Gökmen Özdenak

Gökmen Özdenak — Biography

Gökmen Özdenak was a former Turkey international and football commentator, best known as a striker in Galatasaray's successful sides of the 1970s. His strong build and heading earned him the nickname “Ayı Gökmen” (“Gökmen the Bear”), and after retiring he spent years analysing football on television. He died in Istanbul on 31 December 2025.

He began at İstanbulspor, moved to Galatasaray two years later and stayed thirteen years, until he stopped playing in 1980. With the club he won four league titles, in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1973, and was part of the squads that took the Super Cup (1969, 1972), the Turkish Cup (1973, 1976) and the Prime Minister's Cup (1975, 1979). In 1976 he scored Galatasaray's 50th goal in European competition. He pulled on the national shirt fifteen times from the youth levels up to the senior side, scoring once in those matches.

Off the pitch he turned to sports writing, working for many years as a commentator on Telegol, which aired on various channels, and from 2015 co-hosting Serbest Vuruş on TVem with Ziya Şengül. He came from a footballing family; his brothers Yasin, a former national goalkeeper, and Doğan also played professionally. He was buried at Kilyos Cemetery on 2 January 2026 after prayers at the Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa Mosque; Fatih Terim and others from the football world paid tribute, and the Turkish Football Federation decided on a minute's silence in his memory.