Zalgiris, who is chasing the dream of the Champions League, was able to match the stars of Galatasaray (2:2) in the first match between them at home, but the second half of the duel is still waiting - it will take place on Wednesday evening in Turkey.
"Žalgiris" played a national championship match late on Sunday evening, and on Tuesday morning already boarded a plane to Istanbul, where the return match of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will take place.
Record audiences
In order to get to the next stage, "Žalgiris" needs to present a considerable sensation - to defeat the rivals in their own stadium. However, as endless as the match is, it will be special for the representatives of Lithuania and may even go down in history as the duel that attracted the largest audience of our country's club since the restoration of independence.
Until now, the record was the confrontation between FBK "Kaunas" and Glasgow "Rangers" in 2000 - it was watched by 46 thousand spectators at the "Ibrox" stadium. A couple thousand fewer watched in 2018. "Sūduva's" duel in Glasgow against "Celtic".
The largest stadium visited by "Žalgiris" and the largest audience in recent times - in 2018. match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville (capacity 44 thousand) to 26 thousand. viewers.
In general, playing in big stadiums is not new for "Žalgiris" recently - 36 people visited the team last year. in the accommodating Basel stadium, where 13 thousand watched the match. viewers.
The absolute record of "Žalgiris" and our country's clubs in UEFA tournaments belongs to a deeper history and goes back to the end of the Soviet era - the 1989 duel against Belgrade "Crvena Zvezda". Although the official protocol of the match states that 58 thousand people visited the stadium that time. spectators, according to unofficial data, "Maracana" could accommodate more than 80 spectators.
An impressive stadium
This time, "Žalgiris" will have to play at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex stadium in Istanbul, which has been called "Rams Park" since this year. More than 52 thousand capacity stadium is the second largest in Turkey, second only to Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which hosted this year's Champions League final.
"Rams Park" is the most expensive stadium in Turkey in terms of construction cost - the arena, completed in 2011, cost about 250 million. dollars. It is also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the sports stadium that has generated the most energy from its (rooftop) solar panels.
It's hot here not only on sunny days, but also in the evenings - Turkish football fans are known to be some of the most passionate in all of Europe. During the first Istanbul derby held at the stadium, between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, the world record for the largest crowd of fans was recorded (although this record had to be surrendered later).
This will be Galatasaray's first official home game this season, so it is expected that there should not be many empty seats in the stadium. Last season, an average of 45 people visited here during the national championship matches. viewers. The range of prices for tickets to the duel with "Žalgiris" is considerable - tickets cost from 16 to 300 euros.
Newcomers and addition
Galatasaray also filled a large part of the stadium on Sunday, although it was not a match, but a presentation of the club's new players. The contracts with the club have recently been signed by such well-known names in Europe as Wilfried Zaha (former Manchester United striker) and Mauro Icardi (Paris Saint-Germain). The latter will earn 6 million euros per season in Istanbul, while the former will earn 4,3 million euros. euros. Until now, only Nicolo Zaniolo has earned more at the club (about 4 million euros).
However, both W. Zaha and M. Icardi will watch the match from the stands - they were not registered in the team application for the first round matches.
The only possible potential addition to the ranks of Galatasaray compared to the first match in Vilnius is the forward from DR Congo Cedric Makambu. The 32-year-old scored 18 goals in the Greek Championship for Olympiacos Piraeus last season and has previously played for the likes of Marseille and Villarreal.
At that time, "Žalgiris" will definitely have one loss - Donatas Kazlauskas, who scored the equalizing goal in Vilnius, will not be able to play in Turkey due to the second yellow card he received.
The match will be refereed by referees from France with the field referee Willy Delajod at the helm. The 30-year-old referee became the youngest referee in the history of the French championship five years ago. The first international match he refereed is in 2021. the control international match between the national teams of Spain and Lithuania took place.
The match between Galatasaray and Zalgiris will take place on August 2. from 21 p.m. 30 minutes
