Erkan Özbey

Erkan Özbey — Biography

Erkan Özbey is a retired defender whose name is most closely tied to Bursaspor and Gençlerbirliği. Standing 1.81 metres tall, he captained Gençlerbirliği for a long time and, after leaving the pitch, moved into amateur club presidency.

He began at the Bursa Merinosspor academy, turned professional in 1995 and played his first official match on 23 September 1995 in the third division. He was transferred to Bursaspor but first went back to his old club on loan, then spent 1997-98 on loan at Kardemir Karabükspor in the top flight. Returning to Bursaspor in 1998-99, he became a regular starter and stayed five seasons. At the start of 2003-04 he joined Gençlerbirliği: in his first season the team finished tenth and reached the Turkish Cup final, and in 2004-05 it placed fourth in the Süper Lig. In six seasons there he was voted the club's player of the year by supporters in 2005 and 2007.

In summer 2009 he moved to Kızılcahamamspor without playing a match, was elected the club's president in 2011 and, before 2012-13, terminated his playing contract to serve only as president. He has also been named as president of Çubukspor. For Turkey he played 21 times at under-21 level, once for the A2 team and once for the senior side, and was part of the under-21 squad that took part in the 2000 European Championship finals.