Ünal Karaman

Ünal Karaman — Biography

Ünal Karaman is known as a midfielder who played for Trabzonspor in the 1990s and made 36 appearances for the Turkey national team; in later years he rose to manage the same club, and since 2023 he has been a member of parliament for Konya.

He started out in Konyaspor's youth side and moved to Gaziantepspor in 1984 and Malatyaspor in 1987. He first pulled on the national shirt while playing in the Second League with Gaziantepspor, and with Malatyaspor he finished third in the league in 1988. After his transfer to Trabzonspor in 1990 he stayed nine years, winning the Turkish Cup in 1991-92 and 1994-95, the Super Cup in 1995 and the Prime Minister's Cup in 1993-94 and 1995-96. In 1999 he moved to MKE Ankaragücü.

He began coaching as an assistant with the national team, took the side over on a caretaker basis in 2004 and became under-21 national team manager in 2005. After spells at Konyaspor (2007-08, 2009) and MKE Ankaragücü (2008), he returned to Trabzonspor as sporting director and from 2010 to 2013 was Şenol Güneş's first assistant. He took Adana Demirspor to fourth place in 2014-15 and, after Şanlıurfaspor, led Trabzonspor from 30 May 2018 until early 2020, then coached Çaykur Rizespor and Göztepe. He entered politics with the Good Party (İYİ Parti), was elected Konya MP in the 2023 general election, resigned from the party on 20 January 2025, and joined the AK Party on 23 February 2025, becoming a member of its Central Executive Board.