Coşkun Taş

Coşkun Taş — Biography

Coşkun Taş was a striker remembered as one of the Turkish players who took part in Turkey's first World Cup and one of the first Turks to play in Germany. After winning titles with Beşiktaş he settled in Cologne, became the first Turkish player to wear the shirt of 1. FC Köln and lived in Germany for the rest of his life; he died in Cologne on 11 November 2024, aged 89.

He began at Aydınspor and moved to Beşiktaş in 1952 when he came to Istanbul to study. With Beşiktaş he was part of the sides that won the 1953-54 Istanbul Professional League and the Federation Cup in 1956-57 and 1957-58; in the final of the second cup, his goal against Galatasaray brought the trophy to his team. He played 90 minutes in Beşiktaş's first European match, against Real Madrid. He played for Beşiktaş in the same period as Süleyman Seba. He made his national-team debut against Spain on 14 March 1954 and also played in the play-off that gave Turkey its first World Cup place; his last international was the 7-2 defeat by West Germany at the World Cup.

In 1959 he went to Germany to learn German, joined 1. FC Köln and won the Oberliga West in 1959-60 and 1960-61. He then moved to Bonner SC and gave up football; in the early 1970s he coached TuS Lindlar and Viktoria Köln. In 2013 he received the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia for his services to integration in Cologne football, and he later took German citizenship.