Can Bartu (31 January 1936 – 11 April 2019) was a Turkish

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player of Circassian origin. He was the first Turkish footballer to play a final in Europe. His

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

was erected in Istanbul. After retirement, he also worked as a pundit and sports journalist.

Personal life

Bartu was nicknamed "Sinyor" (from Italian "Signor" for nobleman). After his retirement, he was a columnist for the daily ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

''. Can Bartu died at the age of 83 on 11 April 2019. He was interred at the

Karacaahmet Cemetery The Karacaahmet Cemetery () is a 700-year-old historic cemetery located in Üsküdar, on the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the largest and second oldest in Istanbul at , and the largest burial ground in Turkey by number of interr ...

following a memorial ceremony held at the

Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium (), known for sponsorship reasons as Ülker Stadium Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Sports Complex (), or simply Ülker Stadium, is a football stadium located in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul Istanbu ...

, the home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K., and the religious funeral at the Marmara İlahiyat Mosque in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

Career

He started to play basketball for Fenerbahçe and was a six-time international representative with the national basketball team. He was invited by the football coach

Fikret Arıcan Fikret Arıcan (17 July 1911 – 25 May 1993) was a footballer and chairman of Turkish sports club Fenerbahçe SK between 1984 and 1986. He was regarded as one of the best Turkish football players of the pre-war era. He was born in Istanbul, T ...

to play football beside basketball. On 25 January 1957, Bartu played football against

Beyoğluspor Beyoğlu Spor Kulübü, also known as the Beyoğlu Sports Club, or by its historic Greek name of Athlitikós Sýllogos Péran (), or Pera Sports Club, is an amateur sports club based in Istanbul, Turkey. It fields teams in football, basketball, ...

, scoring two goals and assisted two more in an eventual 4–0 victory. Then, that evening, Bartu scored 10 points, including a

buzzer beater In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot made as the clock expires at the end of a period or at the end of the game, leaving zero seconds remaining. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater." In b ...

with three seconds remaining, in a basketball game to help Fenerbahçe win 44–43. He also played 26 times for the

Turkey national football team The Turkey national football team (), recognized as Türkiye by FIFA and UEFA, represents Turkey in men's international Association football, football matches. The team is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation (), the governing body for ...

. In 1961, Bartu transferred to

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he became the first Turk to play a European final against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

at the 1962 Cup Winners' Cup, being given the nickname "Signor" by the Italian press as a result. Later on, he played for Venezia A.C. in 1962 and

S.S. Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club'') is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian footba ...

in 1964. After successful seasons in Italy, Bartu returned to Turkey in 1967 to play in his former club Fenerbahçe for more three years. Overall, Bartu played 326 games with Fenerbahçe and scored 162 goals. He became four-time

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

champion in 1959, 1961, 1968 and 1970 with Fenerbahçe. He retired from active sport in 1970 and continued his career as a sports journalist writing for the newspaper

. He also took part on a national TV channel in Turkey as a commentator. Bartu was the UEFA Cup ambassador of Turkey in 2008/2009 season, when the

in Istanbul hosted the final. Bartu replaced the injured Turgay Şeren at 77' and played as a goalkeeper against Romania on 2 November 1958 in București during a European Cup game.

Career statistics

International goals

Legacy

The current training facilities of the Fenerbahçe senior football team are named after Bartu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartu, Can 1936 births Turkish people of Circassian descent Turkish men's basketball players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Basketball players from Istanbul Turkish men's footballers Men's association football wingers Turkey men's international footballers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers ACF Fiorentina players Venezia FC players SS Lazio players Serie A players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Turkish expatriate men's footballers Turkish sports journalists Turkish columnists Hürriyet people 2019 deaths Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery 20th-century Turkish sportsmen