Kemalettin Şentürk

Kemalettin Şentürk — Biography

Kemalettin Şentürk (born 9 February 1970 in Artvin) is a Turkish retired footballer and manager. He began his career in Çaykur Rizespor's youth system, moved on to Gençlerbirliği, and signed for Fenerbahçe in 1993. Over nine seasons with the club he made 222 Süper Lig appearances and scored 33 goals, playing mainly as a sweeper and occasionally as a defensive midfielder, and was regarded as one of the country's best players in that defensive role. He earned five senior caps for Turkey alongside appearances for the under-21 and under-23 sides. Known for a combative style on the pitch, he left Fenerbahçe and went on to play for several lower-division Anatolian clubs before retiring during the 2005–06 season.

Mid-career, he drew attention by publicly describing himself as left-leaning and saying he had voted for the Workers' Party; after retiring as a player he took on a role within the party's leadership and stood as its parliamentary candidate in the 2007 general election, though the party fell short of the vote threshold and he did not take a seat. He moved into coaching in 2010, working as an assistant to Ergün Penbe at Hacettepe, Mersin İdman Yurdu, Kartalspor and Kayseri Erciyesspor before being appointed Kayseri Erciyesspor's head coach in December 2011; he left the post in May 2012, succeeded by Fuat Çapa. In 2022 he took charge of Pazarspor, resigning that December.