Mehmet Oğuz

Mehmet Oğuz — Biography

Mehmet Oğuz was born on 3 May 1949 in Istanbul and died on 27 November 2022, also in Istanbul. A former Turkish international footballer, he spent the majority of his career at Galatasaray, where he is remembered as one of the club's legendary captains and served as the playmaker of the celebrated side that won three consecutive Turkish championships in the 1970/71, 1971/72 and 1972/73 seasons.

After the departures of Yasin Özdenak and Nihat Akbay, Oğuz took over the captain's armband and held it for the rest of his time at the club. Because of his slightly waddling gait on the pitch, he was nicknamed "Ördek Mehmet" ("Mehmet the Duck"), but he became better known as "Büyük Mehmet" ("Big Mehmet") after a younger player also named Mehmet Özgül joined the squad in the summer of 1972.

When Galatasaray did not renew his contract ahead of the 1979-80 season, Oğuz negotiated his release and, with the help of his close friend Cemil Turan, moved to rivals Fenerbahçe. He also earned caps for the Turkey national team during his career.