Ali Nail Durmuş

Ali Nail Durmuş — Biography

Ali Nail Durmuş, born in Akyazı, is a former midfielder, manager and football pundit who came through the Bursaspor academy and is regarded as one of the club's most significant players. Fans and the club itself count him among the leading names in Bursaspor history, and he is also closely associated with Fenerbahçe.

He entered the Bursaspor first team in 1987-88, soon became a fixture in the starting eleven and helped the side stay near the top of the Süper Lig. With the club he finished runner-up in the Turkish Cup in 1991-92. At Fenerbahçe, where he arrived in 1994-95, he struggled to win a regular place and was loaned to Vanspor and Zeytinburnuspor. He then played two seasons at Göztepe and, after spells at Kırıkkalespor, Tekirdağspor and Kahramanmaraşspor, retired in 2003.

He also played for the youth national sides: fourth place at the 1987 U-16 European Championship, and silver with the U-23s at the 1991 Mediterranean Games. He began coaching at Kütahyaspor in 2004-05, then led Iğdırspor, Darıca Gençlerbirliği, Bucaspor, Aksaray and Zeytinburnuspor, and in later years worked at Karacabey Birlikspor, Bayburt Özel İdare Spor and Tavşanlı Linyitspor. He has worked periodically as a pundit for FBTV. His son, Ali Yağız Durmuş, is a television actor.