Nazmi Bilge

Nazmi Bilge — Biography

Nazmi Bilge is remembered as a Beşiktaş forward and captain who wore the club's shirt from the mid-1950s until 1962; when he died the press called him "Beşiktaş's legendary captain". His best-known page in club history is scoring twice against Altay in the opening season of the national league, which gave Beşiktaş its first goal in the competition.

He began playing in Trabzon at İdmanocağı Kulübü. After finishing Trabzon Lisesi he spent two years in higher education, and with the support of his maternal uncle, the football figure Hasan Polat, he transferred to Beşiktaş in 1954. In the black-and-white shirt he won the Federation Cup in 1956-57 and 1957-58 and the Millî Lig in 1959-60; he was the Federation Cup's top scorer in 1956-57 and was named Milliyet's Sportsman of the Year in 1959. Across the Istanbul League, the Millî Küme, the Federation Cup and the First League he scored 158 goals. In 1962 he moved to Altay. He played three times for the Turkey national team and scored once.

After retiring as a player he turned to coaching: in 1969-70 he managed Kardemir Karabükspor and became the club's first head coach. He also worked on the board of Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü and at the Turkish Football Federation. He died in Istanbul on 8 August 2013 and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. The Beşiktaş community continues to remember him at his grave on the anniversaries of his death.