Bülent Akın

Bülent Akın — Biography

Bülent Akın is a midfielder born in Belgium to Turkish parents, who won the 2000 UEFA Super Cup and the 2001-02 Süper Lig title with Galatasaray. After retiring he moved into coaching and took charge of Beykozspor in the summer of 2025. He holds both Turkish and Belgian citizenship.

He began at Anderlecht and moved to Gençlerbirliği at 19. In 1999-2000 he joined Denizlispor, where his marking caught the eye of Galatasaray's Gheorghe Hagi, and at Hagi's insistence he signed for the Istanbul club. He showed promise early at Galatasaray but faded over time. In July 2002 he joined Bolton Wanderers, where he was sent off in a League Cup defeat to Bury and made a single Premier League appearance. In later years he played for Gençlerbirliği, Malatyaspor, İstanbulspor and MVV Maastricht, then Pursaklarspor in 2010, Yeni Malatyaspor and Kızılcahamamspor before ending his career. He won six caps for the Turkey under-21 side.

He began coaching in November 2017 with the United States-based Malatyaspor USA and also worked as an assistant to Mircea Lucescu. In the summer of 2022 he took over Uşakspor, and his spell there ended that October. In interviews he has described Hagi as someone who wanted to win even in training.