Faruk Yiğit

Faruk Yiğit — Biography

Faruk Yiğit was born on 15 April 1968 in Trabzon (some sources give 1966) and is a Turkish former international footballer and coach who played as a forward. With his shoulder-length hair and full beard, he was known as one of the more unconventional-looking players of his era.

He started out in Orhangazi before turning professional young with Yalovaspor, where he was top scorer with 10 goals as the team won an unbeaten 3rd-league title in 1989-90. He then moved to Boluspor, making his top-flight debut against Galatasaray on 25 August 1990, and a 14-goal rookie season there earned him a national-team call-up. After Boluspor's relegation he joined Kocaelispor, the club he is most closely associated with: he was its top scorer with 12 goals in 26 matches in 1994-95, and played as Kocaelispor beat Trabzonspor to win the 1996-97 Turkish Cup. Midway through 1997-98 he moved to Fenerbahçe, became a first-team regular by season's end and helped beat Trabzonspor to the Başbakanlık Cup; the following season he came on as a substitute in the Atatürk Cup final win over Beşiktaş for a second trophy. He later had a loan spell at Diyarbakırspor, a brief second stint at Fenerbahçe, and finished his career at Yalovaspor.

He was part of Turkey's squad at UEFA Euro 1996 but did not play in the tournament. After retiring he coached Orhangazi Gençlerbirliği, taking it from the amateur ranks to the 3rd league, and later managed Orhangazispor; he lives in Yalova.