Istanbul Başakşehir: The World's Most Hated Champions 

Saw this team play at home with a few friends while backpacking in Turkey in 2017. The stadium was mostly empty except for the rowdy Besiktas fans who filled the entire away section, and who made the most noise as you can imagine. The only home supporters seemed to be a few casual fans who appeared to be from the nearby housing complexes. The only time I heard noise from Basaksehir section was when a few of the Besiktas supporters took off their kits to pose as the home fans just to get nice and close to the keeper to abuse him 😂😂

As a Turk I just want to say thank you for making this video. So many points brought up on the topic so well researched and even delved into the politics in such a way for just a football video. Some points were missed out but they don't have to be said but just gotta put them here 1.The match played by the people shown on 7:26 was actually huge because show this photo to any Turkish citizen and they would be able to name at least 10 of the players. I'm not just gonna list everyone one by one but the man crouching at the front 3rd from the right is Acun Ilıcalı, basically the most well known entertainer of Turkey. To make it a bit clearer he owns a TV station called TV8 and brought all the well known competition shows (The Voice, Survivor, Masterchef etc.) to Turkey. Thanks to this he owns possibly the most watched channel in Turkish television. You might say "What's wrong with him bringing all that stuff and earning money off it?" and I would say absolutely nothing except if the channels news didn't post fake news in order to promote Erdogan. This is just one of the people on the team and the rest are almost just as influential in Turkey. 2. Erdogan playing for Kasımpaşa was mentioned but him trying to back the team financially just as the same way as Başakşehir wasn't mentioned. As he was born and raised in that district he had a bond with the team and the area so presumably payed for the construction of a new stadium for them a few years ago, which is now named after him. Kasımpaşa was a dangerous team and still is doing decent in the league but a few years back they were formidable opponents. Even though they didn't manage to finish on the top levels of the league the amount of referee decisions in their favor was just disgusting. After Erdogan realised that Kasımpaşa's potential wasn't good enough he turned to Başakşehir because the plan is to sell the club for an immense amount of money to Qatarian investors. 3. 2800ish average attendance for them is also somewhat a lie because some people who watch the matches aren't even fans. Of course you can just go to a stadium pay for a ticket and watch a football match as just a fan of the sport but most of the people attending were there for a completely different reason: money. That's right some people who attended matches gave interviews and said that they were PAID to watch the game in the stadium. Many people have also come clean about being offered money to watch the games so that the club seems like they at least have somewhat of a fanbase but in reality this team truly doesn't have ANY loyal fans whatsoever. P.S. This is probably going to be the weirdest compliment I've ever given but this video will probably be banned in Turkey in a very short period of time. So well researched and so nicely summed up thank you for this video HITC.

Still got knocked out of the Europa League by Burnley 2 years ago XD

Here's a funny thing; when Başakşehir bought Clichy, prices for bus passes have gone up lol

I didn't know how much I wanted to know this until I watched it

Turkey has Basaksehir. Bulgaria has Ludogorec.

Update February 2021: as things stand Basaksehir are currently in the relegation zone.

Please make a video talking about Bilbao's basque policy. Edit: yeah, think the topic has been covered quite a bit, like both babyluigi95's recommendation on covering Guadalajara "Mexican-only" policy and Alejo Ferran's idea on covering how Real Sociedad also had an all-Basque era in the past. If Alfie sees this, please take note of their suggestion, think would make for a more interesting video.

The pandemic didn’t help either, cuz they kept playing in a full stadium for the rest of the season unlike the rest of the league :(

Won't be surprised if mesut ozil joins... And he is running around pitch like n'golo kante cause if he ain't he'll be kicked by turkey's president

Well, it was inevitable, and now that you've dipped your toes into the legitimately neverending rabbithole that is Turkish football I am fully expecting a video on every wild twist and turn in the league's history, including but not limited to that major matchfixing scandal that took place 10 years ago that involved a clandestine underground organization that aims to overthrow the republic, proof for whose existence is rather dubious

such a great video. even as a Turk living in Istanbul I'm not sure if I could have been able to explain the situation as well as you did. thank you so much for shedding light on a topic that seems to be ignored outside of turkey

I’m from turkey a really hreat detailed video on everything that make Başakşehir the champions great video. If you are going to make any other video on the super lig ı can help you if you need any

An important fact is that they pay their players a lot of money, but they dont have any fans and their stadium is 95% empthy, so i dont understand where the money is from

You’re making fantastic video Alfie. Keep up the great work!

I feel like RB Leipzig will be the next most hated Champions when they eventually win the Bundesliga in 3-4 years time

As a turkish fan of you channel I’m always mesmerized by your knowledge about our league and country. Keep up the good work!!

