Yusuf Tunaoğlu (1 January 1946 – 22 July 2000) was a Turkish former international

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 ...

and

sports writer Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

Career

Yusuf Tunaoğlu started to play football at the age of 8. Tunaoğlu started to play club football at Beşiktaş J.K in 1958, where he was promoted to senior team at the age of 17 in 1962–63 season. In June 1970, Tunaoğlu was linked with Belgian side

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

. Tunaoğlu retired from professional football in 1976. Yusuf Tunaoğlu represented

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, making 6 appearances between 1964 and 1971. With support from senior

, İslam Çupi, Yusuf Tunaoğlu joined Turkish nationwide newspaper

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...

as a

in 1987.

Style of play and reception

Yusuf Tunaoğlu is regarded as an "unforgettable player" by Beşiktaş J.K. His former teammate Sanlı Sarıalioğlu described his style "magical" whereas his other former teammate

Vedat Okyar Vedat Okyar (August 1945 – 20 July 2009) was a Turkish international footballer who later became a sports journalist. Early life Vedat Okyar was born in Bursa August 1945. He played amateur football for Yücespor and Adaletspor before becomi ...

once expressed about him: "While playing alongside '' im', sometimes I was stopping to play for a moment and ruminating as watching him play. This great football talent '' unaoğlu' astonished everybody". During his professional career, Tunaoğlu possessed renown attributes of vision on pitch, playmaking, precision passing and ball control. He also possessed a high level upper body strength.

Death and legacy

Tunaoğlu died due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a municipality and district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 265 km2, and its population is 130,835 (2022). It is a large resort town on the Aegean coast. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about west of Aydın. T ...

on 22 July 2000. He was buried in

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

. Since then, Tunaoğlu is commemorated annually by Beşiktaş J.K. representatives upon his grave. In 2001, a charity game held after Tunaoğlu's name where former Big Three players competed at a single-game 6-on-6 teams honorary tournament, including former Beşiktaş players Mehmet Ekşi,

Rıza Çalımbay Rıza Çalımbay (born 2 February 1963) is a Turkish UEFA Pro Licensed football manager and former player who is currently serving as the head coach of Sivasspor. Under his leadership, Sivasspor won the 2021–22 Turkish Cup, the first major tr ...

Metin Tekin Metin Tekin (born 8 May 1964) is a Turkish 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 w ...

Ziya Doğan Ziyaettin Dogan (born 1 January 1961 in Gümüşhane, Turkey) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager. Career Ziya Doğan has played at Beşiktaş (1979–1987), Ankaragücü (1987–1990), Kocaelispor (1990–1992) and Zeytinburnusp ...

Cem Pamiroğlu Cem Pamiroğlu (born 17 September 1957) is a Turkish former footballer who played as a left-back, most notably for Fenerbahçe. Biography Pamiroğlu was born on 17 September 1957 in Istanbul. He started his career in Fenerbahçe PAF then up to ...

Uğur Tütüneker Uğur Tütüneker (born 2 August 1963 in Bursa, Turkey) is a Turkish former footballer and manager who most recently served as the manager of Adana Demirspor. After migrating to Germany with his family, he started playing football at Bayern Munic ...

and Özcan Kızıltan held at Süleyman Seba Hall in Fulya,

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

. In 2009, owned by

Ministry of Youth and Sports A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. It is led by the minister of s ...

, Yusuf Tunaoğlu Stadium with 2,500 seating capacity was opened in Ayazağa Neighbourhood of

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

District, Istanbul. On 16 October 2019, Beşiktaş J.K. announced "Yusuf Tunaoğlu Football Directorate" is openened at Nevzat Demir Facilities of the club, located in

Ümraniye Ümraniye () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 46 km2, and its population is 723,760 (2023). It was separated from Üsküdar in 1987. It is bordered by Çekmeköy t ...

, Istanbul.

Achievements

;

Beşiktaş J.K Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

(2): 1965–66, 1966–67 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

(1): 1966–67 *

TSYD Cup The TSYD Cup (, Turkish Sports Writers Association Cup) was a friendly football competition in Turkey. The tournament started in 1963. It was played throughout six regions in Turkey: Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir, Konya, and Trabzon. The competi ...

(4): 1964–65, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1972–73 ;

ECO Cup The ECO Cup was a association football, football competition for members of Economic Cooperation Organization. Previously it was known as RCD Cup, RCD abbreviates Regional Corporation for Development and was an economic cooperation between Iran, P ...

(1):

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

Individual

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

Filmography

References

External links

Profile
at

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Foo ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tunaolgu, Yusuf 1946 births 2000 deaths Footballers from Istanbul Men's association football midfielders Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's international footballers Süper Lig players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Altay S.K. footballers 20th-century Turkish sportsmen