Turkey mourns loss of Coşkun Özarı
Friday, June 24, 2011
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Former Turkey and Galatasaray AŞ defender and coach Coşkun Özarı, the national team's longest-serving manager, has died at the age of 80 following a long illness.
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Former Turkey and Galatasaray AŞ player and coach Coşkun Özarı has died at the age of 80 following a long illness.
Istanbul-born Özarı had three spells spanning seven years at the helm of the national team between 1972 and 1986, a record that still stands today. He oversaw 54 internationals in all, bettered only by Fatih Terim, yet it is as a player that he made his name, winning four league titles with Galatasaray after making his debut 1953.
A defender noted for his hard tackling and mild manner, he won five caps for Turkey before taking premature retirement aged 29 to focus on coaching. Schooled in England, he returned to Turkey and won three top-flight titles with Galatasaray as assistant to Gündüz Kılıç and Englishman Brian Birch.
In time he took the top job himself, winning the Turkish Cup in 1963/64 and would return for two more stints at the helm either side of spells with Altınordu SK, Etimesgut Şekerspor, Adana Demirspor and, of course, the Turkish national team. He stepped back from coaching in 1986 and became a sports writer and commentator.
He died in his hometown of Istanbul on Tuesday.
