İrfan Saraloğlu

İrfan Saraloğlu — Biography

İrfan Saraloğlu is a former player who, as a coach, has been on Okan Buruk's staff as an assistant since 2013. He has won the Süper Lig with Başakşehir in 2019-20 and with Galatasaray in 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26. He has been assistant coach at Galatasaray since 23 June 2022.

Born in Ardeşen in Rize province, Saraloğlu began in the Rizespor youth system. Over a professional playing career of about 14 years, as a libero, right-back and left-back, he played for clubs including Rizespor, Keşanspor, Erdemir Ereğlispor, Maltepespor and Sivasspor. He gained his coaching licence in 1995 and moved into coaching.

His coaching years began at Fenerbahçe: he was assistant on the staffs of Christoph Daum and Zico in 2004-2008 and 2009-2010 and worked with the club's U21 side in 2011-12, a period in which Fenerbahçe won the league in 2004-05 and 2006-07 and the Super Cup in 2007 and 2009. In 2013 he joined Buruk's staff and worked with him at Elazığspor, Gaziantepspor, Sivasspor, Göztepe, Akhisar Belediyespor, Çaykur Rizespor and Başakşehir, winning the 2017-18 Turkish Cup with Akhisar. At Galatasaray he has also won the 2024-25 Turkish Cup and the 2023 Super Cup. His son Utku Saraloğlu is a professional basketball player.