Serkan Aykut

Serkan Aykut — Biography

Serkan Aykut is one of Samsunspor's best-remembered strikers and was the Süper Lig's top scorer in 1999-2000. The Ankara-born forward came through at Samsunspor, moved to Galatasaray, then returned to Samsunspor and ended his career there; he is counted among Samsunspor's legends.

He began his professional career at Samsunspor and was at the club when it won the First League title in 1992-93. In 1999-2000 he won the golden boot with 30 goals. Galatasaray paid a hefty fee for him, which brought Samsunspor the biggest transfer income in its history. He played two successful seasons at Galatasaray, winning the UEFA Super Cup in 2000 and the Süper Lig in 2001-02. He scored 188 league goals in the Süper Lig and, together with Tanju Çolak, was among the youngest players to reach 100 goals in the league.

In July 2002 he signed again with his former club Samsunspor, where he became team captain. He was voted into the club's all-time best starting eleven by its supporters. In his final seasons he fell out of the squad and ended his career in 2008-09. He played for Turkey's youth, under-21 and senior national teams; with the under-21s he was in the squad that lost the 1997 Mediterranean Games final to Italy and took silver.