Vedat Okyar

Vedat Okyar — Biography

Vedat Okyar was a footballer known for his playmaking, whom Beşiktaş fans called "Büyük Kaptan" ("Great Captain"), and later became known as a sports columnist and commentator. He was among the team's key players in the years when Beşiktaş went without a league title, wore the captain's armband at times, and was named in the club's Squads of the Century Silver Team.

After playing amateur football for Yücespor and Adaletspor he turned professional in 1965 and won the First League with Bursaspor in 1966-67. He moved to Beşiktaş while his father was serving as a club official there, and between 1968 and 1976 scored 21 goals in 253 matches. He won the President's Cup and the Prime Minister's Cup in 1974 and the Turkish Cup in 1974-75, and scored from 42 of the 43 penalties he took. Late in his career he also played for Diyarbakırspor and Karagümrük. He played for the national team, though sources differ on how many caps he won.

After football he spent a short time in the textile business and from 1981 wrote on sport for Sabah, Fotomaç, Hürriyet and Vatan, remaining one of the most popular commentators around Beşiktaş in newspapers and on television. He wrote the lyrics of the song "Keskin Bıçak". He died in Istanbul on 20 July 2009 aged 63 and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery; he is remembered at his grave on the anniversary of his death.