Lefter Küçükandonyadis

Lefter Küçükandonyadis (2009)

Lefter Küçükandonyadis (Greek Λευτέρης Αντωνιάδης Lefteris Antoniadis, born December 22, 1925 in Buyukada, Istanbul, † January 13, 2012 in İstanbul ) was a Greek -born Turkish football player.

• 3.1 Title
• 3.2 Awards
• 3.3 Records

Career

Association

From 1947 to 1964 played the striker with a two-year interruption for Fenerbahce, where he scored 423 goals in 615 games. With Fenerbahçe Istanbul he won two championships and was three times Turkish champions. In the season 1951/52, Küçükandonyadis was active in the Italian Serie A with Fiorentina, where he completed 30 games and scored four goals. The season 1952/53 he spent at OGC Nice in French Division 1 In the season 1964/65 he played for AEK Athens before he ended his active career.

National

He was a total of 50 times for national team. His playing and gate Lefter debut on 23 April 1948 for the Panathinaikos Stadium in a 3-1 win against Greece. In nine games, he ran on as team captain. With his 21 goals for the Turkish national football team many years he was leading scorer and was not replaced until the mid-90s by Hakan Şükür (51 goals). Hakan Şükür and Tuncay Şanlı are still the only players who have made it in the " Ay- Yildizli " jersey ( Moon Star jersey) to score more goals than he did.

Küçükandonyadis belonged in the first game of the Turkish U-21 national team, which was played on October 28, 1950 as part of the Mediterranean Cup against the Egyptian U-21 national team, for use.

With Lefter Turkey 1954 first participated in the finals of a World Cup. In that tournament he scored two goals in three games, with its Gate is the 400th Goal in World Cup history when playoff against Germany. For his achievements, he was the first player to the Golden Medal of Honour of the Football Association.

His nickname was the way of scoring full professor because of his meticulousness. Lefter his nickname was always faithful, he scored in his racing career 832 goals.

Life after football

After his retirement from active football Küçükandonyadis club manager was in Greece and Johannesburg in South Africa. He also managed several clubs in Turkey, such as, among others: Samsunspor, Orduspor, Mersin Idmanyurdu and Boluspor. In November 1970, he took over second division side Sivasspor, replacing the retiring coach Naci Özkaya. This club he supervised until the end of season and then left without notice, the city and thus the club.

On 3 May 2009 Lefter Küçükandonyadis was dedicated to park in the district of Kadıköy in Istanbul for its exceptional performance and achievements for Fenerbahçe a life-size statue in Kuşdili which he himself dedicated to. On January 13, 2012, he died a natural death.

Achievements

Title

• Prime Cup: 1950
• 2 × Istanbul Championship: 1957, 1959
• 3 × Turkish champion: 1959, 1961, 1964
• Atatürk Cup: 1964

Awards

• Scorer of Turkey in the season 1953/54,
• As the first football player he got from the Turkish Football Federation awarded the Golden Medal of Honour
• As the first Turkish footballer in the " Golden Team Europe "
• From the Turkish Sports Journalists Club Küçükandonyadis was elected to the best eleven of the last 25 years in Turkish football.

Records

• With 615 games, he is the player with most appearances for Fenerbahçe after Müjdat Yetkiner.
• With 423 goals for Fenerbahçe he is by Zeki Riza Sporel (470 goals) is the best scorer in the club's history.
• With 21 goals for the national team of Turkey, he is by Hakan Şükür (51 goals) and Tuncay Şanlı (22 goals) is the third leading scorer.
• He was the first Turk who moved abroad with a transfer fee.