Turkey chose Hakan Sükür as their Golden Player (Getty Images)
Turkish tributes to local hero
To help mark UEFA's Jubilee, each national association was asked to nominate its most outstanding player of the past 50 years. In December 2003 Turkey chose Hakan Sükür as their Golden Player.
By Türker Tozar
It is no accident that the rise of Turkish football in the early 1990s coincided with the emergence of the country's newest football star. Hakan Sükür has amply fulfilled that early promise, enjoying unprecedented success in domestic and international football and becoming Turkey's most recognisable player.
Scoring spree
His country's top scorer with 46 goals in 97 appearances, Hakan Sükür holds Turkey's record for the most goals in European club competitions with 33 strikes, and has been a prolific scorerer in the Turkish league. In addition, he also had the honour of scoring the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup finals history when he struck after just eleven seconds of Turkey's third-place play-off match against the Korean Republic in the 2002 finals, a game his side went on to win 3-2.
International honours
Born in Sakarya on 1 September 1971, Hakan Sükür began his football career with local club Sakaryaspor AS and made his league debut shortly after his 18th birthday in 1988. Two seasons later he moved to Bursaspor and won his first cap in a friendly against Luxembourg in March 1992, scoring his first international goal in his next match against Denmark. He subsequently featured in all three of Turkey's appearances at major finals, EURO '96™, UEFA EURO 2000™ and the 2002 World Cup.
Mutual benefits
Inevitably his heading ability, which makes full use of his 1.91m stature, and all-round excellence soon drew the attention of bigger clubs, and a move to Galatasaray followed in summer 1992. "Galatasaray hesitated a lot before making an offer for me," Hakan Sükür remembered. "I was not doing wonderfully well at Bursaspor though I received my call-up to the national side while playing for them. But in the end I joined, and both Turkish football and Galatasaray benefited from this move."
Remarkable return
The striker went on to spend eight seasons at the Istanbul club, with only a brief spell at Torino Calcio in 1994/95 interrupting a stay in which he recorded a spectacular return of 173 goals in 246 matches and was the Turkish Superleague's top scorer on three occasions.
Trophy triumphs
His time in Istanbul proved fruitful in more ways than one, with Galatasaray claiming six league titles and four Turkish Cups. In 1999/00, the last season of Hakan Sükür's first spell with the club, Galatasaray completed a domestic double for the second year in succession and added the UEFA Cup to the trophy cabinet, the first Turkish side to claim a European title.
Unsuccessful moves
Nicknamed 'The Bull of the Bosphorus' by the European media, Hakan Sükür opted for a return to Italy in 2002, trying his luck with first FC Internazionale Milano and then Parma FC. Neither move was successful however, and after scoring twice in nine games for English side Blackburn Rovers FC in 2002/03, he returned to Galatasaray, scoring 12 times in 28 league games in his first season back.
Important strikes
"I have never felt like I should necessarily go to Europe and play for a bigger team," Hakan Sükür said of his time abroad. "Galatasaray were big enough." Despite his lack of success outside his homeland, his fine record for club and country, allied to an unselfish nature and a penchant for scoring crucial and memorable goals, such as a spectacular header against Belgium at EURO 2000™, has assured him of a special place in the hearts of Turkish football fans.
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