Fikret Arıcan

Fikret Arıcan — Biography

Born in Istanbul on 17 July 1911, Fikret Arıcan began playing football with Fenerbahçe's youth ranks at twelve and broke into the first team at fifteen. Capped eight times for Turkey's national team between 1931 and 1937, scoring two goals, and a member of Turkey's squad at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he closed a twenty-four-year playing career with his final match on 13 April 1947, following a brief spell at Ankara Demirspor.

According to club records he made 406 appearances and scored 231 goals across twenty years in Fenerbahçe colors and captained the side for nine seasons. Because he shared the pitch with a younger namesake, Fikret Kırcan, he became known as "Büyük Fikret" ("Great Fikret"); the two are named together in the line "Cihatlar, Lefterler, Canlar, Fikretler" of the Fenerbahçe anthem.

Arıcan served as player-manager between 1945 and 1947 and returned to coach the club again in the 1955-56 season. As Fenerbahçe's 27th club president from 1984 to 1986, he presided over a league title in 1984-85 along with two Presidential Cups, a Turkish Sports Writers' Association Cup and two Navy Cups. He died in 1994.