Ahmed Şerafettin (1894–13 June 1933), colloquially known as Şeref Bey, was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

football player and manager. Being one of the notable figures of

Beşiktaş J.K. Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (), also known simply as Beşiktaş (), is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most ...

, Şeref Bey was the first club captain and manager of the club, who coached football department of club between 1911 and 1925, winning Istanbul Turkish Training Union League twice (1920 and 1921), and

Istanbul Football League The Istanbul Football League ( tr, İstanbul Futbol Ligi) was founded as a regional football league under the name Constantinople Football Association League by James La Fontaine and Henry Pears in Istanbul, the capital of the former Ottoman Empi ...

once ( 1923–24).

Biography

Ahmed Şeraffettin was born in 1894, Valide Çeşme, Beşiktaş,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. At age 7, he graduated Bediai Irfan Mektep. At age 10 he graduated Beşiktaş Mülkiye Rüştiyesi. Then at age 20, he graduated from a French school. Şeref Bey was very active with sports and was excellent at

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

. He was also part of the Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club. In 1910, he became the president of 2 newly formed football clubs: Valideçeşme and Basiret. In 1911 these 2 clubs merged to form the football division of Beşiktaş JK. The club chose him to be the team's manager. Beşiktaş didn't enter any official leagues, until 1919, when they competed in the

. In his first two seasons, he led them to two championships. After the

Turkish Independence War The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

and the

Turkish Republic Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

formed in 1923, he entered his team into the Istanbul Football League. In 1924 he led them to a championship. The team came in 3rd place the next year and Şeref Bey retired, but was still active with the club. He started a project to build the club a new stadium. The stadium opened in 1933, but Şeref Bey became very ill and died a few months later. In his honor, the club named the stadium

Şeref Stadium Şeref Stadium was a football stadium in Beşiktaş, İstanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in T ...

. Beşiktaş played there, until 1947, when they moved to

İsmet İnönü Stadium İsmet İnönü Stadium ( tr, Beşiktaş Belediyesi İsmet İnönü Spor Tesisi), formerly Çilekli Football Field ( tr, Beşiktaş Belediyesi Çilekli Spor Tesisleri), is a football stadium of the Beşiktaş municipality at 4. Levent neighborh ...

. Şeref Bey's stature was erected in March, 2008 in

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

References

External links

Ahmet Şerafettin Bey
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serafettin, Ahmed 1894 births 1933 deaths Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Beşiktaş J.K. managers Turkish football managers

Biography

See also

References

External links