Tugay

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Tugay Kerimoğlu (born 24 August 1970 in Trabzon) is a retired Turkish footballer who played for majority of his career for Galatasaray and Blackburn Rovers. Primarily a deep-lying playmaker in midfield, he was also competent as an attacking midfielder or playing in the holding role.

Former Romanian legend Gheorghe Hagi rates him as one of the finest ball-playing midfielders in Europe.^[1]

In 2006, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had suggested that if he were ten years younger, Tugay's ability would make him an ideal player for the Old Trafford team.^[2] When Tugay's manager at the time, Mark Hughes, was asked if he too wished Tugay was ten years younger, his answer was "No, because if he was, he'd be playing in a Barcelona shirt."^[3]

[edit] Career

[edit] Galatasaray

He played for Galatasaray from 1987 to 2000, where he won the Turkish League six times and the Turkey Cup four times. The midfielder was made captain at Galatasaray in the 1992-93 season, making him the youngest captain in the history of his club.

[edit] Rangers

He had signed for Scottish club Rangers in the January 2000 mid season transfer window, and joined Blackburn Rovers for the 2001-02 season.^[4]

[edit] Blackburn Rovers

Former boss Graeme Souness brought Tugay to Ewood Park from Scottish side Glasgow Rangers in the summer of 2001 for a £1.3m fee. His debut for Rovers was as a substitute against Sunderland. His first goal came on 14 October 2001 in a 7–1 home thrashing against West Ham United in which he scored with a trademark effort from outside the box, lobbing the keeper. Tugay immediately became a fans favourite at Blackburn, where he has been an integral part of the club's success on the field since his first season. Unfortunately he missed Blackburn's League Cup final win in 2002 through suspension. Tugay was named Blackburn's Player of the Year in the 2003-04 campaign.

Tugay retired from football on 24 May 2009. His last game was against West Bromwich Albion.

[edit] Coaching

On the 3rd June 2009, Tugay claimed he was to join former manager Mark Hughes at Manchester City in a coaching role.

[edit] National team

Tugay has represented Turkey at Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but retired in 2003 after Turkey failed to qualify for Euro 2004. His final cap for Turkey was on 5 June 2007 in a friendly against Brazil in Dortmund, Germany. He wore number 94 to commemorate his 94 caps for his country.

[edit] Playing style

Tugay is a competent, industrious all-round midfielder who is solid in defence but equally capable of fulfilling the playmaker role. A range of passing from five yards to 50, Tugay has been called a pass-master. He is capable of threatening goal with a sweetly-hit long-range drive. Tugay is also unafraid of tracking-back and getting stuck in when the game requires a more physical approach. Although his attacking instincts have not been so prevalent in recent times, Tugay's energetic performances have earned him renewed contracts over the past two seasons, however these days he is more often found in the circle on the half way line in attack and defence.

[edit] Personal life

Tugay generally keeps himself out of the media spotlight, and even with very good English and an apparent good sense of humour, he rarely makes an interview, even to his club's very own radio station, Radio Rovers. Tugay is married to Etkin Kerimoğlu, a former Galatasaray and Turkish international basketball player. He has two children, named Berke and Melissa. As a youngster, he was also an extremely promising motor racer, competing as high a Formula 3 level.

[edit] Honours

Galatasaray

• Turkcell Super League - 1988, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999
• Turkish Cup - 1991, 1993, 1996

Rangers

• Scottish Premier League - 2000
• Scottish Cup - 2000

Blackburn Rovers

• Football League Cup - 2002
• Blackburn Player of the Year - 2003/04

Turkey

• 1993 Mediterranean Games U-21 Gold Medal
• UEFA Euro 2000 Quarter-Finalist
• FIFA World Cup 2002: Third place

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tugay at National-Football-Teams.com
• Tugay FIFA competition record
• Tugay Kerimoğlu career stats at Soccerbase
• (English) ESPN profile
• (Turkish) TFF.org profile
• (German) transfermarkt.de profile

v • d • e Turkey squad – UEFA Euro 1996 1 Adnan • 2 Recep • 3 Alpay • 4 Vedat • 5 Tugay • 6 Ertuğrul • 7 Hami • 8 Ogün • 9 Hakan Şükür • 10 Oğuz • 11 Orhan • 12 Faruk • 13 Rahim • 14 Saffet • 15 Tayfun • 16 Sergen • 17 Abdullah • 18 Arif • 19 Tolunay • 20 Bülent • 21 Şanver • 22 Rüştü • Coach: Terim

v • d • e Turkey squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Rüştü • 2 Tayfur • 3 Ogün • 4 Fatih • 5 Alpay • 6 Arif • 7 Okan • 8 Tugay • 9 Hakan Şükür • 10 Sergen • 11 Tayfun • 12 Ömer • 13 Osman • 14 Suat • 15 İzzet • 16 Ergün • 17 Oktay • 18 Ayhan • 19 Abdullah • 20 Hakan Ünsal • 21 Fevzi • 22 Ümit Davala • Coach: Denizli

v • d • e Turkey squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Rüştü • 2 Emre Aşık • 3 Bülent • 4 Fatih Akyel • 5 Alpay • 6 Arif • 7 Okan • 8 Tugay • 9 Hakan Şükür • 10 Yıldıray • 11 Hasan Şaş • 12 Ömer • 13 İzzet • 14 Tayfur • 15 Nihat • 16 Ümit Özat • 17 İlhan Mansız • 18 Ergün • 19 Abdullah • 20 Hakan Ünsal • 21 Emre • 22 Ümit Davala • 23 Zafer • Coach: Güneş

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