| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mustafa Kemal Izzet | ||
| Date of birth | 31 October 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Mile End, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Senrab | |||
| Chelsea | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1993–1996 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 1996 | → Leicester City (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 1996–2004 | Leicester City | 260 | (37) |
| 2004–2006 | Birmingham City | 26 | (1) |
| 2009 | Thurmaston Town | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 296 | (39) | |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2004 | Turkey | 8 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Mustafa Kemal "Muzzy" Izzet (born 31 October 1974 in Mile End, London) is a former footballer who played for Chelsea, Leicester City, Birmingham City and the Turkish national team. His father is a Turkish Cypriot who came to England as a small boy, and his mother is English.[1] His younger brother, Kemal, also became a professional footballer.
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Izzet signed as a schoolboy for Chelsea, but never made a first team appearance during three years at the London club. He moved to Leicester City in March 1996 on loan for the rest of the season. He became a regular in the side, scoring one goal. When Leicester beat Crystal Palace in the play-offs, Izzet was able to make his move permanent for a fee of £800,000. He kept his place in the side for their Premier League season, which was successful for City. They came 9th in the Premier League, and won the League Cup. Izzet formed a partnership in midfield with Neil Lennon, which proved vital for Leicester.
In the 1998–99 season, Leicester came 10th in league, and reaching the League Cup final again, but lost out to Tottenham Hotspur. The following season, Leicester came 8th, and again got to the League Cup Final, this time coming up against Tranmere Rovers, of Division One. This year they won 2–1, with Matt Elliott getting both goals. Izzet had been a regular in the side through all of this time. After Martin O'Neill left, Izzet remained a Leicester player. His time at Leicester drew interest from West Ham and Middlesbrough, but he did not leave the club.
"I love this place – it's just a shame that we couldn't stay up because you never know, I might have been here for longer."
The following season started with a 5–0 home defeat to newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers. Despite pledging to stay at Leicester during pre-season,[3] Izzet handed in a transfer request in autumn of 2001,[4] prior to the club's relegation, but he rejected a move to Middlesbrough as he did not want to be seen to be "jumping ship".[5] He did issue a plea to O'Neill, who was now manager of Scottish Premier League side Celtic, to sign him in May 2002, remarking that "only an idiot wouldn't consider joining Celtic."[6] In July 2002, Leicester insisted they would not accept a reduced offer from Middlesbrough for Izzet, who was priced at £6 million.[7] He withdrew his transfer request in March 2003,[8] after the club achieved automatic promotion by finishing in second place. In January 2004, Leicester rejected £500,000 bids from Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers for Izzet.[9] At the end of the 2003–04 season, Leicester were again relegated.[10] Unable to afford Izzet's £30,000 per week wages,[11] the club admitted he was leaving the club.[2]
Izzet joined Birmingham City in June 2004 on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal.[12] Injury plagued his first season, with him making only a handful of appearances, though he did score his first league goal for Birmingham, an equaliser against Bolton Wanderers.[13] His second season was worse, with a knee injury keeping him out for a long period of time. Izzet announced his retirement from football on 27 June 2006.[14]
On the 28th November 2009, Izzet made a shock last minute return to Saturday football with ambitious Leicestershire Senior League side Thurmaston Town F.C.. However he admitted days later that his knee was still very sore and was quoted saying whether I can turn out for Thurmaston every week is another thing. He never played for them again.
Winner
Runner-up
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tony Cottee |
Leicester City Top Goalscorer 2000–01 |
Succeeded by James Scowcroft |
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