Naci Bastoncu

Naci Bastoncu — Biography

Naci Bastoncu was a striker who played at the head of Fenerbahçe's attack in the 1930s and 1940s and won a long list of trophies in the yellow-and-navy shirt. He is remembered among the club's most productive scorers. Because he came from Trabzon, he was known by the Black Sea nickname "Taka".

He began playing at Trabzon Lisesi in his home town and then turned out for Trabzon İdmanocağı. In 1934 he came to Istanbul and transferred to Fenerbahçe, where he played as a striker until 1947, appearing in more than two hundred matches and scoring well over a hundred goals. In his early years he took the Istanbul Football League in 1934-35, 1935-36 and 1936-37 and the Turkish Football Championship in 1935. He won the Istanbul Shield in 1938 and 1939, and the National Division in 1937, 1940, 1943, 1945 and 1946. The 1943-44 and 1946-47 league titles, the 1944 Turkish Football Championship, the 1945 Istanbul Cup and the Prime Minister's Cups of 1945 and 1946 are also among his honours.

In all he collected 17 domestic trophies. Even so, the outbreak of the Second World War meant he never played for the national team. He died on 28 October 1983 and his grave lies on the Koşuyolu entrance side of Karacaahmet Cemetery.