Turgay Şeren

Turgay Şeren — Biography

Turgay Şeren was a goalkeeper who spent his entire playing career at Galatasaray and earned the nickname “Berlin Panteri” (Panther of Berlin) for his saves against West Germany in Berlin in 1951. He was Turkey's first-choice goalkeeper at the 1954 World Cup, the country's first.

Born Türkay, he was given that name by Atatürk, whose deputy private secretary his father was. He attended Galatasaray High School and played his first A-team match in 1949-50. In 1953 he stayed at Galatasaray despite offers from Fenerbahçe and played until the end of 1966-67, making 405 official appearances. He won the Istanbul League, the National League in 1961-62 and 1962-63, and the Turkish Cup three times, and holds the derby record with 55 matches against Fenerbahçe. He made his international debut in a 6-1 friendly win over Iran in 1950, played for Turkey until 1966 and captained the side 35 times. In 1966 he received Milliyet's Sportsman of the Year award, and in 1967 Galatasaray held a testimonial match for him.

After retiring he coached Mersin İdman Yurdu, Vefa, Samsunspor and, in 1979-80, Galatasaray; he also wrote newspaper columns and worked as a television commentator, and from 1993 to 2013 he chaired Turkey's Professional Footballers' Association. He died in Istanbul on 7 July 2016, and Galatasaray and the TFF remember him each year.