Neşat Gülünoğlu

Neşat Gülünoğlu — Biography

Neşat Gülünoğlu is a Turkish-German forward born in Germany, best remembered for his breakthrough at VfL Bochum and for the contract he then signed with AS Roma. He is described as the first Turkish player to join Roma, but his Italian spell did not go as hoped. He retired at 26.

He started out at VfB Börnig before joining Bochum's youth system. Coach Klaus Toppmöller brought him up to the first team in 1996-97; he made his Bundesliga debut against Karlsruher SC on March 11, 1997, and a week later started against Werder Bremen and scored his first goal. The match brought him attention and a television channel made a program about him; Bochum finished fifth that season, the best placing in their history. In 1997-98 he played alongside Yıldıray Baştürk, scored against Bayern Munich and made his first European appearance against Club Brugge. His last season at Bochum was 1998-99. He signed with Roma in January 1999 but, after being tried in friendlies, failed to settle in the squad; delays in getting his citizenship papers to the club also caused problems, and he terminated the contract in December 1999. Talks with Beşiktaş led nowhere. He then played in Germany for Sportfreunde Siegen, Waldhof Mannheim, Westfalia Herne, Yurdumspor Köln and SSV Hagen.

In February 1997 he played for Turkey's under-21 team in two matches against Finland.