Bülent Korkmaz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bülent Korkmaz | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 24, 1968 | |
| Place of birth | Malatya, Turkey | |
| Playing position | Retired player Head Coach |
|
| Club information | ||
| Current club | none | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1987-2005 | Galatasaray | 630 (15) |
| National team | ||
| 1990-2005 | Turkey | 102 (3) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 2005 2007 2007 2007-2008 |
Gençlerbirliği (Assistant) Kayseri Erciyesspor Bursaspor Gençlerbirliği |
|
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Bülent Korkmaz (born 24 November 1968) is a retired Turkish football player and the current head coach of Gençlerbirliği S.K.. He played for Istanbul club Galatasaray S.K. for his whole career from 1987 until 2005, despite offers from several top clubs. He was nicknamed Büyük Kaptan ("the Great Captain") by Galatasaray fans. He is renowned for his loyalty, leadership, passion and heart.
Bülent entered the Galatasaray youth setup at age 11 as a goalkeeper. His coach at the time said that he wasn't made for goalkeeping, so he moved into the defensive midfielder role, until he was moved and destined to become a defender. Even at age 16, Bülent's skill was eminent, and he was offered a contract by German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Had he accepted the offer, he would've been the first Turkish player to transfer to a European club. However, Bülent wasn't looking for personal glory, keeping his loyalty to Galatasaray. Even at young age, his heart become very clear.
He is arguably the most successful sportsmen in Turkish history. During his 18 years at Galatasaray, Bülent won a massive 29 trophies, including one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, 8 League titles and 6 Turkish Cup championships. Internationally, he was the first Turkish international to reach 100 caps. He was also part of the Turkish squad that finished 3rd at the Fifa World Cup in 2002, and in 2003, 3rd again at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Bülent was selected in the World Team that played Juventus in 2003. Before the 2005-2006 season, he retired from football.
On 30 August 2005, Bülent became assistant manager for Gençlerbirliği, which he has since resigned from duty. In January 2007, Bulent took on a new job as manager of Kayseri Erciyesspor, who were at the bottom of the Turkish Super League. Despite successful football and better results in the second half of the league, (including reaching the Turkish Cup final), Kayseri Erciyesspor were relegated from the league. Bülent Korkmaz resigned from Kayseri Erciyesspor, and agreed to become Bursaspor manager in June 2007. He was fired from Bursaspor in October 2007, and started to coach Gençlerbirliği S.K. A moment that will never leave the hearts of the Galatasaray faithful was during the UEFA Cup final of 2000 between Galatasaray and Arsenal F.C. Bülent's shoulder was dislocated and doctors strongly urged him to leave the park. Bülent declined, so the doctors strapped his shoulder to his chest and Bülent fought a most honourable battle, in which Galatasaray triumphed.
Towards the end of his career, Bülent was honoured by UEFA on his birthday.
[edit] Honours
Galatasaray
- UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2000)
- UEFA Cup: 1 (2000)
- Turkey
- FIFA World Cup 2002: 3rd place
- FIFA Confederations Cup 2003: 3rd place
[edit] External links
|
|||||||