90 dislikes all Başakşehir fans in the world

As a Manchester United fan who could see us play these in the next round in the Europa League, this was an interesting watch, well done Alfie as always

Another fun fact: When Arda Turan made his transfer to Basaksehir the price of the breads that people can buy from city hall increased. And another fact that this channel forgot to mention, after başakşehir selled Cengiz Ünder 14 m € to Rome they bought +20 players including adebayor, clichy. And they said that they did all of that with the money that came from Cengiz. (Sorry if i have any grammer mistakes.)

So this is where Özil is going to end up.

I didn't know Basaksehir was that despised

Background music is "DEEP TURKISH SAZ RAP INSTRUMENTAL TOPRAK"

Who’s here after they beat Man U

Buh-shuk-shæ-here for all the anglo-saxon world

As a Turkish person I love the way you say the names. I would also like to say that these are not just rumors and are true.

In 2003 erdogan became prime minister not in 1998.

And Erdoğan was Özil's marriage witness. I guess that tells you something about Özil... If you support/ are close with such a person, how are you supposed to stand for German values? He got what he deserved (except the supposedly racism of course).

Dont cry Basakcity played well, respect from Beşiktaş fan

Update: After AKP has lost Istanbul mayoral elections, in 2020-21 season Başakşehir finished the league in 12th place, just 8 points away from relegation. :)

Doesnt matter how government support başakşehir, they play very well for a 4-5 years. I am big fan of Beşiktaş but i got a sympathie to them. They deserved to be a champion.

You see the same fans in the stadium each time

Fantastic video everything here is really well researched!

I remember when when Turkish team were predominantly Turkish players Clubs were very passionate now it is a bit dull

Erdorgan need to sign his homeboy Ozil☹️

These are by far your best videos, I absolutely love them

16:21 "Dictator" is the right word my friend

I could listen to you talk about issues in football for ages, you come across as so knowledgeable

As a someone who watch turkish league and cup games a lot i need to say that turkish league became what italian seria a was in 2005,bunch of games that goes 0-1 at half time.and end 3-1 (fixed games) and some really bad refeere decision ,

Bruh, the 0-16 Detroit Lions probably drew more people to Ford Field in Detroit than this *TITLE WINNING* club

now they probably get relegated

I am Turkish and my favorite team is Fenerbahçe but In Europe Leagues I like every Turkish Clubs

I see similarities to Dynamo Berlin.

As a turkish citizen who supports antalyaspor I thank you for your effort and explaning the situation with a nonbiased stance.

I’m glad you made this video, it really brings out of the truth of why turkey can’t be a powerhouse in football

It’s bad enough that we have Turkish fans saying “Join Beskitas/Galatasary” on every post, now we have instanbul Baskashir as well - fuck.

Another class video Alfie 👏. Love these type of videos

As a turkish person thank you for making a video lile this please make more 😁👍🏼

About Turkish football, please make a video about the Souness flag incident and the other incidents that happened after that. For example, Fenerbahce superfan “Rambo” slept in the advertising boards of the Galatasaray stadium only to run onto the pitch, clutching a knife.

Excellent research and reporting as always! Here's hoping for 500k then 1m followers, cause youd deserve it!

How/why did FIFA allow this to happen?

Please make a video about west ham and the constant disasters from the owners

Ur channel is so good literally one of my favourite football channels, I don’t understand why u don’t have more subscribers, to me u should have more subs than the Irish guy

This is a fantastic video and some of the things you have been covering involving politics and football are much appreciated as something's are not covered very well. I would be interested in your take over guardiola and his brother the owners at city and girona

We need one more club in Istanbul...RB Istanbul

Its funny you have to warn people about politics. your videos showing the inextricable link between football and politics are my favorites.

Imagine being a Istanbul resident and basically paying for your rivals😂😂😂

As a Turkish person, a Beşiktaş fan, and an Erdoğan hater, I was happy to see Başakşehir winning the league because the 3 big clubs of Istanbul are ran very poorly, all three are in huge debt and their boards keep making terrible decisions and terrible signings. I hope this season becomes a wake up call for the big three

Yabancıların büyük ilgisi beni oldukça şaşırttı. Türk futboluyla bu denli ilgilenmeleri ilginç.

Lad you need to get into documentaries. You’ve definitely got the knowledge, research skills and voice for it

7:55 mhhm yeah makes sense, i didn't knew that but i lived there for a while bc i had family there. very developed and clean place, even for Istanbuls high standards.

