Hakan Şükür


Hakan Şükür is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed the "Bull of the Bosphorus" and Kral, he spent the majority of his professional career with Galatasaray, being a three-time Gol Kralı, representing the club in three different spells and winning a total of 14 major titles.
Şükür represented Turkey a total of 112 times, scoring 51 goals, making him the nation's top goalscorer and 19th in the world at the time of his retirement. One of the most prolific strikers of the modern era, he netted 383 goals throughout his club career as well as the fastest ever in a World Cup, in 2002. He retired from football in 2008, only scoring once in single digits for his main team in 13 seasons; he was renowned for his heading ability.
In the 2011 general elections, he was elected as an Istanbul MP for the Justice and Development Party. He resigned from the party in December 2013, to serve as an independent. He is wanted for arrest in Turkey since August 2016 for being a member of Gülen movement, and lives in exile in the United States since mid 2016.

Club career

Born in Sapanca, Sakarya Province, Şükür began his football career with local club Sakaryaspor, making his professional debut shortly after his 17th birthday. His first goal came in a match against Eskişehirspor on 26 February 1989: with the match tied 2–2, he entered the pitch as a substitute and scored the winning goal; he went on to score a further 18 Süper Lig goals in his three-year spell with the club.
In the summer of 1990, Şükür joined fellow first division side Bursaspor. He scored six goals in 27 games in his second season, helping the team to a sixth-place finish, and making his Turkish national team debut shortly after.
Subsequently, Şükür signed for national giants Galatasaray SK. Nicknamed the Bull of the Bosphorus, he scored 19 goals in 30 matches in his first year with the club, helping it win both the league and cup titles, adding 16 and 19, respectively, in the next two seasons and attracting the attention of Torino FC. In 1995 he moved to the Italian club, becoming the second Turkish player to ever play in the Serie A, but returned to his country and Galatasaray in the following winter transfer window, failing to settle and only netting once in the league.
Upon his return to Galatasaray, Şükür regained his scoring form, scoring 16 goals in the league and helping the club win the cup. The following season, he collected 38 goals in the league, tying him for second-most goals scored in a season with Metin Oktay, one goal behind record holder Tanju Çolak; both players were playing for Galatasaray when they broke the record. Şükür also finished third in the ESM Golden Boot rankings with 57 points, behind Mário Jardel and Ronaldo. He won the Gol Kralı award the following two seasons, netting 33 and 18 goals respectively, with the Istanbul side winning the title in all three seasons.
In the 1999–2000 season, Şükür's last with Galatasaray in his second stint, the team completed a domestic double for the second year in succession, and added the year's UEFA Cup, becoming the first Turkish side to win a European title; in the 4–1 penalty shootout win against Arsenal he scored on his attempt, having netted ten times in 17 games during the campaign.
Şükür then moved to Italy again, this time to Inter Milan, scoring six goals in 35 official matches. His appearances were limited by the presence of Ronaldo and Christian Vieri in the team's attack and January 2002, after one and a half seasons, he signed with another team in the country, Parma FC, but was unable to produce again, only finding the net three times. Having been released, on 9 December he joined Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League for the remainder of the campaign, signed by former Galatasaray manager Graeme Souness. His spell began with him sustaining a broken leg in training which ruled him out for two months, after which made his debut for the club on 1 March 2003, replacing the injured Egil Østenstad at half time in a 1–0 home win over Manchester City; he scored twice from nine appearances, both goals coming in a 4–0 defeat of Fulham at Loftus Road on 7 April.
Şükür returned to Galatasaray on 7 July 2003, after failing to negotiate a new contract with Blackburn. He scored 12 times in 28 league games in his first season and 18 in the following, with the team winning the 2005 Turkish cup during that timeframe. Also, on 3 December 2003, he found the net twice in a 2–0 home defeat of Juventus F.C. for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League; in November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as Turkey's Golden Player by the Turkish Football Federation, as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.
In the 2005–06 season, Şükür again scored in double digits as Galatasaray again won the league. After helping the club win a record-tying 17th first division title in 2007–08, netting 11 goals, he decided to retire from the game aged nearly 37. Subsequently, he often appeared as a television pundit on Turkish Radio and Television Corporation; during his career, he scored 38 goals in all European competitions.

