Suat Mamat

Suat Mamat — Biography

Suat Mamat is remembered as a forward closely identified with Galatasaray and as the player who scored Turkey's first goal in World Cup history. He became famous for his bicycle kicks and, thanks to his athleticism, flying headers, and was known in his day as "Artist Suat". He later became a coach.

He moved from Bakırköy Sümerspor to Ankara Demirspor in 1949 and to Galatasaray in 1952. He played for Galatasaray until 1963 and won four championships there, three Istanbul League titles and one Turkish League title, then two more at Beşiktaş between 1963 and 1967. He transferred to Vefa in November 1967 and held his testimonial after the 1967-68 season. He won 27 caps for Turkey, the first in the return leg of the World Cup qualifier against Spain on 14 March 1954. In the 1954 World Cup squad, his goal against Germany on 17 June was Turkey's first ever at the tournament, and he added two more against South Korea. In the 1950s several newspapers printed two posters of him, one in mid-bicycle-kick and one in a flying header, which stayed on teahouse walls until the early 1980s.

As a coach he led MKE Kırıkkalespor to the title in 1977-78, taking a district club to the top division for the first time, and repeated the feat two seasons later with Mersin İdman Yurdu. He last managed Eyüpspor, in 1992-93. He died in Istanbul on 3 February 2016, two days after his former teammate Ali Beratlıgil.