Metin Oktay

1954/55 Izmirspor (TUR) 18 matches, 17 goals

1955/61 Galatasaray (TUR) 183 matches, 193 goals

(Turkish League: 161 matches, 174 goals)

(Turkish Cup: 20 matches, 17 goals)

(European Champion Clubs' Cup: 2 matches, 2 goals)

1961/62 US Palermo (ITA) 12 matches, 3 goals

1962/69 Galatasaray (TUR) 227 matches, 170 goals

(Turkish League: 178 matches, 137 goals)

(Turkish Cup: 38 matches, 22 goals)

(Turkish Super Cup: 1 match)

(European Champion Clubs' Cup: 11 matches, 11 goals)

With the National Team :

36 caps, 19 goals

(Friendly matches: 26 caps, 16 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 8 caps, 3 goals)

(Euro qualifiers: 2 caps)

1st cap: 18 December 1955 against Portugal (3-1)

Last cap: 11 December 1968 against Northern Ireland (0-3)

U18: 4 caps, 3 goals

Metin Oktay

Born on February 2, 1936 in Izmir (TUR)

Died on September 13, 1991 in Istanbul (TUR)

Turkish, Forward, 1m78

Nickname: "The King Without a Crown"

Metin Oktay was born on February 2, 1936 in Izmir, Turkey. He was the ninth child and only boy in a poor family. He discovered football in his youth and played in a modest club in his hometown before being spotted by his favorite club, Besiktas. But the transfer was ultimately canceled, the club's leaders judging the player too frail.

Tanpi, it was the club's sworn enemy who recruited him, Gündüz Kiliç, the technical director of Galatasaray at the time who spotted the player. When signing his contract, the player who was then intimidated only asked for a taxi car in order to ensure a source of income for his family, the club signed the player directly and offered him a Chevrolet in exchange for a 5-year contract.

Nicknamed "The Uncrowned King", he would become one of the best players in their history and one of the most successful players in his country at the time. For his first season with Galatasaray, he already finished top scorer in the Istanbul championship. One of his greatest matches would remain the first leg of the very first Turkish championship in history in 1959.

The final pitted Galatasaray against their rivals Fenerbahçe, the score was 0-0 before in the 37th minute, Metin Oktay scored with a superb volley. The goal was validated and the nets were torn apart by the player's powerful strike. Unfortunately, this will not be enough to offer the title to his team.

In front of one of the best if not the best player in the country, he obtains a great notoriety and he is invited to many social events. His wife at the time Oya Sari does not accept the new status of the player and implores her husband to return to his old club, away from the spotlight, he refuses and asks for a divorce.

With the coup d'état that takes place in Turkey, he is seen by the new government as a man who has shortened his military service by 8 days. This act earns him arrest and sent to prison for 2 and a half months. Finally he will only remain 45 days in prison thanks to the help of his club which will have negotiated his release.

Marked by his stay in prison and his divorce, the player gradually sinks into alcohol and cigarettes. To take his mind off things, he decides to join Italy during the summer of 1961, he then signs for US Palermo. Despite a promising start, this adventure was to be a failure, he was homesick and had difficulty adapting to Italian football. He then decided to return to Turkey after only 1 season in Italy.

Back in his native country, he found his best level and during the 1962/63 season, he scored 47 goals in all competitions. With his amazing individual performances, the Galatasaray club won its first Championship and Turkish Cup double.

In total, he won the title of top scorer in the Turkish championship 6 times and reached the symbolic bar of 300 goals scored for his club, which still makes him the top scorer in the history of this legendary club. He also scored 13 goals in 13 Champions League matches. He finally retired in 1969, at the age of 33.

- Top scorer of the Turkish league in 1959 (11 goals), 1960 (33 goals), 1961 (36 goals), 1963 (38 goals), 1965 (17 goals) and 1969 (17 goals) (Galatasaray)

- Top scorer of the Pazar League in 1957 (17 goals), 1958 (19 goals) and 1959 (22 goals) (Galatasaray)

- Top scorer of the Izmir League in 1955 (17 goals) (Izmirspor)

- Voted best player of the year in Turkey in 1969

- Voted sportsman of the year in Turkey in 1969

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