The most ridiculous thing is that I think even the family and friends of Basaksehir players don't support them. Normally, you would expect the players to win trophies for the fans and supporters, but in this case, they are playing only for the bonuses and the government support. People in Turkey just consider that there is no winner of 2019-20 season.

I was already happy with FC Copenhagen knocking them out in EL, watching this video just makes it even more sweet. I was so shocked watching the game, we absolutely humiliated them. I couldn't stop thinking about how this was the champions of Turkey, but it kinda makes sense now

Most underrated football academies that produced world class players

Good video man, well researched thank u...

Love how the Triforce is part of their badge

As a Turkish woman and Besiktas fan now we are the worst country in Europe . In football in sports in everything and i don’t wanna talk about politics and economic because everyone knows we’re fucked up :(

Bro I have been a fenerbahçe Fan since I was 5 and I am disgusted with all the politics in the süper lig

My team (sporting CP) still managed to lose to them...

It's a very similar situation in Serbia with president Vučić and Red Star, the only difference is that Red Star have a huge fanbase and are supported by the majority of the people.

Still happy for Skrtel though. Once a Red, always a Red. YNWA

Finally you got a mic. I can now watch yoy

Great video as always 👌

The top 3 teams be like: WAIT! THATS ILLEGAL!

Can there be a video made for when Franco claimed certain clubs are Royalty like Real Madrid, real sociedad, celta Vigo and etc

Remember Real Madrid was also bankrolled by a politician too. Franco.

It may seem crazy that Istanbul has so many clubs but you also remember they're the largest city in europe. They have 5 million more people than London who have Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham, Palace and a few other significant clubs.

The quality if the Turkish league really went down in recent years. I wonder what went wrong for the big three. Even the big clubs need to delay paying wages some times. That's how bad it is

So they're Real Madrid.

Istanbul Başakşehir , the 21th century Dynamo Berlin. Without tax money and government support , they also should only be a 4th lvl football club.

alfie plz look into the world of scottish non league. theres a situation where non league teams are outspending league 1 teams due to the messed up system its really interesting

He said the current Liverpool team but I'm sure he was meant to say Man United who broke the record for penalties and var mistakes that led to goals in a Premier league season...

I love what u have covered here as a Turkish fenerbahce fan I would rather have trabzonspor as champions then them

As a person following turkish football for over 20 years, I must say this video is full of misleading and controversial stuff. Başakşehir game style is super attacking and very entertaining. They have great players on every position, signing Mesut Özil lately is just another proof. Plus their main sponsor is Europe's biggest network of hospitals and private clinics called Medipol based in Başakşehir district of İstanbul. That's why they're very successful in Türkiye lately. The only reason why some knucklehead fans don't like the club is because people of Başakşehir district are showing reasonable support to Erdogan. As former galatasaray fan I know that haters gonna hate, but hey, whatever. Dogs are barking and caravan is going further.

Very interesting video mate

they got Barcelona, juventus and dynamo Kiev in the group stages

Im a Beşiktaş fan but i could say i dont hate them and even if they got support from recep tayyip erdoğan couple years ago the footballers in başakşehir are decent and they deserved the Turkish Super League this year .They really have been playing good

Video idea: Bayern Münich's 2012/13 Champions League winners XI: Where are they now?

Great video. Please make about Tigres of Mexico, the most hated team.

This is how Arsenal and Tottenham feel about Chelsea lol

These documentary's are class, I would pay money to watch them

I am a Galatasaray fan. I hate everything this club represents politically. This is the club of the person you know who. They received huge amonts of government help in years. But they have done something alot better than the bigger clubs in years. They were so much professional than the other big clubs. Because they had almost zero fan base they never felt the supporter pressure. If Gala or Fener fais to win the title almost everything (coach, players, board etc) changes next year. They never had to to it. so the result was inevitable in the long run.

Istanbul Basaksehir:The worlds most hated champions Liverpool: “amateurs”

I am a turkish fan and i am a bit sad that you did not include trabzonspor when you said the big teams trabzon was not bad at europe playe in champions and europa leauge and became champions many times even though the club doesn't spend money as much as the other big teams

It reminds me a lot of steaua Bucharesti in the 80s when Nicolae Ceaușescu owned the club

Fucking hell, that Jude Bellingham comment killed me!

He spends time to make a video and top comments are like "do that now". Like, it's not that hard to say a few words first about the video you just saw to encourage the creator and then suggest something.

No wonder Basaksehir is hated by so many people when it's founder is literally named after a Fire Lord

Ranking all the premier league winning captains

Its like JDT of malaysia, difference is that JDT is bank rolled by a monarchy