Murat Yakin

Murat Yakin

Personal information
Full name	Murat Yakin
Date of birth	15 September 1974 (1974-09-15) (age 37)
Place of birth	Basel, Switzerland
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current club	FC Luzern (Manager)
Youth career
	Concordia Basel
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1997	Grasshopper-Club Zürich	101	(17)
1997–1999	VfB Stuttgart	23	(2)
1999–2000	Fenerbahçe	26	(3)
2000	FC Basel	23	(2)
2000–2001	1. FC Kaiserslautern	9	(0)
2001–2006	FC Basel	91	(24)
Total		273	(48)
National team
1994–2004	Switzerland	49	(4)
Teams managed
2006–2007	Concordia Basel
2007–2009	Grasshopper-Club Zürich (assistant)
2009–2011	FC Thun
2011–	FC Luzern
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Murat Yakin^[1] (born 15 September 1974 in Basel) is a Swiss-Turkish football coach and former international player. He is currently the coach of FC Luzern in the Swiss Super League.

Playing career

During his playing career he was capped over 50 times for Switzerland, and played in Euro 2004. Murat spent the best years of his career playing for his home town club of FC Basel, where he was the defensive linchpin, captain, and libero, of a team that enjoyed domestic and relative European success. He won the Swiss Super League on five occasions (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005), and the Schweizer Cup three times (1994, 2002, 2003). Although his spells abroad were not wholly successful, he was widely regarded as one of Swiss football's finest products, frequently being linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In 2003, he played in the FIFA 'Match against Poverty' as part of a star-studded ensemble showcasing the world's best players.^[2]

Coaching career

Murat was appointed coach of FC Thun in 2009 after a time as a youth coach at Grasshopper Club Zürich^{[citation needed]}. In May 2011 he joined FC Luzern for a reported 200,000 Swiss francs.^{[citation needed]} He took over from Christian Brand who was made caretaker after the sacking of Rolf Fringer.^[3]

Personal life

Murat was born in Switzerland to Turkish parents and his brother Hakan currently plays in the Swiss Super League with FC Luzern.

Career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Switzerland			League		Schweizer Cup		Total
1992-93	Grasshopper Zürich	Super League	18	1
1993-94			29	3
1994-95			18	2
1995-96			8	3
1996-97			28	8
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Total
1997-98	Stuttgart	Bundesliga	23	2
Turkey			League		Türkiye Kupası		Total
1998-99	Fenerbahçe	Super League	23	3
1999-00			3	0
Switzerland			League		Schweizer Cup		Total
1999-00	Basel	Super League	12	1
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Total
2000-01	Kaiserslautern	Bundesliga	9	0
Switzerland			League		Schweizer Cup		Total
2000-01	Basel	Super League	11	1
2001-02			32	7
2002-03			26	6
2003-04			20	7
2004-05			13	3
2005-06			1	0
Total	Switzerland		216	42
	Germany		32	2
	Turkey		26	3
Career total			274	47

Personal Life

He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany. Murat Yakin is the elder brother of international football player Hakan Yakin (member of the Swiss national football team), who is currently playing for FC Luzern. His elder half-brother Ertan Irizik is also a former football professional.

References

1. ^ Turkish spelling: Murat Yakın. See dotted and dotless I.
2. ^ http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/awards/gala/news/newsid=90283.html
3. ^ FC Yakin – the club formerly known as FC Luzern

External links

• Official site of the Yakin brothers
• Article detailing Murat's connection with two of his passions: kebabs and Turkish rap (French)

Persondata
Name	Yakin, Murat
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	15 September 1974
Place of birth	Basel, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death