İlhan Eker

İlhan Eker — Biography

İlhan Eker is a former centre-back, 1.85 metres tall, whose career ran from Balıkesirspor to Gençlerbirliği, then Fenerbahçe, Kayserispor and Kasımpaşa, and finally back to Balıkesirspor. He won his first Süper Lig title with Fenerbahçe in 2010-11.

He played his first professional match at 16 for Balıkesirspor, where the team lost a promotion play-off to A. Sebatspor and missed out on the Second League, then went down the following season. In 2001 he moved to Gençlerbirliği Asaşspor (later renamed Gençlerbirliği Oftaşspor); in seven seasons there he won three championships, including the 2006-07 Türkiye Telekom Lig A title. In August 2008 he was brought into Gençlerbirliği itself, made his debut against Kocaelispor and scored twice in his first season. In 2009-10 he played 26 matches under Thomas Doll and rose to club captain.

In 2010 he signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe and made his European debut in the Champions League qualifier against Young Boys, but with Diego Lugano and Joseph Yobo ahead of him he played only once in the league, in the last two minutes of the away game at Manisaspor. He went to Kayserispor in the swap that took Serdar Kesimal to Fenerbahçe and played nine league games there; in 2012-13 he played 13 league matches for newly promoted Kasımpaşa, scoring on his debut against Galatasaray. In 2016 he returned to Balıkesirspor, the club that raised him, signed again in 2018, and in 2020 spoke publicly about the club's future.