Nihat Kahveci

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Personal information
Nihat
Full name	Nihat Kahveci
Date of birth	November 23, 1979
Place of birth	Istanbul, Turkey
Position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Villarreal CF
Youth clubs
?-1998	Besiktas JK
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1998-2002 2002-2006 2006-Present	Besiktas JK Real Sociedad Villarreal CF	142 (58) 101 (50) 11 (3)
National team**
2002-Present	Turkey	46 (12)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 2006.

Nihat Kahveci (born November 23, 1979 in Istanbul) is a Turkish football player for Spanish side Villarreal CF. He made his debut for the Turkish national team in 2000 against Sweden. Nihat plays predominantly as a forward but can also play as an attacking midfielder. His fierce right foot and speed make him one of the most exciting players to watch.

Nihat is a product of Besiktas JK's youth system and was discovered by Hurser Tekinoktay when Nihat played in Dikilitaş in 1995-1996 season. He joined the first team at Beşiktaş in the 1997-1998 season. In January 2002 he was transferred to Real Sociedad in Spain by former Besiktas coach John Toschack. While at Real Sociedad, Nihat scored 57 goals in 115 appearances. In the 2002/2003 season Nihat scored 21 goals making him the leagues third highest scorer for the season behind Roy Makaay (29 goals) and Ronaldo (23 goals). He had a very fruitful strike partnership with Yugoslav forward Darko Kovacevic, such that sports journalist Phil Ball nicknamed the pair "Little and Large," in reference to the height difference between them. [1](Nihat's height is 175 cm and Kovacevic's is 187 cm)

He has also played in the Champions League with Real Sociedad and represented Turkey in the 2002 World Cup.

On May 16th 2006 Nihat agreed to join Villarreal CF for five years on a Bosman transfer.

[edit] Trivia

Nihat's family name (Kahveci) means 'one who sells coffee.' Several people in Turkey adopted the name of their profession as their family name in the early 20th century, suggesting that Nihat's ancestors were involved in the coffee business.

Like most Turkish players, his shirt carries his first name (Nihat) rather than his family name (Kahveci).

[edit] External links

FootballDatabase provides Nihat Kahveci's profile and stats

An editorial piece on the Nihat - Kovacevic partnership by sports writer Phil Ball

	Turkey squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Third Place
1 Rüştü \| 2 Emre Aşık \| 3 Bülent \| 4 Fatih \| 5 Alpay \| 6 Arif \| 7 Okan \| 8 Tugay \| 9 Hakan Şükür \| 10 Baştürk \| 11 Hasan Şaş \| 12 Ömer \| 13 İzzet \| 14 Tayfur \| 15 Nihat \| 16 Ümit Özat \| 17 İlhan Mansız \| 18 Ergün \| 19 Abdullah \| 20 Hakan Ünsal \| 21 Emre Belözoğlu \| 22 Ümit Davala \| 23 Zafer \| Coach: Güneş