Umut Güzelses

Umut Güzelses — Biography

Umut Güzelses (Hebrew: אומיט גונזאלס; born 15 May 1987 in Istanbul) is a Turkish-Israeli former footballer from a Sephardic Jewish family who, standing 1.84 m tall, emigrated to Israel with his family as a child and holds Israeli citizenship.

He began his career in Israel with Hapoel Tel Aviv before joining Fenerbahçe in 2005, opting to complete Turkey's shorter military service rather than Israel's three-year compulsory duty. Following a strong showing at the club's 2007 preseason camp in Austria, he entered coach Zico's squad, playing for Fenerbahçe's reserve side in the 2006-07 season while making two Turkish Cup appearances for the first team. He later continued his career on loan and permanent moves with Hacettepe in the Turkish first division, followed by spells at Anadolu Üsküdar 1908 and Kastamonuspor.