International career

Şükür won his first cap for Turkey in a friendly with Luxembourg in March 1992 – his debut being awarded by German manager Sepp Piontek – scoring his first international goal in his next match, against Denmark, and totalling six in his first 11 appearances. He netted seven in qualification for UEFA Euro 1996 and started all of the matches at the finals in England, in which they were eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal.
Şükür scored eight times in qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup: half of those in a 6–4 home win over Wales on 20 August 1997, but Turkey did not reach the play-offs. At Euro 2000 he netted twice for the quarterfinalists, in a 2–0 group stage win against co-hosts Belgium.
During the 2002 World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan, Şükür scored once for Turkey in seven matches as the national team finished in third place. On 29 June he scored the fastest ever goal in a FIFA World Cup, netting against South Korea 10.8 seconds into the third-place play-off.
Of his 112 senior appearances, Şükür captained Turkey in 30. After appearing in some Euro 2008 qualifiers, notably scoring four against Moldova in a 5–0 win in Frankfurt, Germany, he was not selected for the finals, his last game being a 0–1 home loss to Greece at the age of 36.

Personal life

Şükür is of Albanian origin. Both his parents are immigrants from Yugoslavia, his father being born in Pristina, and his mother in Skopje. His surname is spelled "Shykyr" in Albanian. His first wife, Esra Elbirlik, married him in a ceremony broadcast live on television, initiated by prime minister Tansu Çiller and performed by mayor of Istanbul Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The couple divorced after four months, and Elbirlik and her family died in the 1999 İzmit earthquake. Şükür fathered three children with his second spouse, Beyda.

Politics

On 18 June 2011, Şükür was elected as a Member of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in the 2011 general elections, from the ruling Justice and Development Party, representing the 2nd electoral district of Istanbul Province.
On 16 December 2013, Şükür, known for his links to the Islamic Gülen movement of the Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, resigned from his position in protest after the interdiction of the group's "dershane" system, and decided to continue working as an independent MP. He subsequently went on to work as a football pundit for Turkish Radio and Television Corporation;

Prosecution and exile

In February 2016, Şükür was charged with insulting president Erdoğan on Twitter. In August, a warrant was issued for his arrest as he was charged with being a member of the Gülen movement, designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey.
Şükür fled Turkey in November 2017, taking up self-exile in San Francisco, California and planning to become a restaurateur in Palo Alto. He left this job because "strange people kept coming into the bar".
In January 2020, Şükür told Germany's Welt am Sonntag that he was working as an Uber driver and selling books in the United States. He also said that his houses, businesses and bank accounts in Turkey had been seized by the government.

Career statistics

Club

Goals in European competitions

#DateNo. goalsOpponentScoreCompetition
1.16 September 19921 Katowice2–1UEFA Cup
2.25 November 19921 Roma1–3UEFA Cup
3.10 August 19941 Avenir Beggen5–1Champions League
4.17 August 19943 Avenir Beggen4–0Champions League
7.23 November 19941 Barcelona2–1Champions League
8.26 September 19962 Tiraspol4–0Cup Winners Cup
10.17 October 19962 Paris Saint-Germain4–2Cup Winners Cup
12.19 August 19981 Grasshopper2–1Champions League
13.26 August 19982 Grasshopper3–2Champions League
15.30 September 19981 Juventus2–2Champions League
16.4 November 19982 Rosenborg3–0Champions League
18.15 September 19991 Hertha BSC2–2Champions League
19.26 October 19992 Hertha BSC4–1Champions League
21.3 November 19991 Milan3–2Champions League
22.23 November 19991 Bologna1–1UEFA Cup
23.2 March 20001 Borussia Dortmund2–0UEFA Cup
24.16 March 20001 Mallorca4–1UEFA Cup
25.23 March 20001 Mallorca2–1UEFA Cup
26.4 April 20001 Leeds United2–0UEFA Cup
27.20 April 20001 Leeds United2–2UEFA Cup
28.7 December 20001 Hertha BSC2–1UEFA Cup
29.21 August 20031 CSKA Sofia3–0Champions League
30.17 September 20031 Juventus1–2Champions League
31.30 September 20031 Real Sociedad1–2Champions League
32.2 December 20032 Juventus2–0Champions League
34.10 December 20031 Real Sociedad1–1Champions League
35.29 September 20051 Tromsø1–1UEFA Cup
36.9 August 20061 FK Mladá Boleslav5–2Champions League
37.30 August 20071 Slaven Belupo2–1UEFA Cup
38.29 November 20071 Panionios3–0UEFA Cup

