Tahir Karapınar

Tahir Karapınar — Biography

Tahir Karapınar came into the world in İzmir on 20 April 1967. He began his playing career at Tirespor, went on to represent Muğlaspor and Manisaspor, and then moved to Göztepe before joining İzmir's historic club Altay, where he spent twelve straight seasons before hanging up his boots in 2002. A midfielder in his playing days, he later turned to coaching, joining Altay's staff in 2004 and holding various roles there. Early in 2009 he took charge of the first team, steering it to a fifth-place finish in the second tier, though the club fell in the play-off semifinal and missed out on promotion; he stepped down once that season ended. He subsequently served as an assistant coach at Gaziantepspor and Manisaspor, and worked as first-team coach at Konyaspor. In June 2020 he was named interim head coach of Fenerbahçe and saw out that season's remaining fixtures, after which he coordinated the club's football academy and later moved into a role focused on developing players in the senior squad. He and Fenerbahçe went their separate ways in November 2025.