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Hakan Sükür (Galatasaray SK)

By KaZo 'KaZo' Kaya
Mar 30, 2008 01:28



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakan_Şükür
http://www.spock.com/name/Hakan-%C5%9E%C3%BCk%C3%BCr




Hakan Şükür (born September 1, 1971 in Sakarya, Turkey) is a Turkish footballer who plays as a striker. He has received the nickname "King (Kral)" from his admirers. Along with the team-mate Gheorghe Hagi, he was a member of the UEFA Cup-winning Galatasaray side of 2000. He is remembered by supporters for his scoring in European competition that year, including his superb goals against Leeds United, one in which he danced past two of their defenders to score and help send his team to the final. He is also remembered for his penalty in Galatasaray's penalty shoot-out victory over Arsenal F.C. in the final.

Şükür currently plays for the Turkish club Galatasaray, having spent eight seasons with them in the 1990s. In 2000, he moved to Italy where he played for Inter Milan then a short spell at Parma. He then moved to England to play for Blackburn Rovers before rejoining Galatasaray in 2003.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Şükür's national team went all the way to the semi-finals even though he was out of form for most of the tournament. He finally showed a glimpse of his talent when, in the third-place game against South Korea, he scored what is still the fastest goal ever in a World Cup finals match. İlhan Mansız forced a Korean defender into a blunder immediately off the opening kickoff, Şükür pounced on the free ball and put the ball into the Korean net after only 10.8 seconds.

Şükür was capped for the 100th time in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. He is the third Turkish player, after Bülent Korkmaz and Rüştü Reçber, to receive this honor.

Şükür's fame in Turkey is such that his 2002 wedding was televised live.

As of February 12, 2008, Şükür topped up his seasonal goals to 246. This makes him the highest scoring player in Turkish football's top flight history. He overtook Tanju Çolak.
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