Top 10- Greatest Galatasaray players

By: Musab | January 12th, 2009

In a previous top 10 I listed the top Galatasaray transfers of all time. This time I will put the spotlight on the greatest players to have ever worn “lé sacré jaune rouge”.

1. Hakan Sukur [1992-1995, 1995-2000, 2003-2008] From: Bursaspor

I put Hakan on the number one spot of the last list as greatest transfer of Galatasaray’s history. Now I’m putting him as the greatest player in Galatasaray history. The best way to demonstrate Hakan’s greatness would be through the numbers. He has scored 249 goals in 480 games in the Turkish superleague, a little over a goal every two games. By doing so he has broken the record as the all-time leading scorer in the superleague. For the national team he has scored 51 goals in 103 games, a little less than a goal every two games. And again, by doing so he is the all time leading scorer for the national team. His trophy collection is similarily impressive; he has won 8 Turkish league titles, 6 Turkish cups, 9 extinct Turkish cups, 1 Italian Cup, and an UEFA cup. He is without a doubt the greatest CimBom legend of all time.

2. Gheorghe Hagi [1996-2001] From: FC Barcelona

What else can I say about “Profesor Hagi”? After he arrived to Galatasaray, the team went on to win 4 Turkish titles, 2 Turkish cups, an UEFA cup, and an UEFA super cup in five years. Hagi will always be known for his great technique with the ball, his amazing free kicks, and his very intelligent through passes. These three qualities allowed him to run amok in the Turkish league. Any fan of Turkish soccer, whether he be a Galatasarayli, Fenerli, or a Besiktasli will admit that Hagi is without a doubt the greatest foreign player ever in the Turkish league.

3. Bulent Korkmaz [1984-2005] From: Youth Academy

In football there are a couple of players who would stay with their “birth team”, Paolo Maldini, Raul Gonzalez, Francsico Totti, to name a few. In Galatasaray we have Bulent. Bulent was born in Malatya, moved to Istanbul and entered the Galatasray youth system first as a goal keeper but later began to play as a central defender. Bulent played over 1000 matches for Galatasaray, and in the process won a record 29 trophies including one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, 8 league titles and 6 domestic cups. He is the legendary “Buyuk Kaptan”, the “Great Captain”. He was a fiery player who played with great courage and desire in every match. Despite clubs such as Lazio and Blackburn Rovers offering great sums of cash to sign him, Bulent rejected all of their offers, stating “Galatasaray is already a big club in Europe”. He always said that Galatsaray was his home even though his yearly salary never exceeded 1.3 million dollars.

4. Metin Oktay [1951-1969] From: Izmirspor

The “Crownless King” was an amazing striker who broke records left and right. After joining Galatasaray at the age of 19 for a new Chevrolet, his goal scoring record was not broken until Tanju Colak, and then Hakan Sukur broke them another 30 years later. Metin was a master of scorign with both legs as well as with his head as he became the goal king of Turkey for a record 6 times. He scored a massive 632 goals in all competitions, a record that has not been broken to this day.

5. Okan Buruk [1991-2001,2006-2008] From: Youth Academy

Okan, Okan, Okan, Okan, Okaaaaan!!!!! No CimBomlu can ever forget the match announcer screaming that after his great goal against Fenerbahce. Okan will be remember as the “atom bocegi”, the “atomic ant” for his incredible speed and his short stature. Despite a life threatening injury in 1992, the young Okan slowly but surely recovered and began his career with Galatasaray which would see him win 7 league titles, an UEFA cup, and an UEFA super cup. Okan was also a true professional and leader for the club. He is now finishing out his career at Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor.

6. Gheorghe Popescu [1997-2001] From: FC Barcelona

Its no secret that Popescu was the greatest foreign defender in Turkey. Hagi’s brother in law was known for bringing that extra class with his great sliding tackles and his ability to read the game in ways that surprised even the fans. As a bonus, he also scored the winning penalty against Arsenal in 2000. A model professional and a great legend all around.

7. Arda Turan [2006-Present] From: Youth Academy

Does Arda really deserve to be on the list? Without a doubt. Ever since he made his debut at the age of 19, Ardas been the love of all the CimBom faithful for his youthful exuberance, his love of the club, and the great potential he has. Its not a matter of if he’ll make it to Europe but which club and in which league? We’ll hear a lot more from little Arda as time goes on.

8. Claudio Taffarell [1998-2001] From: Atletico Mineiro

Taffarell will be remembered for two penalty shootouts. The first being in 94 against Italy when he won the world cup with Brazil, and the second is the 2000 UEFA Cup final against Arsenal. Taffarell had some amazing reflexes and his ability to put the ball right away back into play allowed Galatasaray to counter attack with ease as opposing defenders would struggle to get back into position. A very devout man, he is also very good friends with Kaka and our very own Lincoln.

9. Suat Kaya [1992-2003] From: Youth Academy, Konyaspor
The Fenerli turned CimBomlu, Suat (along with Hakan and Bulent) holds the record for the most Turkish league championships with 8 in his 11 years with the Yellow-Reds. After coming through the academy, Suat was first sold to Konyaspor where he established himself as a very effective midfielder and was bought back after 5 years with the green-whites. A man of few words, Suat didn’t let his small stature get in the way of his football and was always effective when called upon.

10. Tugay Kerimoglu [1987-2000] From: Youth Academy

Of all the Turkish “legionnaires” that moved on to Europe, Tugay is without a doubt the most succesful. After a year at Rangers, Tugay was transferred to Blackburn Rovers, where he still plays to this day. Tugay was always a very robust, aggressive central midfielder with the ability to see that perfect pass and notice danger spots when they emerged. At the age of 38 he’s still playing.

Well that’s my list, full of legends that still live on in our hearts and memories. There could be maybe another 100 honorable mentions, but thats my choice for the top 10. So what do you guys think? What’s your top 10 Galatasaray legends?