Kemal "Kem" Izzet (; born 29 September 1980) is an English

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 ...

coach and former professional player. He most notably played for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

between 2001 and 2013, where he made over 400 league appearances. He was previously on the books at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

but failed to break into the first-team setup at The Valley. He spent three years with

Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...

after leaving Colchester.

Playing career

Charlton Athletic

Izzet started his career with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

. He did not break into the first team at Charlton. He had previously played for London-based Sunday league side Senrab alongside

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the under-18s coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlto ...

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and

Bobby Zamora Robert Lester Zamora (born 16 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zamora began his career at Barking Abbey School. Then he moved to Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brig ...

Colchester United

In April 2001, he joined

on a permanent basis after a one-month loan period. Later that year, he was linked with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

but was happy to stay with Colchester, and signed a long-term contract with the club in March 2002. Izzet missed most of the 2004–05 season owing to an ankle injury that required surgery. He recovered for the 2005–06 season and was a key member of the team that challenged for promotion that season. He signed a new contract in March 2006 and, after lengthy negotiations, a contract extension in January 2008. At that time, he was the club's second longest serving player. By the end of the 2008–09 season, Izzet had made over 330 league and cup appearances for Colchester. Izzet was twice named the club's Young Player of the Year. He was inducted into Colchester's Hall of Fame in 2011 prior to the final game of the season for his testimonial year. On 3 July 2012, Izzet signed a new contract, having made over 400 league appearances since signing in 2001 and having just played his testimonial season. Izzet brought an end to his 12-year stay with Colchester on 2 September 2013, leaving the club by mutual consent. He left the club having received his testimonial in 2012 and a runners-up medal from the club's promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

in 2006. Having failed to make an appearance for the first-team in the 2013–14 season, Izzet decided to end his long association with the U's in order to look for regular football at a new club.

Needham Market

After leaving Colchester, Izzet joined local Isthmian League Division One North club

on 10 September, beginning his time with the club on the bench alongside fellow ex-U's player

Jamie Guy Jamie Leslie Guy (born 1 August 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played in the English Football League before dropping into non-League football following injury problems. He enjoyed a six-year care ...

. Izzet signed despite interest from Football League clubs including

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, instead choosing to invest his financial settlement agreed with Colchester after ending his contract in setting up a football school business, with help from financial advisor and Needham Market manager Mark Morsley. Izzet was also studying towards his

UEFA B Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of managers/ coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for football in Europe mandates several licences, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro ...

in the latter stages of his Colchester career and continued working toward coaching badge with Needham. After making 120 appearances and scoring 16 goals, Izzet left the club after his role as academy manager was effectively removed following restructuring.

Managerial career

In May 2017, Izzet was appointed manager of

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk ...

club Stanway Rovers. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Izzet left Stanway. He was appointed manager of Brightlingsea Regent in October 2019. He left Brightlingsea Regent in October 2020, seven games into the 2020–21 season.

Personal life

Izzet's father is a

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

, and his elder brother,

Muzzy Izzet Mustafa Kemal "Muzzy" Izzet (; ; born 31 October 1974) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Chelsea, Leicester City, Birmingham City. Born in England, he played for the Turkey national team internationally. He ...

, was a

Turkish 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 w ...

international footballer.

Career statistics

:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Izzet, Kemal 1980 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Mile End English men's footballers Turkish men's footballers Sportspeople of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Turkish Cypriot descent English people of Turkish descent Turkish people of English descent Men's association football midfielders Senrab F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Needham Market F.C. players Stanway Rovers F.C. managers Brightlingsea Regent F.C. managers English Football League players English football managers 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Turkish sportsmen