Vedat Okyar

Vedat Okyar — Biography

Born on 1 August 1945 in Bursa, Vedat Okyar was a Turkish footballer who began his career at Bursaspor before joining Beşiktaş, where he played for eight seasons between 1968 and 1976, making 253 appearances, scoring 21 goals, and captaining the side for part of that spell.

Capped 33 times for the Turkish national team, Okyar went on to play for Diyarbakırspor and Fatih Karagümrük later in his career. Long associated with Beşiktaş, whose fans affectionately called him "Büyük Kaptan" (the Great Captain), he moved into sports journalism and television commentary after retiring from playing.

He also wrote the lyrics to the song "Keskin Bıçak." Okyar died in Istanbul on 20 July 2009 and continues to be remembered fondly by Beşiktaş supporters years after his passing.