Turgut Uçar

Turgut Uçar — Biography

Turgut Uçar was a figure of İzmir football both on the pitch and on the touchline: a defender at Altay and Trabzonspor who later coached many clubs in the Aegean region. When he died the press called him the "doyen of İzmir football" and "a legend of Altay"; he died in İzmir on 3 February 2019.

He started in Altay's academy, reached the first team in 1982 and played there regularly for seven seasons. In 1983-84 he won the 1. Lig title with Altay and was promoted to the Süper Lig. He joined Trabzonspor in 1988-89 and was among the team's important players for several seasons. He then played for Gaziantepspor, Karşıyaka and Balıkesirspor, and said goodbye to football at Soma Linyitspor in 1999.

He moved into coaching without a break, his first job being assistant coach at Altay, where he had started. He then worked mostly in the 1. Lig and 2. Lig, mainly with Aegean clubs, as assistant and head coach: Altay, Adanaspor, Akhisarspor, Uşakspor, Yozgatspor, Karabükspor, Tokatspor and Bandırmaspor were among them. He came and went at Karşıyaka several times and parted ways with them in May 2018. He was taken to hospital in December 2018 and died about three months later. In February 2026 Trabzonspor remembered him with a commemorative post.