Metin Oktay

Metin Oktay

Personal information
Full name	Metin Oktay
Date of birth	February 2, 1936(1936-02-02)
Place of birth	İzmir, Turkey
Date of death	13 September 1991(1991-09-13) (aged 55)
Place of death	Istanbul, Turkey
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Number	10
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1954-1955	İzmirspor	18	(17)
1955-1961	Galatasaray	141	(157)
1961-1962	Palermo	12	(3)
1962-1969	Galatasaray	178	(137)
Total		349	(314)
National team‡
1955-1968	Turkey	36	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:09, 23 October 2008 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 01:09, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Metin Oktay wax sculpture at the Galatasaray Museum.

Metin Oktay (born 2 February 1936 in İzmir, Turkey-13 September 1991 in İstanbul) nicknamed the Uncrowned King (Taçsız Kral) by Galatasaray fans, was a legendary Turkish footballer and one of the most successful goalscorers in Turkey.

He started his career at local amateur club Damlacık in 1952 and moved to another amateur side Yün Mensucat the following season during which he was able to make his debut for the junior national team in 1954. He was quickly transferred to İzmirspor at the end of the season and became top-scorer with 17 goals in the İzmir League next season, the first of many times that he would lead the top scorers in the league. In 1955, Gündüz Kılıç, trainer and former footballer of Galatasaray SK transferred him. Oktay, then only 19 years old, signed a five-year contract with Galatasaray in exchange for a Chevrolet car. Despite his young age, he was top-scorer in his first season in the Istanbul League, with 19 goals, and his team Galatasaray won the championship. Metin Oktay was top scorer for 4 seasons in the İstanbul League and then 3 more in Turkish League thus making it 7 consecutive years in the competitions he played in.

Oktay made a record-breaking contract with Galatasaray in 1960 and because of this deal he had to divorce from his wife Oya Sarı who wanted him to play for his old club İzmirspor. In December that year he scored four goals (1', 9', 61' and 71' min) in a 5-0 victory against arch rivals Fenerbahçe which fixed his hero status among Galatasaray supporters. The songs were made for him and he became the first-ever Turkish footballer who played himself in a movie based on his life while actively pursuing his career.

Metin Oktay kept wearing Galatasaray shirt until 1969, with the exception of a short period in 1961-1962, when he played for Palermo, Italy. He was the most crowned (six times) top goalscorer in Turkish League and set a record with 217 goals in total. Tanju Çolak broke his record of most goals in a season in 1988 by a margin of one goal. Nicknamed the Taçsız Kral or "King without a crown", he was a particularly strong goal scorer in derby matches. During a derby match against Galatasaray's archrivals Fenerbahçe in 1959, he hit the ball hard enough to open up a hole in the opponents' net. This unforgettable shot was one of the 18 goals Oktay scored against Fenerbahçe in his career. The other major Istanbul rivals, Beşiktaş let in 13 of his goals. Metin Oktay also served as assistant coach & head coach of Galatasaray football team in the season 1969-70^[1] and he later coached Bursaspor for a couple of years. Metin Oktay was a board member of the club in 1984 for two years.^[2]

He played 36 times for the Turkish national team and scored 19 goals. Breaking almost every record in the history of Turkish football that stood at the time, the "King" retired in 1969. Metin Oktay died on September 13, 1991 in Istanbul following a tragic car accident.

Every year on September the 13th, Galatasaray players and supporters pay homage to the "Uncrowned King" alongside his grave at Kozlu cemetery near Topkapı in Istanbul.

Galatasaray's sports complex and training facility, the Metin Oktay Sports Complex and Training Center, located in Florya, Istanbul, is named after him.

