Ümit Bozkurt

Ümit Bozkurt — Biography

Ümit Bozkurt is a former Turkish international footballer who played as a sweeper and defensive midfielder for clubs including Denizlispor, Beşiktaş and Gençlerbirliği, and now works as a manager. Since July 2026 he has been head coach of Sakaryaspor. Standing 1.81 m tall, he wore the number 14 shirt late in his playing career.

He started out at Ankara Demirspor and, two years later, moved to Denizlispor in the 1. Lig (1997-2000). Those three years paved the way for his transfer to Beşiktaş, where he played from 2000 to 2002. Gençlerbirliği (2002-2005) and Konyaspor (2005-2006) followed. Later he played for Manisaspor, spent a season at Hacettepe, joined Diyarbakırspor in 2009 and Orduspor in 2010; his Orduspor contract was terminated in February 2011. Ofspor is also among his clubs.

He began coaching on 30 July 2020 at Ankara Demirspor, where his playing career had started. He later took over Isparta 32 Spor, with his spell beginning at the mid-season break. In June 2026 he agreed to join Şanlıurfaspor, but the two parted ways in early July. Appointed head coach of Sakaryaspor on 3 July 2026, he said in his first statement that the squad would work hard to take the club back to the league it belongs in. He ran the team's pre-season work in July, and the press wrote that his influence could be seen in Sakaryaspor's transfer choices.