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Top 10 Best Turkish Soccer Players

Turkish national team game in 1948 – by T眉rkspor Dergisi – Wikimedia Commons

Among all other sports in the world, soccer is, by far, the most popular one. With its team spirit, unique aesthetics and top-level physical side, soccer have been thrilling sport lovers for almost 150 years.

Turkish people are no exception at this point. Like many other countries in the world, soccer is the most popular sport in Turkey. Since the establishment of first football clubs in the early 1900s, Turkish people have been bodacious addicts of this sport.

In our list of 鈥淭op 10 Best Turkish Soccer Players鈥�, we will talk about the best soccer players Turkish sport history has ever created. Our list will include both retired and active players who have been successful on national and international level.

1) Metin Oktay: The Uncrowned King of Turkish Football (1954-1979)

Photo of Metin Oktay – by Harry Pot/Anefo 鈥� Wikimedia Commons

Metin Oktay, who actively played soccer between 1954 and 1979, is known as one of the greatest legends of Turkish soccer history. Metin Oktay played as a forward player for Galatatasaray SK, 陌zmirspor and SSD Palermo (Italy) and scored 314 goals in his career.

Oktay became a legend after wearing the red-yellow jersey of Galatasaray, which is one of the biggest sport clubs of Turkey. In a short period of time, Oktay (later named as 鈥淭he Uncrowned King鈥�) turned into a symbol for Galatasaray while winning 5 league titles, 4 Turkish Cups and 2 Presidency Cups. During that time, he became the top goal scorer of Turkish league 6 times. He also broke the goal scoring record in Turkey with 38 goals in one season. This record was later broken by another Galatasaray player, Tanju 脟olak, in 1987-88 season.

Oktay has become a legend for Galatasaray fans thanks to his absolute attachment and loyalty to Galatasaray. Oktay even ended his first marriage when his wife told him to make a choice between her and playing for Galatasaray. Oktay chose Galatasaray and ended his marriage with his childhood love.

Oktay also starred in a movie titled (The Uncrowned King) in 1965, telling the story of his sport life and failed marriage.

Metin Oktay died in a car crash in 1991, leaving lots of amazing memories and great successes behind. As for today, he is recognized as the greatest legend of Galatasaray Sport Club.

2) Lefter K眉莽眉kandonyadis: A Fenerbah莽e legend (1941-1968)

Lefter K眉莽眉kandonyadis, also known as 鈥淥rdinaryus鈥� (Professor in ordinary), is accepted as one of the biggest names of Turkish soccer history and a true legend of Fenerbah莽e Sport Club.

Lefter was a Turkish player with Greek origin who was born and grew up in Istanbul and spent almost all his career in Fenerbah莽e football team. In Fenerbah莽e jersey, Lefter scored 423 goals and won 5 league titles. He also served in Turkish national team and scored 22 goals in 46 matches.

Lefter has been a symbol of success and sportsmanship thanks to his amazing performance on the field and his kind, embracing nature.

In 2009, his statue was erected in Kad谋k枚y, which is the home of Fenerbah莽e SK.

3) Tanju 脟olak: A true poacher (1982-1994)

The most important player that put his mark in the late 1980s and early 1990s was, without any doubt, Tanju 脟olak.

脟olak was a forward player raised in Samsunspor. He was simply .

脟olak played in 157 games for Samsunspor and scored 123 goals, which was an unbelievable statistic when we consider that Samsunspor was a small team and was no match for big Istanbul teams. In 1987, Tanju 脟olak was transferred to Galatasaray and became a legend here. 脟olak played 124 games for Galatasaray and scored 116 goals. He also broke the goalscoring record of Metin Oktay by scoring 39 goals in the season of 1987-88.聽 He became the top goal scorer in Europe with this performance and given by French L鈥橢quipe magazine.

Later, Tanju moved to Galatasaray鈥檚 archrival Fenerbah莽e and continued to perform as a goal machine there. He scored 50 goals in 54 games while wearing Fenerbah莽e jersey. 脟olak finished his career at Istanbulspor with a performance of 17 goals in 19 games.

