Bülent Korkmaz

One-club man, Galatasaray legend, and Turkish international with 102 caps.

Bülent Korkmaz (born 24 November 1968), colloquially known by his given nicknames "Büyük Kaptan" and "Cengaver", is a Turkish football coach and former professional player. He played as a centre-back for Galatasaray for his whole career for 18 consecutive seasons between 1987 and 2005, winning 8 Süper Lig, 6 Turkish Cup, 5 Turkish Super Cup, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 UEFA Super Cup titles. He is the 13th player in history to make over 100 appearances across European club competitions. Korkmaz has got 102 senior caps for Turkey national team.

Quick Facts

Role: Centre-back
Club: Galatasaray S.K.
Notable achievement: Multiple Turkish Süper Lig Champion with Galatasaray
Key skill: Defensive leadership and aerial ability

Lore & Background

Korkmaz started his career at Galatasaray Futbol Akademisi as a goalkeeper in 1979. He changed his field role to become a defender following the advice from his youth coach. He was offered a professional contract by German club Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 16 but he chose to stay at Galatasaray and was eventually promoted to senior squad in 1987. He was a part of squad reaching semi-finals of 1988–89 edition of UEFA European Cup.

During the 2000 UEFA Cup Final between Galatasaray and Arsenal, he dislocated his shoulder but declined to quit the game, continued until the end following in-field physio treatment where Galatasaray won the cup after extra time. The injury caused Korkmaz eventually to miss UEFA Euro 2000 competition. Korkmaz was invited to play at "FIFA XI" squad against the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosts "Japan & Korea XI" at World Dream soccer exhibition, held at Yokohama International Stadium on 3 January 2001.

Reader's Guide

Korkmaz was part of the Turkey national team that finished third at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and, in 2003, had the same finishing position at the FIFA Confederations Cup. He also represented Turkey in EURO 96. After playing, he became a coach: assistant manager at Gençlerbirliği S.K. in 2005, head coach of Kayseri Erciyesspor in 2007 (reaching 2006–07 Turkish Cup final but losing 0–1 to Beşiktaş, and relegating), head coach of Galatasaray in 2009 (7 wins out of 15 official games, sacked in June 2009), head coach of Karabükspor in 2011 (finished 12th, reached 2011–12 Turkish Cup semi-finals), head coach of İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor in 2012 (contract mutually terminated after relegation on 30 May 2013). On 26 June 2026, Korkmaz returned to Antalyaspor.

Did You Know?

Korkmaz was described as 'an aggressive and powerful defender' by Bleacher Report in 2014.
Ozan Kabak, another home-grown Galatasaray player, expressed that he idolised Korkmaz in 2020.