Thirty years after leaving Galatasaray with their Champions League aspirations in shreds on one of the club’s most notorious evenings, Manchester United will return to ‘hell’ for another do-or-die meeting with the Turkish team.
United are bottom of Group A and will be eliminated if they lose against Galatasaray in their final match on Wednesday.
It’s a situation that brings back sad memories for United players and fans who faced hatred in Istanbul in 1993.
United were expectant of a long run in their first European Cup campaign since 1969, having finally been crowned English champions the previous season.
A 3-3 draw against Galatasaray in the second round first leg at Old Trafford placed that ambition in jeopardy, but even then, United had no idea what awaited them in Turkey.
Thousands of Galatasaray fans met United at the airport, one brandishing the notorious ‘Welcome to Hell’ banner, while others launched missiles and menacingly traced their fingers over their throats.
At the time, United manager Alex Ferguson described the intimidation as “exposed to as much hostility and harassment as I have ever known.”
The nightmare was just getting started as United, evidently shaken by the tumultuous environment in the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, failed to secure the result they required.
Galatasaray hung on for a point, eliminating United on away goals and setting off an appropriately tumultuous finish.
After getting sent off, Manchester United’s renowned striker Eric Cantona was beaten by a Turkish police officer carrying a truncheon.
When Manchester United midfielder Bryan Robson rushed to help Cantona, he was shoved down the concrete steps leading to the dressing room, leaving him with six stitches in a cut arm.
“The hatred was incredible. Even the cops began to pick fights with us. “I remember one of the Old Bill just slamming Eric on the head,” claimed United midfielder Paul Ince.
Ince’s teammate Gary Pallister described the atmosphere at Anfield, home of United’s archrivals Liverpool, as “a tea party” in comparison to the hostility they faced at Galatasaray.
On the way out of the stadium, United’s squad bus was attacked with stones and rocks, leaving the shell-shocked Ferguson to declare, “I never want to go back there again.”
But he had to do it again a year later for a crucial 0-0 draw that contributed to United’s inability to move from the Champions League group stage.
Galatasaray has been a nightmare for United, who have failed to win any of their three visits, most recently falling 1-0 in the 2012-13 Champions League group stage.
Despite the fact that the Ali Sami Yen Stadium collapsed in 2010, a trip to the Bosphorus remains one of the most difficult assignments in European football.
There’s little doubt Galatasaray fans will be able to recreate the wall of sound that welcomed Manchester United three decades ago when they play on Wednesday at the 52,600-capacity RAMS Park.
Erik ten Hag’s side can take confidence from beating Everton 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, despite a hostile atmosphere at Goodison Park.
United’s trips to Merseyside are usually fraught, and Everton’s recent 10-point deduction for financial irregularities made their fans even more rowdy than usual.
But Alejandro Garnacho’s magnificent overhead kick in the first minutes took the sting out of the occasion.
United won their second game in a row, keeping Ten Hag’s detractors at bay after a difficult stretch for the under-fire Dutchman.
Getting out of the Galatasaray inferno uninjured would be another big step in the right way for Ten Hag and his difficult club.