Mehmet Bölükbaşı

Mehmet Bölükbaşı — Biography

Mehmet Bölükbaşı (born 24 August 1978 in Akçaabat) is a Turkish former football goalkeeper and coach. A product of the A. Sebatspor youth academy, he was discovered by Fatih Terim while playing in the third division and signed for Galatasaray.

Bölükbaşı spent the most memorable period of his career at Galatasaray, where, serving as understudy to Cláudio Taffarel, he was part of the squad that won the UEFA Cup in the 1999-2000 season and the UEFA Super Cup in the summer of 2000. As a member of that team, regarded as legendary by the club, he is held in high esteem by the club and its supporters. He was capped for the Turkish under-21 national team in 1998.

After slipping to third-choice goalkeeper at Galatasaray, he moved to İstanbulspor and later played for several Anatolian sides before returning to İstanbulspor in January 2008. Following his playing career, he worked as a coach.