Hakan Ünsal

Hakan Ünsal — Biography

Hakan Ünsal is an attacking left-back who played on Galatasaray's left flank from 1993 to 2005 and was part of the Turkey squad that finished third at the 2002 World Cup. With Galatasaray he won the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2000. After retiring he became a television pundit and, in 2015, was elected president of the Professional Footballers' Association.

He began at Ayancık Gençlikspor in Sinop, moved to Emlak Bankası Eyüpspor in Istanbul in 1991, then to Kardemir Karabükspor, and joined Galatasaray in 1993-94. Known for his strength and attacking play, he is still remembered for a run in the 2000 Super Cup against Real Madrid, carrying the ball from the halfway line down the left and winning a penalty. At Galatasaray he won the league four times from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 and again in 2001-02, plus the Turkish Cup four times, and was in the squad that reached the 2001 Champions League quarter-finals. In January 2002 he went to Blackburn Rovers in England, where a delayed work permit made him miss the League Cup final, and he returned to Galatasaray soon after. After 2004-05 he joined Çaykur Rizespor and retired. He scored 14 goals in 257 matches.

He is best known for being sent off against Brazil at the 2002 World Cup after kicking the ball at Rivaldo, who was fined. In 2019 he told Hürriyet that Rivaldo had cheated. He holds the Turkish State Medal of Distinguished Service. As a pundit he appeared on TRT 1, and Hürriyet has carried his views on derbies.