International

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.8 April 1992Ankara, Turkey2–1WinFriendly
2.26 August 1992Trabzon, Turkey3–2WinFriendly
3.26 August 1992Trabzon, Turkey3–2WinFriendly
4.28 October 1992Ankara, Turkey4–1Win1994 World Cup qualification
5.28 October 1992Ankara, Turkey4–1Win1994 World Cup qualification
6.27 October 1993Istanbul, Turkey2–1Win1994 World Cup qualification
7.7 September 1994Budapest, Hungary2–2DrawEuro 1996 qualifying
8.12 October 1994Istanbul, Turkey5–0WinEuro 1996 qualifying
9.12 October 1994Istanbul, Turkey5–0WinEuro 1996 qualifying
10.26 April 1995Bern, Switzerland1–2WinEuro 1996 qualifying
11.6 September 1995Istanbul, Turkey2–0WinEuro 1996 qualifying
12.6 September 1995Istanbul, Turkey2–0WinEuro 1996 qualifying
13.15 November 1995Stockholm, Sweden2–2DrawEuro 1996 qualifying
14.1 May 1996Samsun, Turkey3–2WinFriendly
15.10 November 1996Istanbul, Turkey7–0Win1998 World Cup qualification
16.10 November 1996Istanbul, Turkey7–0Win1998 World Cup qualification
17.2 April 1997Bursa, Turkey1–0Win1998 World Cup qualification
18.20 August 1997Istanbul, Turkey6–4Win1998 World Cup qualification
19.20 August 1997Istanbul, Turkey6–4Win1998 World Cup qualification
20.20 August 1997Istanbul, Turkey6–4Win1998 World Cup qualification
21.20 August 1997Istanbul, Turkey6–4Win1998 World Cup qualification
22.10 September 1997Serravalle, San Marino0–5Win1998 World Cup qualification
23.10 October 1998Bursa, Turkey1–0WinEuro 2000 qualifying
24.27 March 1999Istanbul, Turkey2–0WinEuro 2000 qualifying
25.5 June 1999Helsinki, Finland2–4WinEuro 2000 qualifying
26.5 June 1999Helsinki, Finland2–4WinEuro 2000 qualifying
27.19 June 2000Brussels, Belgium2–0WinUEFA Euro 2000
28.19 June 2000Brussels, Belgium2–0WinUEFA Euro 2000
29.11 October 2000Baku, Azerbaijan0–1Win2002 World Cup qualification
30.24 March 2001Istanbul, Turkey1–1Draw2002 World Cup qualification
31.2 June 2001Istanbul, Turkey3–0Win2002 World Cup qualification
32.15 August 2001Oslo, Norway1–1DrawFriendly
33.1 September 2001Bratislava, Slovakia0–1Win2002 World Cup qualification
34.5 September 2001Istanbul, Turkey1–2Loss2002 World Cup qualification
35.14 November 2001Istanbul, Turkey5–0Win2002 World Cup qualification – Playoffs
36.17 April 2002Kerkrade, Netherlands2–0WinFriendly
37.29 June 2002Daegu, South Korea2–3Win2002 FIFA World Cup
38.11 June 2003Istanbul, Turkey3–2WinEuro 2004 qualifying
39.6 September 2003Vaduz, Liechtenstein0–3WinEuro 2004 qualifying
40.9 September 2003Dublin, Republic of Ireland2–2DrawFriendly
41.19 November 2003Istanbul, Turkey2–2DrawEuro 2004 qualifying – Playoff
42.21 May 2004Sydney, Australia1–3WinFriendly
43.21 May 2004Sydney, Australia1–3WinFriendly
44.2 June 2004Seoul, South Korea0–1WinFriendly
45.5 June 2004Daegu, South Korea2–1LossFriendly
46.18 August 2004Denizli, Turkey1–2LossFriendly
47.11 October 2006Frankfurt, Germany5–0WinEuro 2008 qualifying
48.11 October 2006Frankfurt, Germany5–0WinEuro 2008 qualifying
49.11 October 2006Frankfurt, Germany5–0WinEuro 2008 qualifying
50.11 October 2006Frankfurt, Germany5–0WinEuro 2008 qualifying
51.2 June 2007Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina3–2LossEuro 2008 qualifying

Honours

Club

Sakaryaspor
Galatasaray
Parma
Inter
Turkey