Ali İhsan Karayiğit

Ali İhsan Karayiğit — Biography

Ali İhsan Karayiğit was one of Beşiktaş's best-known defenders of the 1950s and is named in the club's "Squads of the Century" selection. He played in the Beşiktaş side that went unbeaten in 1949-50 and became known as "Yenilmez Armada" (the Invincible Armada), and after retiring he served the club for many years in a variety of roles. He died in 2013.

He began playing football in Salihli, and his performances at the Turkish championships soon made him a target of the big clubs. He moved from Manisa Gençlik to Beşiktaş in 1948 and wore the black and white until the end of the 1957-58 season. The team went unbeaten between 1949 and 1950, which is where the name Yenilmez Armada comes from. In those years he won the Turkish Championship (1951), the Istanbul League and the Federation Cup in 1956-57 and 1957-58; he played as a libero and stopper and won 13 caps for Turkey. He moved to Adalet at the start of 1958-59 and retired from active football a year later.

After leaving the pitch he worked for a time as a sports columnist. He became a Beşiktaş member in 1960, served for many years on the club's Executive Council, coached the Beşiktaş youth side for a period and was still running the BJK Ahmet Fetgeri Sports Hall in 2007. He died in Istanbul on 18 March 2013 and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. A stadium in Salihli bears his name.