Güven Önüt

Güven Önüt — Biography

Güven Önüt, born in Aydın, was a Beşiktaş forward of the 1960s, remembered as the club's first league top scorer. He played nine years at Beşiktaş, from 1960 to 1969, and stood out for his dribbling, stylish headed goals, accurate passes and hard shots, and he later worked as a coach. He is named in Beşiktaş's "Bronze XI of the Century" and died in Istanbul on 24 February 2003.

He began playing at 16 with Aydınspor and then moved to İzmirspor, where his performances during the club's successful years of 1958-60 made his name. In July 1960 Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş all competed to sign him; he chose Beşiktaş, partly at the wish of his friend Kaya Köstepen, and wore the black-and-white shirt until 1969. The peak of that period was 1963-64, when he became First League top scorer, the first Beşiktaş player to win that title. Under the Yugoslav coach Ljubiša Spajić he won two league titles, in 1965-66 and 1966-67. He also played for the national team.

Before the 1969-70 season he left Beşiktaş and played first for Trabzonspor and then for Orduspor; after five more seasons on the pitch he retired in the summer of 1974. When he died of a heart attack, his funeral was held the next day at Merter's Veysel Karani Mosque after the afternoon prayer, and he was buried at Kazlıçeşme Cemetery.