Tolga Zengin

Tolga Zengin — Biography

Tolga Zengin is a goalkeeper who defended the goals of Trabzonspor and Beşiktaş and was in the Turkey squad that reached the semi-finals at Euro 2008. The peak of his career was the two Süper Lig titles he won with Beşiktaş under Şenol Güneş, in 2015-16 and 2016-17. After retiring as a player he worked as a pundit.

He started out at Trabzon İdmanocağı and entered Trabzonspor's youth set-up in 1998. He played his first league match in October 2005 against Galatasaray and conceded four; his real breakthrough came in 2006-07, when he took the gloves from Jefferson and made 18 league appearances. In 2008-09 he lost the number one place to Tony Sylva, and regained it in March 2011 when Onur Kıvrak was injured. That season his displays against Athletic Bilbao and Internazionale in Trabzonspor's Champions League campaign drew attention in the European press; he also took over the captaincy and played 51 matches. With the club he won the Turkish Cup and Super Cup in 2010. He received a fair play award in 2012 and the Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2013.

He moved to Beşiktaş in July 2013. He played 29 matches in 2014-15 and 38 in 2015-16, keeping 16 clean sheets in the title-winning season. For Turkey he played in 2006, and at Euro 2008 he was third-choice behind Rüştü Reçber and Volkan. Fatih Terim is reported to have said he might use him as an outfield player if needed. He said goodbye to Beşiktaş in 2020.