Hikmet Karaman

Hikmet Karaman — Biography

Hikmet Karaman was born on March 9, 1960, in Tirebolu, a district of Giresun on Turkey's Black Sea coast. After his playing career he moved into coaching, first serving as an assistant under Reinhard Saftig and Mustafa Denizli at Galatasaray and Kocaelispor, and under Holger Osieck at both Kocaelispor and Fenerbahçe. From 1998 onward he took charge as head coach of numerous clubs, including Kocaelispor, Zeytinburnuspor, Erzurumspor, Çaykur Rizespor, Adanaspor, Kayserispor, MKE Ankaragücü, Antalyaspor, Manisaspor, Gaziantepspor and Bursaspor.

He led Kocaelispor to the Turkish Cup in the 2001-02 season and later earned promotion to the Süper Lig with Çaykur Rizespor in 2002-03 and with Antalyaspor in 2007-08. In late 2024 he took his first job abroad, becoming head coach of Moldovan club Zimbru Chișinău. In March 2026 he reached an agreement with Iğdır FK, though his role at the club shifted after Kenan Koçak returned as head coach in June; by July 2026 he remained associated with Iğdır FK's transfer activity.