As for today, Tanju is remembered as the most notorious poacher in Turkish soccer history.

4) Hakan 艦眉k眉r: A soccer player and a fugitive! (1987-2008)

Hakan 艦眉k眉r is probably the most political figure we will mention in our list of 鈥淭op 10 Best Turkish Soccer Players鈥�.

艦眉k眉r, who was originally a basketball player, began playing professional football in 1987 at Sakaryaspor. After 3 years at Sakaryaspor, and then 2 years at Bursaspor, he was transferred to Galatasaray in the summer of 1992. At Galatasaray, 艦眉k眉r became a huge star and a top goal scorer. During his soccer career, 艦眉k眉r played 392 games for Galatasaray and scored 228 goals.

艦眉k眉r helped Galatasaray to win lots of domestic trophies and international successes in a period of 15 years. During that time, Galatasaray won 8 league titles, 5 Turkish Cups, 3 Presidency Cups and 1 UEFA Cup while Hakan 艦眉k眉r became the top goal scorer 3 times in Turkish Super League.

艦眉k眉r also had been the most valuable player of Turkish national team by scoring 51 goals in 112 games. During his national team career, Turkey reached the European Championship Finals in 1996 and 2000, and also played in World Cup Finals in 2002.

As for 2020, in Turkish Super League and Turkish national team history.

On the other hand, and is recognized as a 鈥渢error supporter鈥� because of his allegiance to Fethullah G眉len Movement, which is a religious/political group outlawed by Turkish government. 艦眉k眉r has been living in the USA since 2016 and will be put under arrest if he returns back to Turkey.

5) R眉艧t眉 Re莽ber: Best Turkish goalkeeper ever (1988-2012)

Photo of R眉艧t眉 Re莽ber – by Esteban869 鈥� Wikimedia Commons

The only goalkeeper in our list of best Turkish players is R眉艧t眉 Re莽ber, who played for teams like Fenerbah莽e, Be艧ikta艧 and Barcelona.

R眉艧t眉 attracted the attention of soccer lovers while he was playing for Antalyaspor, a small team in Turkish Super League. Soon, he was transferred to Fenerbah莽e and was invited to the national team. R眉艧t眉 played 294 times for Fenerbha莽e and his performance triggered a move to Barcelona FC, which was R眉艧t眉鈥檚 dream since he was a kid. However, R眉艧t眉鈥檚 performance was unsatisfying for Barca and soon he returned back to Turkey. In the last 5 years of his career, R眉艧t眉 played for Be艧ikta艧 JK, the archrival of Fenerbah莽e.

He wore the jersey of Turkish national team for 131 times and is currently recognized as the best Turkish goalkeeper of all time.

6) Emre Bel枚zo臒lu: Talented and Furious! (1996-鈥�)

Photo of Emre Bel枚zo臒lu – by Ultraslansi – Wikimedia Commons

Emre Bel枚zo臒lu is one of the most important soccer players who left their mark on the last 20 years of Turkish soccer history.

Emre began his professional career by playing for Galatasaray SK at the age of 16. He even made his Champions League debut at this age against Borussia Dortmund.

Soon, Emre became the most important player of Galatasaray鈥檚 and Turkish national team鈥檚 midfield. He was great both in defense and in offence thanks to his impressive physical strength and competent technical skills. During his career in Galatasaray, he won 4 league titles, 2 Turkish Cups, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 UEFA Super Cup.

After Galatasaray, Emre played for Inter (Italy) and Newcastle United (England). In 2008, he was transferred to Galatasaray鈥檚 archrival Fenerbah莽e by leaving Galatasaray fans in anger. Even though Galatasaray fans were irritated by Emre鈥檚 choice, he soon became a popular player in Fenerbah莽e and took the captain鈥檚 armband.

Emre also contributed a lot to Turkish national team. He wore the red-white jersey 172 times and scored 41 goals.

Emre has also been known as a furious player who had lots of arguments with his opponents and the referees, making him both an admired and hated figure on the pitch.

7) Arda Turan: A life full of soccer, politics and scandals (2005-鈥�)

Photo of Arda Turan – by Laura Hale – Wikimedia Commons

Another controversial figure in our list of 鈥淭op 10 Best Turkish Soccer Players鈥� is Arda Turan. Turan has made the headlines for years, thanks to his great sportive achievements and his relationship with popular figures like politicians, singers and television producers.

Arda Turan began his professional career at Galatasaray and soon became the darling of fans. Turan was smart, quick and was good with the ball. He could easily dribble past his opponents and distribute the ball successfully to his teammates. During his time at Galatasaray, Arda Turan played 127 games, scored 29 goals and helped his team to win 2 league titles.

As a result of his efficient play at Galatasaray, Arda Turan moved to Atletico Madrid in 2011 and helped his team to win 1 Europe League Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Spanish league title and 1 Copa Del Rey trophy.

Thanks to his improving performance, Turan was transferred to Barcelona FC with a testimonial of 34 million Euros and signed a 5-year contract. Turan showed a quite good performance in his first months at Barca. However, his performance was begun to be overshadowed by his private life.

Turan鈥檚 political comments in favor of conservative Turkish government attracted the criticism of many Turkish fans. and his after a national game stirred the anger towards him. Soon, Arda turned to become a hate figure for all sports fans, even including Galatasaray fans. In this period, Arda鈥檚 performance began to freefall and he found himself at Ba艧ak艧ehir FC in Turkey, as a player on loan.

Today Arda is still a Barca player but apparently his football career has come to an end in a sad way.

8) 脟a臒lar S枚y眉nc眉: New star of EPL (2014-鈥�)

Photo of 脟a臒lar S枚y眉nc眉 – by Steindy – Wikimedia Commons

Another young star in our list of 鈥淭op 10 Best Turkish Soccer Players鈥� is 脟a臒lar S枚y眉nc眉, who is currently playing for Leicester City in English Premier League (EPL)

脟a臒lar started his professional soccer career at Alt谋nordu FC in Turkey. In 2016, he moved to SC Freiburg in Germany, and after a two years period at the German club, he was transferred to Leicester City in EPL. Soon, and showed impressive performances as a defender.

脟a臒lar has also been an essential player for Turkish national team. He wore the red-white jersey 36 times and scored one goal. He is expected to play in European Championship Finals which is planned to be organized in the summer of 2020.

9) Merih Demiral: Young and Promising (2016-鈥�)

Merih Demiral is recognized as one of the most promising names of Turkish soccer and is currently playing at Italian giants Juventus FC (Italy).

Merih, born in 1998, started his career at Karam眉rsel 陌dman Yurdu, an amateur team in Turkey. After getting experienced in some small teams in Turkey, Portugal and Italy, he moved to Italian champions Juventus FC in 2019 with a testimonial of 18 million Euros and signed a contract of 5 years.

With his strong physics and fundamentals, Merih has become a respected defense player in a short period of time. Soccer authorities see him as the future of Turkish soccer and say that his transfer to Juventus is no coincidence.

In his first year at Juve, Merih played in 5 Serie A games and 1 Champions League match, while scoring 1 goal and making 1 assist.

Merih also wore the jersey of Turkish national team 49 times and scored 2 goals in international games.

10) 聽Yusuf Yaz谋c谋: A modern attacking midfielder (2015-鈥�)

Yusuf Yaz谋c谋 is a highly talented attacking midfielder who was raised in Trabzonspor and currently playing for Lille OSC in France.

Yaz谋c谋 began his professional soccer life at Trabzonspor in 2015 and soon became the most popular player of his team. Yaz谋c谋鈥檚 talent attracted the attention of national team coach and he was invited to the U-19 team of Turkey. Yaz谋c谋 increased his performance day by day and eventually, he was transferred to Lille OSC with a testimonial of 17,5 million Euro.

In 2019-2020 season, Yaz谋c谋 played in 18 games for Lille and scored one goal. Football authorities think that Yaz谋c谋 has a very bright future and has potential of playing for bigger teams of Europe.