Hasan Şaş

Hasan Şaş — Biography

Hasan Şaş is a former Turkey international, counted among the symbolic figures of Galatasaray and remembered for the third place at the 2002 World Cup. He played on the wing and as an attacking midfielder and was known for his skillful dribbling and drive on the pitch. He was also popular across the Arab world, Egypt above all. Today he works as a football pundit.

He started as an amateur at Akdeniz Karataşspor, signed his first professional contract with Adana Demirspor and caught the eye at Ankaragücü. In 1998 he joined Galatasaray, the club he called his childhood dream, despite a bigger offer from Fenerbahçe. Under Fatih Terim he won five league titles, three Turkish Cups and the 2008 Super Cup, beat Arsenal to lift the 2000 UEFA Cup and then took the UEFA Super Cup. In the 2000-01 Champions League he scored against Real Madrid and Milan; Liverpool and Monaco showed interest, but he stayed at Galatasaray.

At the 2002 World Cup his goal against Brazil appeared in the tournament's title sequences, he was named in the All-Star Team and became the first Turk on the list of the tournament's six best players; he also received the Turkish State Medal of Distinguished Service. When Galatasaray did not renew his contract in 2009 he turned down offers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia and retired. He was Fatih Terim's assistant at Galatasaray, alongside Ümit Davala, in 2011-2013 and 2018-2020, and became a pundit on NTV Spor in 2014.