Tanju Çolak

Tanju Çolak — Biography

Born on 10 November 1963 in Samsun, Tanju Çolak is a former Turkish international footballer who played as a forward and later worked as a head coach. After breaking through at his hometown club Samsunspor, he went on to play for both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, scoring at nearly a goal-a-game pace for each side — a rare feat that made him a beloved figure among both fan bases despite their fierce rivalry, and over his career he is credited with 335 goals, regarded as the all-time leading scorer in Turkish football history.

Çolak's finest season came in 1987-88, when his 39 league goals earned him the European Golden Boot, a distinction no other Turkish player has matched; that same tally still stands as the record for most goals scored in a single Süper Lig season, and he also holds the record for most goals in a single match, with six. He was crowned top scorer of the Turkish league seven times in his career, and after surpassing Metin Oktay's long-standing record of 217 league goals he reached 240, holding the Süper Lig scoring crown until Hakan Şükür overtook him in 2007. With Galatasaray he won the 1988 league championship and the 1991 Turkish Cup.

Çolak earned 31 caps and scored 9 goals for the Turkish national team between 1984 and 1991. Since retiring he has remained a familiar public figure, regularly sharing his views on Turkish football in media appearances and occasionally meeting fans and students around the country.