Saffet Akyüz

Saffet Akyüz — Biography

Saffet Akyüz is a former footballer who scored 81 goals in the Süper Lig in total and won 8 caps for the Turkish senior national team; his name is tied above all to İstanbulspor, where he played for many years. After leaving the pitch he worked as a coach, first at Zeytinburnuspor and then in Galatasaray's youth system. Today he is president of the Turkish Professional Footballers' Association (TPFD).

He began playing at Kartalspor. His long service at İstanbulspor made him synonymous with the club. He was called up to the national team 12 times, won 8 senior caps from those call-ups and scored once. He ended his playing career at the close of the 2005-06 season.

His coaching career started at Zeytinburnuspor, first as a youth-section staff member and then as assistant coach; he left at the end of 2006-07. At the request of his former coach Fatih Terim he joined Galatasaray as an assistant coach before 2012-13, and worked alongside Hasan Şaş and Ümit Davala at the July 2012 pre-season camp abroad. After a season with the U-17 side he was put in charge of Galatasaray's U-19 team in 2013 and was still its technical lead in 2018. As TPFD president he visited Mehmet Büyükekşi in July 2022 and makes public statements on players' demands and federation decisions.