Süreyya Özkefe

Süreyya Özkefe — Biography

Süreyya Özkefe was a former international footballer and manager who played defensive midfield in Beşiktaş's championship side of the 1960s. His long years in the black-and-white shirt made him synonymous with the club; fan and club circles regard him as one of the important players in its history, and his name appeared as a watermark on Beşiktaş's centenary shirt. In football circles he was also known by the nickname "Tatar Süreyya".

He came up in the youth ranks of Eskişehir Işıkspor, turned professional with Ankara Demirspor in 1958 and won the Ankara Professional League in 1958-1959. The next year he began playing in the newly founded Millî Lig. In 1961-1962 he transferred to Beşiktaş. He was an important part of the side that won back-to-back championships for the first time in the club's history, in 1965-1966 and 1966-1967, and he also won the President's Cup in 1967 and the TSYD Cup in 1964 and 1965.

Late in his career he moved to his hometown club Eskişehirspor, where he won the 1970-1971 Turkish Cup, the 1971 President's Cup and the 1972 Prime Minister's Cup, and he spent one season on loan at Karabükspor. He made his national-team debut on 8 October 1961 in a friendly against Romania and played nine times between 1961 and 1965. He died in Eskişehir on 29 July 2025, aged 86; he was buried at Esentepe Cemetery, and Beşiktaş and the Turkish Football Federation issued messages of condolence.