Rüştü Reçber
Rüştü Reçber (born May 10, 1973 in Antalya, Turkey) is a Turkish football goalkeeper, who currently plays for the Turkish national team. He has returned to Turkish club Fenerbahçe SK on a loan deal from FC Barcelona, due to a combination of subpar performance at Barça and quota restrictions on non-EU players in the Spanish league.
Rüştü is a very experienced international goalkeeper; he has kept the Turkish national team number 1 jersey since 1994, when he first made his international debut.
Rüştü played in Euro '96, as well as helping Turkey to the semifinals of World Cup 2002. He is known as a great shot stopper with excellent positional sense. His 186 cm height gives him the advantage when it comes to corners. Rüştü is also highly rated in his home country, especially among Fenerbahçe fans, where he played some great games for them, as well as appearing in the Champions League. He is also known for his long ponytail and for his American Indian-like war-paint, especially in the application of black charcoal streaks under his eyes. He claims they help block out the stadium lights.
Despite the fact that many of the players are not liked by the supporters of the rival clubs, Rüştü is one of the few players that almost every football fan in Turkey is in favor of. Having played some excellent matches for the national team, Rüştü gets the respect he deserves.
Rüştü enjoys a big following in Greece and the Greek Rustu Fan Club is regularly organizing Rustu events. In November, 2002 the Greek Fan Club visited Liberets and succesfully supported Panathinaikos players by shouting "Rüştü". They are expected to make an appearance again in the Confederations Cup match between Brazil-Greece in Germany on the 16th of June, 2005. The Greek fan club has also created Rustu.com. Rüştü has also donated a huge amount of money for construction of a high school in his hometown Korkuteli, Antalya, Turkey. He was first discovered when he was playing in Antalyaspor SK.