İlhan Mansız

Lore & Background

Mansız gained international recognition at Istanbul's Beşiktaş J.K., and was later acquired by Vissel Kobe in Japan. After his Japan journey, he signed a contract with Hertha BSC but never played for the first team due to injury; his contract was cancelled because of a clause related to his knee. He then signed a one-year contract with Turkish club Ankaragücü. Before the 2006–07 season, he declared his retirement, but later there were rumors of a comeback; he declared he would sign with Ankaragücü again, but abandoned the attempt before the 2007–08 season.

After a car accident in 2007, his career seemed ended. In July 2009, after seven knee operations, he tried a comeback by training with German second-division side TSV 1860 Munich. He made his debut for Turkey in October 2001 against Moldova. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored the winning goal in extra time of the quarterfinal against Senegal (often misremembered as a golden goal, though the tournament did not officially use the golden goal rule).

He assisted Hakan Şükür for the fastest World Cup goal in the third-place match and scored one other goal in that match. On 11 July 2018, Beşiktaş announced his appointment as assistant coach; he quit on 6 February 2019 due to health concerns. He learned to skate at age 33 on the Turkish show Buzda Dans with partner Oľga Beständigová. They competed at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, finishing 19th and last in pairs, ending their hope of skating at the 2014 Olympics.

Reader's Guide

İlhan Mansız is a former forward who played for Beşiktaş, Vissel Kobe, Hertha BSC, and Ankaragücü. He represented Turkey at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring a golden goal against Senegal and two goals in the third-place match. He later became a figure skater, competing in pairs with Oľga Beständigová.