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	18 December 1955	Istanbul, Turkey	Portugal	2-1	3-1	Friendly
2.	25 December 1955	Paris, France	France	1-1	1-3	Mediterranean Cup
3.	19 February 1956	Istanbul, Turkey	Hungary	3-0	3-1	Friendly
4.	16 November 1956	Istanbul, Turkey	Poland	1-1	1-1	Friendly
5.	4 May 1958	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1-1	1-2	Friendly
6.	4 May 1958	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1-2	1-2	Friendly
7.	26 October 1958	Bruxelles, Belgium	Belgium	1-1	1-1	Friendly
8.	8 June 1960	Ankara, Turkey	Scotland	1-0	4-2	Friendly
9.	27 November 1960	Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1-0	1-2	Friendly
10.	1 June 1961	Oslo, Norway	Norway	1-0	1-0	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.	29 October 1961	Istanbul, Turkey	Norway	2-1	2-1	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.	12 November 1961	Istanbul, Turkey	Soviet Union	1-2	1-2	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.	10 October 1962	Ankara, Turkey	Ethiopia	3-0	1-0	Friendly
14.	10 October 1962	Ankara, Turkey	Ethiopia	3-0	2-0	Friendly
15.	10 October 1962	Ankara, Turkey	Ethiopia	3-0	3-0	Friendly
16.	27 September 1964	Istanbul, Turkey	Ethiopia	3-0	3-0	Friendly
17.	1 November 1964	Ankara, Turkey	Poland	2-3	2-3	Friendly
18.	1 November 1964	Ankara, Turkey	Tunisia	4-1	4-2	Friendly
19.	9 May 1965	Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1-2	1-4	Friendly
Correct as of 10 February 2010 [3]

Club Level

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Izmirspor	1954–1955	18	17	-	-	-	-	18	17
	Total	18	17	0	0	0	0	18	17
Galatasaray	1955–56	17	19	-	-	-	-	17	19
	1956–57	16	17	-	-	2	2	18	19
	1957–58	17	19	-	-	-	-	17	19
	1958–59	16	22	-	-	-	-	16	22
	1959	15	11	-	-	-	-	15	11
	1959–60	32	33	-	-	-	-	32	33
	1960–61	28	36	-	-	-	-	28	36
	Total	141	157	0	0	2	2	143	159
US Palermo	1961-62	12	3	-	-	-	-	?	3
	Total	12	3	0	0	0	0	12	3
Galatasaray	1962–63	26	38	7	4	6	5	39	47
	1963–64	32	18	5	7	5	5	42	30
	1964–65	22	17	6	3	6	3	34	23
	1965–66	24	19	5	1	1	0	30	20
	1966-67	17	10	1	0	-	-	18	10
	1967–68	27	18	6	3	-	-	33	21
	1968–69	30	17	8	4	-	-	38	21
	Total	178	137	38	22	18	13	234	172
Career total		349	314	38	22	20	15	407	351

Career achievements

Actual Ripped Net Against Fenerbahçe SK

• Most goals by a player (632),
• Most goals in consecutive seasons by a player (11),
• Most goals by a player in one season (38),
• Most seasons as top scorer (6 times in 1959, 1959–1960, 1960–1961, 1962–1963, 1964–1965 and 1968-1969*),

1968-1969 Both Metin Oktay and Fevzi Zemzem had 19 goals each. Fevzi Zemzem requested Metin Oktay to have the trophy) (Yeni Asir Newspaper)

• Best average of goals per match (1.46),
• Most goals at international level by a Turkish player (19),
• Three championships and four Turkish cups.
• Izmir Football League top scorer: 1954-1955
• Istanbul Football League top scorer: 1955-1956, 1956-1957, 1957–1958, 1958–1959
• Gol Kralı: 1959, 1959–1960, 1960–1961, 1962–1963, 1964–1965, 1968–1969
• Goals for Galatasaray: 538
• Goals for Izmirspor: 17
• Goals for Yün Mensucat: 14
• Goals for Damlacık: 11
• Goals for US Palermo: 6

Honours

As player

• Galatasaray SK
  • Istanbul Football League: 2
    • 1955-1956, 1957–1958
  • Süper Lig: 3
    • 1961-1962, 1962–1963, 1968–1969
  • Türkiye Kupası: 4
    • 1962-1963, 1963–1964, 1964–1965, 1965–1966
  • TFF Süper Kupa: 2
    • 1966, 1969
  • TSYD Cup: 3
    • 1963, 1966, 1967

References

1. ^ Galatasaray: Futbolda Dünya Markası, Oygur Yamak, Sinerji Yayınları (2001)
2. ^ Galatasaray Spor Kulübü Tarihi, Ahmet Çakır, Demir Ajans (2001)
3. ^ Profile at TFF.org

External links

• Taçsız Kral

Sporting positions
Preceded by Turgay Şeren	Galatasaray S.K. Captain 1967-1969	Succeeded by Talat Özkarslı

Persondata
Name	Oktay, Metin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 February 1936
Place of birth	İzmir, Turkey
Date of death	13 September 1991
Place of death	Istanbul, Turkey