Kadri Göktulga

Kadri Göktulga — Biography

Kadri Göktulga was born in Istanbul in 1904 and became one of the defensive pillars of Fenerbahçe during the early decades of the Turkish Republic. He joined the club's youth ranks at just 13, in 1917, was promoted to the first team in 1920, and went on to make 198 appearances and score 6 goals for Fenerbahçe over an eleven-year career that lasted until 1931.

Playing as a left back and left half, Göktulga earned his first cap for the Turkey national team at the 1924 Paris Olympics against Czechoslovakia and went on to win 10 caps in total. In 1923 he featured in the historic match staged to mark the departure of British occupation forces commander General Harington, in which Fenerbahçe defeated a British select side 2-1 to win the General Harington Cup. He was a fixture of the starting eleven during Fenerbahçe's unbeaten 1922-23 championship season, its 1929-30 Istanbul league title, and its 1930 Istanbul Shield triumph. In 1967, on the club's 60th anniversary, he was among the members honoured with a gold medal reserved for those registered with Fenerbahçe for at least 40 years.

Göktulga remained close to the club after retiring as a player, being elected to Fenerbahçe's board at the March 1970 congress under president Faruk Ilgaz and serving on the management team through the 1970-71 season. He died in Istanbul on 25 October 1973.