Okan Buruk Kariyer

Turkish former international footballer

Okan Buruk (born 19 October ) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Süper Lig club Galatasaray. As a former midfielder, he played for Galatasaray, Inter Milan, Beşiktaş, and İstanbul B.B. He was capped 56 times for the Turkey national team.

Club career[edit]

Okan Buruk played for Turkish giants Galatasaray between and , winning six Turkish Süper Lig titles and the – UEFA Cup. He was also named man of the match as Galatasary upset Real Madrid 2–1 to win the UEFA Super Cup.

Inter Milan[edit]

In , he was signed by Italian Serie A club Inter Milan along with his teammate Emre, where he played for three years. On August 26, , Okan made his debut against Perugia coming in as a substitute for Seedorf. He made his first Champions League appearance for Inter in a home game win against Ajax on September 25,

On October 21, , in the derby game against Terim's Milan, Okan made the assist to Kallon where Inter lost their home game 4–2 against their rivals.

Okan scored his first goal on the 89th minute helping his team to earn a 2–2 draw in an away game against Roma on November 16, Okan was a non-stop running player with energy; he mentioned that his former coach Cuper yelled at him from the bench that he should stay at his position.

Besiktas[edit]

He played two seasons for Beşiktaş and he won the Turkish Cup in

Return to Galatasaray[edit]

In July , Okan made his return to his former club Galatasaray by signing a two-year contract. After becoming Süper Lig winners in –08 season his contract was not extended and Okan left the club.

İstanbul Başakşehir[edit]

After his contract expired with Galatasaray, Okan joined İstanbul B.B. in July for a two year deal.

Retirement[edit]

On May 22, , he retired as a player after a friendly game against Czech Republic in Leipzig.^[2]

International career[edit]

Okan made 56 appearances for the Turkey national team, representing the country at UEFA Euro and the FIFA World Cup. He scored Turkey's first ever Euro goal, the equaliser of Euro in a 2–1 loss to Italy in Arnhem. Okan was also part of the FIFA World Cup squad, but due to an injury he made his only appearance as a substitute in the 3–2 win against host nation South Korea in the third-place play-off.

Managerial career[edit]

After his playing career, Okan became a professional manager. On 10 May , he guided Akhisarspor to their second trophy in their history, the –18 Turkish Cup.^[3]

After Akhisarspor, he managed Çaykur Rizespor from until , before becoming the new manager of İstanbul Başakşehir on 11 June In his first season in charge, Buruk guided the club to their first ever league title.

In early , he left İstanbul Başakşehir on "mutual agreement" after a string of poor results by the club under his management in the –21 Süper Lig season.^[4]

Galatasaray[edit]

On 23 June , Okan was appointed as coach of his former club Galatasaray.^[5] He won 14 consecutive games in a row and broke the club record.^[6]

Personal life[edit]

He is originally from Akçaabat, Trabzon. He married model and former Miss Turkey and Top Model of the World winner Nihan Akkuş on 3 July His brother, Fuat, was also a professional footballer and currently a coach.^[7]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

Source:^[8]

International[edit]

Source:^[9]

Managerial[edit]

As of match played 4 June

Honours[edit]

Player[edit]

Galatasaray

• UEFA Super Cup:
• UEFA Cup: –
• Süper Lig: –93, –94, –97, –98, –99, –, –08
• Turkish Cup: –93, –96, –99, –
• Turkish Super Cup: –93, –96, –97

Beşiktaş

Turkey

Manager[edit]

Akhisarspor

Galatasaray

İstanbul Başakşehir

Individual[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]