Necati Ateş

Necati Ateş — Biography

Necati Ateş (born 3 January 1980 in İzmir) is a Turkish former international footballer and coach. Standing 1.82 m, he played as a forward.

He began his career with clubs in İzmir, and after Altay and Karşıyaka he went on to play for Adanaspor, Antalyaspor, Ankaraspor, Kayseri Erciyesspor, Eskişehirspor, Osmanlıspor and İstanbul Başakşehir. He is best known for his time at Galatasaray. In 2008-09 he spent a loan spell with Real Sociedad in the Spanish second division, making 35 league appearances and scoring once, as well as playing a Copa del Rey match. He represented Turkey at under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 level as well as for the senior national team.

After retiring he worked on coaching staffs, including a spell as assistant manager at the Greek Super League club Panathinaikos. In recent years he has worked as a television football pundit, and his comments on Galatasaray and on Turkish football in general are frequently reported in the press.