Recep Çetin (born 1 October 1965) is a Turkish former
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 lea ...
whose career as a defender lasted from 1979 to 2002.
Sakarya Province
Sakarya () is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey, located on the coast of the Black Sea. Its area is , and its population is 1,080,080 (2022). The Sakarya River creates a webbing of estuaries in the province, which is in the Ma ...
, 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 playing in the TFF First League, which is the second level of Turkish football.
History
The club was formed in 1965 after the merger of ''Adapazarı Gençlerbirliği'', ''Adap ...
football club, where he remained upon turning professional at 19 in 1984. He joined
Boluspor
Boluspor, known as Geosis Boluspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Bolu. The clubs plays in red and white kits, and have done so since their formation in 1965.BeÅŸiktaÅŸ J.K. in 1988, he was selected to play 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 ...
56 times and played 10 seasons in BeÅŸiktaÅŸ. He won 4 league titles, 3 Turkish Cups, 4 President's Cups, 2 Prime Minister's Cups and 5 TSYD Cup championships. Upon leaving BeÅŸiktaÅŸ he transferred to
Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...
in 1998 and then to
Ä°stanbulspor
İstanbulspor Kulübü is a Turkish association football, 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 the TFF First League. For many d ...
in 1999, ultimately retiring in 2001.
Known for his versatile playing style, defensive strength, and charismatic looks, Çetin was nicknamed "Takoz Recep" and even today has a cult following.