Yüksel Gündüz

Yüksel Gündüz — Biography

Yüksel Gündüz (20 December 1937, Tavşanlı, Kütahya – 3 June 2023, Istanbul) was a former Turkish international footballer best known for his years at Fenerbahçe. He began his career at Ankara Dışkapıspor before moving to Güneşspor, and made his youth-national-team debut against Yugoslavia in a European Youth Championship qualifier on 6 April 1955.

After joining Fenerbahçe in 1957, Gündüz became one of the club's leading players, scoring 115 goals in 268 matches through 1964. He won the Istanbul Professional League in 1958-59 and the Süper Lig in 1959, 1960-61 and 1963-64, and scored Fenerbahçe's first-ever Turkish Cup goal in a 2-1 win over Adana Demirspor on 30 September 1962. He transferred to İstanbulspor in 1965, and between 1955 and his retirement was capped ten times for various national sides — once for the senior team, twice for the B team, once for the under-21s and six times for the youth team.

After retiring from football he served as a member of Fenerbahçe's High Council (Yüksek Divan Kurulu). He died in Istanbul on 3 June 2023 at the age of 85; following funeral prayers at Şakirin Mosque on 5 June, he was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery.