Nuri Çolak

Nuri Çolak — Biography

Nuri Çolak (born August 17, 1975, in İzmit) is a retired Turkish footballer who played as a defender. He is strongly associated with Kocaelispor, his hometown club, where he spent most of his career.

Having come up through Kocaelispor's ranks and signed his first professional contract ahead of the 1994-95 season, Çolak went on to spend nine seasons with the club in the Süper Lig. During that time he was part of the squad that won the Turkish Cup twice, in 1996-97 and 2001-02, scoring the goal against Trabzonspor in the 1997 final that helped secure the trophy. After Kocaelispor's relegation at the end of the 2002-03 season, he moved to Gaziantepspor, then returned to his former club twice more, first on loan and then outright. He closed out his career with spells at third-tier Etimesgut Şekerspor, winning a league title there, and second-tier Bozüyükspor, retiring at the end of the 2007-08 season.

Çolak earned 13 caps in total across various national teams, scoring one goal, and won a single senior cap in a 2001 friendly against Albania. He was also part of the Turkey Olympic national team squad that reached the final at the 1997 Mediterranean Games.