Recep Çetin (born 1 October 1965 in Karasu) is a Turkish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

whose career as a defender lasted from 1979 to 2002.

Career

A native of the town of Karasu in the

Marmara Region The Marmara Region (Turkish: ''Marmara Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. Located in northwestern Turkey, it is bordered by Greece and the Aegean Sea to the west, Bulgaria and the Black Sea to the north, the Black Sea Region to the ...

Sakarya Province Sakarya ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey, located on the coast of Black Sea. The Sakarya River creates a webbing of estuaries in the province, which is in the Marmara Region. The adjacent provinces are Kocaeli to the west, Bilecik to the south, ...

, Recep Çetin began his football career in 1979 at the age of 14 as a youth trainee in the

Sakaryaspor Sakaryaspor Kulübü Derneği is a Turkish professional football club, formed in 1965 after the merger of ''Adapazarı Gençlerbirliği'', ''Adapazarı İdman Yurdu'', ''Güneşspor'' and ''Ada Gençlik''. The club is better known as Sakaryaspor ...

football club, where he remained upon turning professional at 19 in 1984. He joined Boluspor in 1984. He was upset due to his team relegated to second level after placing last in the table in 1984-85 season. However, he won Second League championship at Group B and returned to top level in 1985-86 season. Transferring to

Beşiktaş J.K. Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (), also known simply as Beşiktaş (), is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most ...

in 1988, he was selected to play for the

Turkey national football team The Turkey national football team ( tr, Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in men's international football matches. The team is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation ( tr, Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu), the governing bod ...

56 times and played 10 seasons in Beşiktaş. He won 4 league titles, 3 Turkish Cups, 4 President's Cups, 2 Prime Minister's Cups and 5 TSYD Cup championships. Upon leaving Beşiktaş he transferred to

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

in 1998 and then to

İstanbulspor İstanbulspor is a Turkish football and sports club founded by Istanbul High School students in 1926. In 2004–05 they were relegated from the Turkish Süper Lig (Super League) to TFF 1. Lig. For many decades it was the fourth most famous and ...

in 1999, ultimately retiring in 2001. Known for his versatile playing style, defensive strength, and charismatic looks, he was nicknamed "Takoz Recep". His goal against Switzerland elevated Takoz to legend status. He remains a football icon in Turkey with a cult following.

Career statistics

International goals

Individual

*Beşiktaş J.K. Squads of Century (Silver Team)

References

1965 births Living people People from Karasu Turkish footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players Turkey international footballers Turkey youth international footballers İstanbulspor footballers Trabzonspor footballers Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Sakaryaspor footballers Boluspor footballers Süper Lig players Association football defenders {{turkey-footy-defender-stub