Ayfer Elmastaşoğlu

Ayfer Elmastaşoğlu — Biography

Ayfer Elmastaşoğlu is remembered as one of the best-loved figures in Altay's history, the club's unforgettable captain. He spent his entire playing career at the old İzmir club where he grew up and later returned as its manager. Being the first person to win the Turkish Cup both as a player and as a coach is the most distinctive mark of his career. He died in İzmir on 13 January 2026, aged 81.

He wore the Altay shirt from 1961 to 1976, scoring 60 goals in 324 league matches over those fifteen years without playing for any other side. The team he captained won the club's first Turkish Cup in 1966-67. As a youth he was capped five times at under-18 and three times at under-21 level; his senior Turkey debut came in a friendly against Denmark in 1966, he played against Poland in the 1972 European Championship qualifiers in 1971, and he made three senior appearances in all.

He went on to coaching with Altay: in 1980 he led the team to its second and final Turkish Cup, and in 1985-86 he took over again on a caretaker basis. In later years he worked mostly with Aegean clubs, among them Marmaris Belediyespor, Manisaspor, Bucaspor and Göztepe. His brothers Enver, Nail and Ayhan were also professional footballers. An amateur league division in İzmir now carries his name.