Ali Gültiken

Ali Gültiken — Biography

Born Ali Kurtuluş Gültiken in Istanbul in 1965, Ali Gültiken is a former Turkish international who played as a forward. A homegrown Beşiktaş player, he is remembered as part of the attacking trio he formed with Metin Tekin and Feyyaz Uçar in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period in which the club won a string of Turkish championships.

After hanging up his boots he moved into coaching from 1999 onward, and in the second half of 2009 he was appointed football director at Göztepe, leading the club to promotion from the TFF Second League to the First League in the 2010-11 season. In later years he turned to football punditry on television and in the press.

Still an influential figure in the Beşiktaş community, Gültiken drew fresh attention in 2026 when he signaled he could run in the club's presidential race.