Aykut Kocaman

Aykut Kocaman — Biography

Aykut Kocaman (born 5 April 1965, Sakarya) is a former Turkish footballer and football manager regarded as one of Turkish football's most prolific strikers. He turned professional with Sakaryaspor in 1984 before joining Fenerbahçe in 1988, where he won league titles in 1988-89 and 1995-96, lifted the Presidential Cup in 1990, and was crowned Süper Lig top scorer three times. He is one of only five players to have scored 200 league goals in Süper Lig history, and with 140 goals he remains Fenerbahçe's all-time leading Süper Lig scorer. He moved to İstanbulspor in 1996 and retired there in 2000, having also earned 15 caps and one goal for the Turkish national team.

Kocaman moved straight into coaching at İstanbulspor in 2000, later managing Malatyaspor, Konyaspor, and Ankaraspor. He returned to Fenerbahçe as sporting director in 2009 and was appointed head coach in 2010, winning the league title in 2010-11, the Turkish Cup in 2011-12 and 2012-13, and guiding the club to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in 2012-13 — making him the only person in club history to win the championship as both player and coach. He then returned to Konyaspor, winning the Turkish Cup in 2016-17 and the Turkish Super Cup in 2017.

His most recent managerial post was at İstanbul Başakşehir, and he has not led a club since 2021. In the summer of 2026 his name resurfaced in connection with Fenerbahçe's search for a new head coach, with reports of talks between him and the club management, though the position ultimately went to İsmail Kartal, after which Kocaman made public remarks addressing the process.