 Tugay in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tugay Kerimoğlu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1970-08-24)24 August 1970 (age 55)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Trabzon, Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder[3] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1983 | Trabzonspor | ||
| 1983–1987 | Galatasaray A2 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1999 | Galatasaray | 279 | (34) |
| 1999–2001 | Rangers | 42 | (4) |
| 2001–2009 | Blackburn Rovers | 233 | (11) |
| Total | 554 | (49) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1987 | Turkey U16 | 13 | (1) |
| 1987–1988 | Turkey U18 | 8 | (0) |
| 1988–1991 | Turkey U21 | 20 | (3) |
| 1990–2007[4] | Turkey | 94[5] | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | Galatasaray A2 | ||
| 2015–2016 | Şanlıurfaspor | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Tugay Kerimoğlu (born 24 August 1970), known in England as justTugay, is a Turkish former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder. He played most notably forGalatasaray, followed byRangers andBlackburn Rovers. After retirement, he was the coordinator of theGalatasaray youth academy, after a short spell working withMark Hughes atManchester City. He then served asRoberto Mancini's assistant at Galatasaray during the 2013–14 season.
Tugay was born and raised inIstanbul.[6] He started playing football in the youth academy ofTrabzonspor. His father, Özkan, was a semi-professional footballer before becoming a bank manager and his brother, Tolgay, was also a football player.[7]
He played forGalatasaray from 1987 to 2000, where he won theTurkish League six times and theTurkish Cup four times. The midfielder was made captain at Galatasaray in the 1992–93 season, making him the youngest captain in the history of his club. He had signed forScottish clubRangers in the January 2000 mid season transfer window, and joinedBlackburn Rovers for the 2001–02 season.[8]
Former Galatasaray bossGraeme Souness brought Tugay toEwood Park from Scottish sideRangers in the summer of 2001 for a £1.3m fee. His debut for Rovers was as a substitute againstSunderland. His first goal came on 14 October 2001 in a 7–1 home thrashing againstWest Ham United in which he scored with a trademark effort from outside the box, lobbing the keeper. Tugay immediately became a fan favourite atBlackburn, where he was an integral part of the club's success on the field since his first season. He missed Blackburn'sLeague Cup final win in 2002 through suspension. Tugay was named Blackburn's Player of the Year in the2003–04 campaign.
Tugay's final career goal came againstPortsmouth in a 3–2 Premier League defeat atFratton Park on 30 November 2008. He retired from football on 24 May 2009 at the age of 38.[9] His last game was against West Bromwich Albion at home at Ewood Park in front of a crowd of over 28,000 fans, who applauded Tugay during the match when he was substituted in the 85th minute to be replaced by Swedish left backMartin Olsson.[10][11]
Tugay has representedTurkey atEuro 1996,Euro 2000 and the2002 FIFA World Cup, where Turkey finished in the quarter finals of Euro 2000 and third place in the 2002 World Cup. He retired from international football in 2003 after Turkey failed to qualify forEuro 2004 in order to focus on his Blackburn Rovers career.[12] His last match was on 5 June 2007 in a friendly againstBrazil in Dortmund, Germany. He wore number 94 to commemorate his 94 caps for his country.[13]
Primarily adeep-lying playmaker in midfield, he was also competent as anattacking midfielder or playing in theholding role. He was widely recognised for his ability and was highly rated in the football industry. In 2000, former Romanian midfielderGheorghe Hagi rated him as one of the finest ball-playing midfielders in Europe,[14] and in 2006,Manchester United managerSir Alex Ferguson had suggested that if he were ten years younger, Tugay's ability would make him an ideal player for theOld Trafford team.[15] When Tugay's manager at the time,Mark Hughes, was asked if he too wished Tugay was ten years younger, his answer was "No, because if he was, he'd be playing in aBarcelona shirt."[16]
On 3 June 2009, Tugay began working with his former managerMark Hughes behind the scenes atManchester City academy in a coaching role. He was linked for various assistant positions for theTurkey national team afterFatih Terim's departure, then he became the coordinator for the Galatasaray youth academy in February 2010.
On 21 October 2010, Galatasaray announced that Tugay was assigned for the position of the new assistant coach for Galatasaray, alongside ofGheorghe Hagi.[17] On 22 March 2011, Hagi was sacked following a string of poor results.[18][19] Tugay refused to become the head coach until the end of the season, saying it would be wrong to accept the position for the head coach right after the sacking of Hagi.
On 4 October 2013, Galatasaray SK announced that Tugay was assigned again for the position of the new assistant coach for Galatasaray, this time alongside ofRoberto Mancini.[20] However, after Mancini's dismissal at the end of the 2013–14 season, he left his position.[21]
In November 2015, Tugay took overŞanlıurfaspor in the Turkish second division as head coach for.[22] He left in April 2016 by mutual agreement.
Tugay generally keeps himself out of the media spotlight, and even with very good English and an apparent good sense of humour, he rarely gives an interview, even to his previous club's own radio station (Radio Rovers). Tugay was married to Etkin, a formerGalatasaray and Turkish international basketball player. He has two children. As a youngster, he was also an extremely promising motor racer, competing as high as aFormula 3 level. Tugay is aMuslim, stating that his religious beliefs are "something which is in my heart and I don't need to express that to other people".[23]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup[24] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Galatasaray | 1987–88 | 1.Lig | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | |
| 1988–89 | 1.Lig | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | 1.Lig | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 1990–91 | 1.Lig | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 17 | 1 | ||
| 1991–92 | 1.Lig | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 30 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | 1.Lig | 25 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 7 | |
| 1993–94 | 1.Lig | 25 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 43 | 12 | |
| 1994–95 | 1.Lig | 23 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 39 | 3 | |
| 1995–96 | 1.Lig | 30 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
| 1996–97 | 1.Lig | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 35 | 4 | ||
| 1997–98 | 1.Lig | 30 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 48 | 5 | |
| 1998–99 | 1.Lig | 22 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| Total | 279 | 34 | 50 | 6 | 28 | 0 | 45 | 3 | 402 | 43 | ||
| Rangers | 1999–2000 | Scottish Premier League | 16 | 1 | – | – | – | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2000–01 | Scottish Premier League | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
| Total | 42 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 49 | 4 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2001–02 | Premier League | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 39 | 3 | |
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 38 | 2 | |
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[a] | 1 | 40 | 2 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 27 | 2 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 36 | 1 | ||
| Total | 233 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 293 | 13 | ||
| Career total | 554 | 49 | 60 | 6 | 50 | 0 | 70 | 4 | 744 | 60 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 1990 | 3 | 0 |
| 1991 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 94 | 2 | |
Galatasaray
Rangers
Blackburn Rovers
Turkey U21
Turkey
Individual
Order
Turkey squads | |||||||||||||
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