion. It is a situation easily recognisable to St Johnstone and its support.
It was a slightly odd set of circumstances that led to this meeting. Neither club had done quite enough to qualify under the normal criteria. St Johnstone were in Europe for the first time in 10 years. Finishing in sixth position the previous season had proved to be enough as Rangers’ financial struggles became increasingly clear and cost them a place in Europe. Eskisehirspor similarly snuck in the back door as Besiktas missed out due to their own financial issues.
Both sets of fans found themselves in similar situations as the draw was announced – a blend of excitement and intrigue and extensive use of Wikipedia. “When the draw came out and we found we had Eskisehirspor, the reaction was the same amongst us all: where is that?” recalls St Johnstone fan Graeme Buchan. “How do we get there? Travel plans were hindered due to huge engineering works in Turkey and there was no train service out of Istanbul to Eskisehir. The club offered a package to fans on the club charter from Edinburgh direct to Eskisehir. Plenty of other Saints fans made their own way to Eskisehir on buses or ferries from Istanbul along the Bosphorus.”
Fans in Turkey were trying to negotiate the journey in the opposite direction. “I remember I was working in front of my computer in the office, scrolling down to understand who we were going to play and then suddenly I saw St Johnstone, Scotland,” says Firat Ackoray. “OK, I thought, I don’t know where this team is from. So I go to Wikipedia and see they are from Perth. So next, where is Perth and so on. I think most fans did not know St Johnstone until this game.”
It was Saints’ first European adventure since perhaps the most glamorous tie in their history, when a Monaco squad containing Fabien Barthez, David Trezeguet and Sabri Lamouchi knocked them out of the Uefa Cup qualifiers 10 years earlier. Eskisehir were 40 years on from previous European nights taking on the likes of Fiorentina and Köln.
Firat continues: “I remember that for my generation Eskisehirspor were most of the time in the third or second league in Turkey. Shit stadiums, shit games. This was the first time ever we got to attend a European game, so for us it was huge. We could not believe we were going to play in Europe. Our fathers had always talked about how Eskisehirspor had defeated Sevilla in their days. It was unbelievable to have days like these again.
“We had a really great team in those days. Dedé from Borussia Dortmund, Diamante Kamara, Otohan from Besiktas, some great players in the Turkish national team. The season before we did a really good job with really talented players.”
The first leg took place in the heat of a Turkish midsummer. Saints’ players and officials arrived to find scarves and flowers from Eskisehirspor officials and an armed police escort accompanying the team bus into the city. The scream of fighter jets passing overhead was not uncommon due to the relative proximity of Syria and the civil war there.
Ruari Kaylor was 15 at the time. “Travelling over there was weird to say the least,” he remembers. “My brother, two pals and I were lucky enough to get spaces on the discounted club charter flight. As a 15 year-old, travelling with the team was a bit surreal. Safe to say I said a total of zero words to the players on the plane!
“There was obviously a real buzz about everyone. Thankfully the flight was direct but I remember landing at the military airport in Eskisehir and thinking ‘Wow, it’s really hot.’ There were grand mosques with calls to prayer, shopping centres with mental security at the entrance, and intimidating police officers with weapons.”
Past meetings between teams from the British Isles and Turkey perhaps set an ominous precedent, but if there were any concerns they quickly dissipated. Firat was in town for the Saintees’ arrival: “When the Scottish fans came to the city they did not hide themselves. They had jerseys and flags everywhere. I thought one of two things would happen: big fights or a big friendship. But the reaction of the crowd and the attitude of the St Johnstone supporters meant it went the way it did.
“Eskisehir is known for hospitality and generosity and the St Johnstone fans were respectful. You see a lot about Scottish and English away fans but that night in Eskisehir was something special. The fans arrived with their flags and traditions. We don’t have this in Turkey normally and we experienced this in our hometown. Everybody was so friendly, no trouble at all. I was a bit afraid something bad might happen but somehow a huge friendship appeared, it was amazing.”
Graeme was also in the city. “The players were staying on the outskirts of the city but Saints fans made for the bright lights of the centre,” he continues. “The locals were also out in large numbers and it did not take long for all the fans to start to mix, chat, drink and take photos.
“One of my pals was wearing the 7-2 Dundee T-shirt which listed the Saints team from that day. It included Attila Sekerlioglu and several locals commented on the Turkish name. It appeared to be some evening of celebrations for the locals as all over town the restaurants, and shisha bars were packed.”
Ruari adds: “Walking through ‘Bar Street’ on the first night quickly quashed any apprehension. All of the locals seemed perplexed but overjoyed that we had come over with good intentions and it really felt like the whole of the city had heard about these mad Saints fans and came down for a drink, a laugh and a singsong.
“We even met the chairman of Eskisehirspor if I remember correctly. A brass band appeared at one point and everyone gathered round to sing Oh When the Saints. Amongst the chaos, my dad’s dentures came flying out of his mouth, never to be seen again. I like to think they’re wrapped around a Turkish pint glass to this day. It was just such a different vibe to what was expected.”
With the match taking place at the dawn of the smartphone era, this night is documented on the internet in some detail. There are photos of beers and sunshine; kilts combined with Eskisehirspor jerseys and slightly dated haircuts; everyone’s arms around everyone else’s, be they Turkish or Scottish.
And so to the match. An open bowl of a stadium with fire trucks parked behind one end, a brass band among the home support, all under a slowly darkening sky. It finished 2-0 to the home side, with two deflected goals both off the unfortunate Frazer Wright.
“From the away leg I remember being in awe of Dedé and thinking he was the second coming of Roberto Carlos,” says Ruari. “He was orchestrating the Eskisehir crowd during the warm-up and they generated a noise as loud as I’d ever heard in a stadium. The game itself was a bit surreal and the atmosphere was crazy. It was just so partizan and loud. The Turks really can generate a terrifying atmosphere.”
The Perth leg came the following week. A clash of dates with the London Olympics created a visa backlog for the Turkish fans and limited their numbers at McDiarmid Park, but still a group of fans travelled over and found Perth and its football club determined to roll out the red carpet in the same way it had been rolled out for them.
There were pipe bands and of course more arm-in-arm drinks in the pubs and clubs of the city on a balmy Perth evening. The tie ended in a draw but with both sets of fans singing the other’s songs at the whistle, the Turkish contingent having picked up the intricacies of Saints’ rivalry with Dundee in impressive time. Eskisehir would go on to face Marseille in the next round, but both teams left to an ovation that night.
A bond had formed over those few days in late July between supporters, between club officials and somehow between the clubs themselves. Two provincial teams brought together by financial mismanagement of bigger rivals and the fate of the draw. Two groups of fans for whom nights of European football were not the norm, determined to enjoy the occasion, extend the hand of friendship and represent their home towns with a little grace.
This curious relationship lived on. As St Johnstone entered a golden age you could still see the signs – fans from Eskisehirspor travelling to Saints’ European away days in Switzerland or Slovakia, perhaps the Scottish teams’ success acting as a salve as the Turkish team struggled. Banners of support and solidarity between fan groups were unveiled at McDiarmid over the years as Eskishehirspor experienced an implosion of multiple relegations and financial mismanagement.
Reminders and mementoes from those 10 golden days in July can still be found on pub walls across the Fair City if you know where to look. Stories of fans still making the trip to Eskisehir for holidays still abound.
Firat perhaps best sums up the whole affair. “The 10 days of both games were the most amazing, it was a great time that we remember so much,” he says. “I remember how proud everyone was, you could see it in people’s eyes. It was a privilege to travel, we had an amazing time. A lifetime experience.”
