Naci Erdem

Naci Erdem — Biography

Naci Erdem was a former national-team centre-back who played for Fenerbahçe from 1953 to 1963, became closely identified with the club, and is among its most-capped players. He is also counted among the symbolic figures of Fatih Karagümrük, where he began playing, and later worked as a manager and club president. He died in Istanbul on 28 March 2022.

He started his career at Karagümrük and moved to Fenerbahçe in 1953. In his ten years there he made 605 appearances, scored 168 goals and won the National League title four times; he is remembered as a former captain of the yellow-and-navy side. At one point while at Fenerbahçe he stopped playing, started again at Beyoğluspor in 1964, and then transferred to Galatasaray, where he won one more league title. Among fans and in the club's circles he is seen as one of the leading players in Fenerbahçe's history.

He won 34 caps for the national team, captained it three times, and was in the squad at the 1954 FIFA World Cup finals. After retiring as a player he managed Edirnespor in the 1960s and Beylerbeyi from January 1969; he also returned to Karagümrük as a coach, served as the club's 23rd-term president in 1980-81, and joined the Fatih Karagümrüklüler supporters' association founded in 2005.