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Ümit Karan

Ümit Karan
Ümit Karan in my friend's birthday.png
Karan in 2008
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-10-01) October 1, 1976 (age 40)
Place of birth West Berlin, West Germany
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 12 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
Retired
Youth career
SC Minerva 93
Hertha Zehlendorf
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Türkiyemspor Berlin
1996–2001 Gençlerbirliği 136 (58)
2001–2009 Galatasaray 170 (72)
2005 Ankaraspor (loan) 12 (5)
2009–2011 Eskişehirspor 40 (12)
National team
1999–2007 Turkey 10 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Ümit Karan (born October 1, 1976) is a retired Turkish football player.

He played for Gençlerbirliği S.K., Ankaraspor, Galatasaray and Eskişehirspor. He made his international debut for Turkey in 1999, and earned a total of 10 caps, scoring 3 goals.

After playing for Gençlerbirliği for 5 seasons and scoring 47 goals, Ümit moved to Galatasaray at the start of the 2001-02 season and was a key player in Mircea Lucescu's squad as the main striker after Mario Jardel's departure.

During the 2004-05 he was loaned to Ankaraspor by manager Gheorghe Hagi due to his dip in form. However, Ümit made a strong return for the 2005-06 season with Galatasaray's new manager Eric Gerets. Getting along well with Gerets and his playing style, Ümit scored 16 goals in 18 matches at the start of the season. But early in 2006, Umit's season was cut short by a knee injury, which kept him out of the game for 6 months.

At the start of the 2006-07 season, Ümit regained his place on the team after the injury layoff, scoring his 100th goal in the Turkcell Super League on September 18, 2006, against Beşiktaş. He became the 30th player to reach that mark in the league's history.

Ümit has great finishing ability and he is usually in chase of sensational goals, particularly with volleys and bicycle kicks. His most sensational goal is arguably the one he scored against Vestel Manisaspor. Ümit latched onto a 40 meter pass just inside the box and struck a one time shot with his right foot and curled it around the helpless goalkeeper. He also possesses good pace, stamina and strength. He is also loved by the supporters, but he has had his share of problems with his former Galatasaray managers Fatih Terim and Gheorghe Hagi. On 24 June 2009 was fired from his 2010 contract with Galatasaray and he signed a contract with Eskisehirspor for 3 years.


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Wikipedia

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