Selçuk Yula

Selçuk Yula — Biography

Selçuk Yula was born on 8 November 1959 in Ankara; after finishing Ankara Bahçelievler Deneme Lisesi, he studied economics at the Ankara Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences while starting his professional career at Şekerspor. In 1979, at nineteen, he transferred to his childhood club Fenerbahçe, becoming known for his pace, football intelligence and, above all, his deft penalty-taking, and won back-to-back Süper Lig top-scorer titles in 1981-82 and 1982-83. Accounts differ on his overall tally for the club, ranging from 86 to 134 goals; he captained the side for four seasons and scored in a 3-2 win over the then European champions, Bordeaux. He moved to Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin in 1986, then Sarıyer, and finally Galatasaray in 1991, where he ended his playing days, having won 21 caps for Turkey, three as captain.

In 1998 he bid farewell in a Fenerbahçe testimonial match, the only one held for any player during Aziz Yıldırım's twenty-year presidency. He later worked as a newspaper columnist and sports pundit, and Fenerbahçe fans voted him their favourite sports critic in 2005 and 2007. He died of a heart attack in Istanbul on 6 August 2013 at 53; he was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery, and fans have continued to hold memorial gatherings at his grave.