Nihat Bekdik

Nihat Bekdik (* 1902 in Istanbul, † September 21, 1972 ) was a Turkish football player. Through his many years of service for Galatasaray Istanbul, he is very strongly associated with this club. On fan and club sides, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most popular players in the club's history. The crowd and his teammates called him Nihat Aslan ( German Nihat the lion ).

Career

Verine

Bekdik played for the first time as a professional footballer in 1918 at Galatasaray Istanbul. Bekdik played a total of 18 years as a professional football player for Galatasaray and never for another team. During this time at Galatasaray Nihat was five times Turkish champions.

National

His international career began on 26 October 1923 Taksim Stadium in Istanbul against Romania, in the first game of the Turkish national team ever. Between 1923 and 1931 he played 18 times for the Turkish national team.

Death

Bekdik died on 21 September 1972 in his native city of Istanbul heart failure. A day later he was buried in front of many prominent guests at the Istanbul Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.