Istanbul (AFP)
Fifteen years after the "Istanbul Miracle" which brought Liverpool and the gang to Steven Gerrard in the legend, the Turkish megalopolis was to host its second Champions League final on Saturday. But the coronavirus pandemic has turned everything upside down.
On March 23, UEFA suspended C1 until further notice. If no date has been announced for the resumption, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) hopes that the final will be played in August, the month when Istanbul is usually plunged into torpor.
In the meantime, the Turkish supporters are impatient and hope that the match will indeed take place at home.
Since most of the football championships have been suspended, Atakan Bodan, a member of the ultrAslan, Galatasaray's main supporter group, feels that he has "been robbed of all joy in life".
"I'm holding out with the Bundesliga and a few games of the Belarusian championship", maintained during the epidemic, but "I want the Champions League to resume," he said.
"Hosting a new final in Istanbul, after the historic match in 2005, would of course be a source of pride," said Bodan. And then, Istanbul, "it's a football city, we have passion".
- "Loans" -
All football fans remember the 2005 C1 final in Istanbul and Liverpool's stunning victory over AC Milan who led 3-0 at halftime.
The final of the 2020 edition was to be held on Saturday in the same enclosure, the Atatürk Olympic stadium.
Today, uncertainty reigns over the date of a possible resumption of the C1, suspended at the stage of the round of 16. But also on the rest of the competition: normal recovery? Games played on a single round, without round-trip matches? "Final four"?
"Whatever the scenario - final or mini-tournament - we are ready," said TFF, highlighting the infrastructure and the health record of Turkey.
Ankara claims to have "mastered" the epidemic which, according to official figures, has caused about 4,500 deaths in 160,000 cases.
In terms of infrastructure, Istanbul, a major tourist destination, has a large hotel fleet. And in addition to the Atatürk Olympic stadium, the city can provide the precincts of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas, the latter having hosted last August the European Super Cup won by Liverpool at the expense of Chelsea.
"I do not expect any problem in terms of logistics (...) The main concern is whether the supporters will be able to come," notes Emre Sarigül, co-founder of the specialized site Turkish Football.
"It is difficult to move forward with certainty in football at the moment because of the speed with which the health situation can deteriorate," he said.
- "Improve the image" -
In the meantime, as if to project an image of normalcy, the TFF announced the resumption of the Turkish championship on June 12, despite opposition from players and coaches.
For Turkey, beyond the sporting aspect, hosting the C1 final is of economic and tourist importance.
While tourism - a crucial economic sector in Turkey - has been severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis with the suspension of flights, hosting such an important sporting event would be a welcome boost.
"Turkey has an image problem and, in general, hosting major events is always beneficial and represents the opportunity to promote tourism in Istanbul and the rest of the country," said Sarigül.
For Erden, of the group of supporters of Fenerbahçe Vamos Bien, the government wants to "use" the final of the C1 to "improve its image" while "people are bothered by the pandemic and the economic problems".
Mr. Bodan, of the ultrAslan, believes that if the health situation deteriorates again, "the competition will have to be canceled".
But in this case, "the 2021 final should be played in Istanbul," he adds. "It is our right."
© 2020 AFP