Ayhan Akman

Ayhan Akman — Biography

Ayhan Akman is a former Turkey international midfielder who spent the longest part of his career at Galatasaray. From 2001 until he retired in 2012 he won four league titles in the yellow and red, became club captain in his final season, and was part of the Turkey squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008. After leaving the pitch he moved into the technical staff, and in December 2025 he stepped down as assistant football director at Galatasaray.

He began at İnegölspor and then played for Gaziantepspor. In 1998, at the request of manager John Toshack, he joined Beşiktaş for 8.75 million dollars; he scored 19 goals in 81 matches there and won the Atatürk Cup, but injuries gradually pushed him out of the squad. At Galatasaray he took on defensive midfield duties in Mircea Lucescu's system and also played on the left wing, then featured as a holding midfielder under Fatih Terim, Eric Gerets and Michael Skibbe. With Galatasaray he also won the 2005 Turkish Cup and the 2008 Super Cup. He was suspended from football for six months after testing positive for a banned substance in a doping test.

His coaching path began as an assistant coach with Galatasaray's A2 side, followed by a stint as Bülent Korkmaz's assistant at Kayseri Erciyesspor. In February 2015 he acted as head coach of Karşıyaka and resigned after a 5-0 defeat to Altınordu; in 2015-16 he took charge of Sarıyer and won four of his first five matches. His sons Hamza and Efe, and his nephew Ali Akman, are footballers too.