 Reçber playing forBeşiktaş in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1973-05-10)10 May 1973 (age 52) | ||
| Place of birth | Korkuteli,Antalya, Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1985–1988 | Korkutelispor[2][3] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1991 | Burdurgücü | 1 | (0) |
| 1991–1993 | Antalyaspor | 34 | (0) |
| 1993–2003 | Fenerbahçe | 240 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | →Antalyaspor (loan) | 33 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Barcelona | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | →Fenerbahçe (loan) | 46 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Fenerbahçe | 8 | (0) |
| 2007–2012 | Beşiktaş | 99 | (0) |
| Total | 432 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Turkey U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 1994–2012 | Turkey | 120 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rüştü Reçber (pronounced[ˈɾyʃtyˈɾetʃbeɾ]; born 10 May 1973) is a Turkish former professionalfootballer and a current sports executive.[4] During his professional career, he played as agoalkeeper forAntalyaspor,Fenerbahçe,Barcelona andBeşiktaş.
Rüştü was part of theTurkey national squad that reached the semi-finals at the2002 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2008. At the former, where Turkey finished third, his performances saw him selected for the tournament's all-star team. He is Turkey's record appearance holder, having earned 120caps.[5] He made his debut againstIceland in 1994 and his final appearance came againstFinland in 2012.[6]
Rüştü was named the best goalkeeper in European competitions in 2002, selected for the 2002UEFA Team of the Year by public vote.[7] In 2004, he was selected toFIFA 100 byPelé as one of the 125 best living footballers in the world.[8]
Born inKorkuteli, Rüştü began his career at nearbyAntalyaspor, having converted from aforward to a goalkeeper. Early in his career, he missed out on moves to two of theIstanbul-basedBig Three of Turkish football: he rejectedGalatasaray at the age of 17 because coachMustafa Denizli wanted him to start off at the youth team, and in 1993 a move toBeşiktaş fell through when he was seriously injured in a car crash.[9]
After debuting forTurkey under-21, Rüştü was told by national managerFatih Terim in 1992 that he would become the greatest goalkeeper in the nation's history.[9] In 1993, he joined the last remaining of the Big Three,Fenerbahçe, spending his first season back on loan at Antalyaspor. He gained his big break in October 1994, when club and national starting goalkeeperEngin İpekoğlu injured his foot againstKayserispor; he debuted againstPetrol Ofisi and went on to make 240 appearances in his first spell, also becoming captain and winning theSüper Lig twice.[9]
In July 2003, Rüştü was very close to signing for Arsenal, but he had a dispute with managerArsène Wenger who he felt insulted his fitness. Instead, he joinedLa Liga club Barcelona.[10] After managerFrank Rijkaard chose to playVíctor Valdés in the first two league matches because Rüştü's Spanish was still very weak. Rüştü was upset by this, saying "It is not normal for a goalkeeper of my history and caliber to be left out because I don't speak Spanish."[11][12]
Rüştü made his debut on 15 October 2003 in the UEFA Cup first round second leg at home to Slovakia'sMŠK Púchov, an 8–0 win.[13] He totalled only seven games – four in the league, of which the first was a 3–1 win atEspanyol in theDerbi barceloní on 13 December.[14]
Having played just four league games (seven overall), Rüştü was loaned back to Fenerbahçe on 27 August 2004 for the season.[15] On 28 July 2005, this was extended for another year.[16] In his combined two spells, Rüştü is the Fenerbahçe goalkeeper with second-most appearances, with 294 games, followingVolkan Demirel.[17]
After winning the league title for a third time with Fenerbahçe in 2006–07, Rüştü moved to city rivals Beşiktaş on a three-year deal, along with teammateMehmet Yozgatlı.[18] Rüştü won the league with his new team in 2008–09. He also won2010–11 Turkish Cup where he played all 120 minutes, including penalties, as the club won the tournament.
Turkey finished third in the2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Rüştü was one of two goalkeepers in the 16-man Team of the Tournament, alongside Germany'sOliver Kahn.[19]
On 26 March 2005, captain Rüştü earned his100th cap in a 2–0 home win overAlbania in2006 FIFA World Cup qualification.[9]
With first choice goalkeeperVolkan Demirel suspended, Rüştü started theUEFA Euro 2008quarter-final match againstCroatia. A questionable foray from his goalmouth allowed Croatia to score the match's first goal witha minute remaining in extra time. Rüştü immediately made amends for his mistake though, assisting onSemih Şentürk's injury time goal in the 122nd minute. In the ensuingpenalty shootout, he faced four kicks, saving the last one fromMladen Petrić to secure Turkey's victory in the shootout and enabling Turkey to progress to the Euro semi-finals for the first time ever.[20]
In the aftermath of the 3–2 semi-final loss toGermany, a game in which he was captain, he announced his retirement from the national team.[21] However, he was since called up againstSpain for a2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. He was called up for the last time forTurkey in a game againstFinland on 26 May 2012, the last of his 120 caps.[22]
Rüştü was renowned as a gifted shot-stopper,[23][24] possessed an excellent positional sense.[23] Using his height, he was also able to come up for high balls.[23] He also possessed strong reflexes[25][26] and good deflecting ability.[25][27] Known as apenalty stopper, his shoot-out performance againstCroatia in theUEFA Euro 2008 quarter-finals was described asheroic byUEFA in 2015.[28] He was featured in aUEFA Training Ground series video under the title ofRüştü's Turkish Delight, in which he was described as aMaster of Penalties.[Video 1] He was an eccentric goalkeeper,[29] who also stood out for his charismatic personality.[30][31] Physically, he was recognisable for his long hair andanti-glare paint under his eyes.[32] He was also adept at taking goal kicks and clearing backpasses.[29]
Rüştü is married to Işıl Reçber (née:Kepe)[33] and the couple have a son and a daughter.[34][35][36] The couple first met in period when Rüştü just signed for Fenerbahçe from Antalyaspor, in 1994.[34] Rüştü used to be a Galatasaray supporter in his childhood.[37] His son, Burak, born in 2007,[38] plays football at Galatasaray academy.[39]
In March 2020, Reçber tested positive forCOVID-19 amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic. He was admitted to hospital for care where he was put under isolation.[40] He was discharged in April.[41]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe[a] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Burdurgücü | 1990–91 | 3. Lig | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Antalyaspor | 1991–92 | 2. Lig | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1992–93 | 2. Lig | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1993–94 | 2. Lig | 33 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| Fenerbahçe | 1994–95[44] | 1. Lig[b] | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| 1995–96[44] | 1. Lig | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 1996–97[44] | 1. Lig | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 1997–98[44] | 1. Lig | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1998–99[44] | 1. Lig | 30 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00[44] | 1. Lig | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2000–01[44] | 1. Lig | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02[44] | Süper Lig[c] | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 2002–03[44] | Süper Lig | 24 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 240 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 296 | 0 | ||
| Barcelona | 2003–04[45] | La Liga | 4 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Fenerbahçe (loan) | 2004–05[44] | Süper Lig | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| 2005–06[44] | Süper Lig | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 60 | 0 | ||
| Fenerbahçe | 2006–07[44] | Süper Lig | 8 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Beşiktaş | 2007–08 | Süper Lig | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | Süper Lig | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Süper Lig | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | Süper Lig | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | Süper Lig | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Total | 99 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 124 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 432 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 68 | 0 | 537 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 1994 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 120 | 0 | |
Barcelona
Fenerbahçe
Beşiktaş
Turkey
Individual
Order
Awards | |
|---|---|
Turkey squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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