Gökhan Keskin

Gökhan Keskin — Biography

Gökhan Keskin is a former footballer and coach, a former defender who wore Beşiktaş's shirt for twelve years and made 41 appearances for the senior Turkey national team.

He started out at Dikilitaş and joined Beşiktaş at 17. Between 1984 and 1996 he played 419 league games and scored 14 goals. He began in midfield, moved to libero after Samet Aybaba's testimonial and kept that role for years. He had a large share in the championships won under Gordon Milne, and his 1986 goal against Trabzonspor carried Beşiktaş to the title. He started in the 10-0 win over Adana Demirspor in 1989, the widest margin in the history of the Turkish professional leagues. In 1996-97 he moved to İstanbulspor, where he retired in 2001. He was capped 4 times for Turkey U-21, 6 times for the Olympic side and 41 times for the senior team.

He began coaching as Aykut Kocaman's assistant, then assisted Rıza Çalımbay at Çaykur Rizespor and at Beşiktaş. In 2012, as head of the Turkey A2 national team, he beat England and reached the final of the International Challenge Trophy; the same year he coached the U-19 side, which won silver at the Mediterranean Games in Mersin, losing 3-2 to Morocco. He also served as sporting director of Beşiktaş's football academy. In 2023 he was head coach of the Turkey U-23 team, and today he is a regular voice in the sports press on Beşiktaş.