Hakan Kadir Balta (; born 23 March 1983) is a retired Turkish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
defender for
Galatasaray
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...
in the
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
. At the start of the 2018/19 season he was released from his contract after over 10 years with the club.
Club career
Galatasaray
He formerly played for
Hertha Berlin II and
Manisaspor
Manisaspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Manisa. Originally formed in 1931 as Sakaryaspor, the club changed its name to Manisaspor on 15 June 1965.[Ferhat Öztorun
Ferhat Öztorun (born 8 May 1987) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Pendikspor.
Club career
After playing several years for Galatasaray's youth teams, Öztorun was promoted to first team squad for the 2005–06 ...]
and loaned
Aydın Yılmaz
Aydın Yılmaz (, born 29 January 1988) is a Turkish professional footballer.
Early life
1988 born in Istanbul Aydın Yılmaz, Florya Metin Oktay Facilities at 9 years old football player stepped into audition. Aydın Yılmaz into junior team of ...
, and Anıl Karaer. In the last game of the season he scored the goal that secured the title for Galatasaray and he won
2007–08 Süper Lig
The 2007–08 Süper Lig season, (also known as the Turkcell Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons), was the 50th anniversary of top-flight professional football in Turkey. It was won by Galatasaray, who won their 17th championship.
Since Turkey ...
with Galatasaray.
2010–11 season
He was criticised for the last minute error he made in the
2010–11 UEFA Europa League
The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with ...
play-off match against
FC Karpaty Lviv
Football Club Karpaty Lviv ( ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Lviv.
History Early years (1963–68)
The team of Karpaty was founded on 18 January, 1963 in association football, 1963. In 1961 Silmash Lvi ...
in August 2010 where Galatasaray was eliminated.
2011–12 season
2011–12 Süper Lig
The 2011–12 Süper Lig (known as the ''Spor Toto Süper Lig'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th season of the Süper Lig, the top level football league of Turkey. Fenerbahçe were the defending champions. The start date of the league was ...
was a year of recovery for Galatasaray. With a new board led by newly elected president
Unal Aysal, the club assigned Fatih Terim as the manager. Hakan Balta improved his performance under Terim's management and alongside his new team members. He was regular starter through the season and the only member of the last season's crew to do so. In a derby against arch-rivals
Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray were trailing 2–1 when Balta scored the equaliser with a left foot volley inside the area. The result helped maintain Galatasaray's position at the top of the league along. Galatasaray won the championship.
2012–13 season
After
Ayhan Akman
Ayhan Akman (, born 23 February 1977) is a retired Turkish footballer who last played for Galatasaray. He was suspended from football for six months after doping testing positive for a banned substance. He is the assistant manager of Galatasara ...
leaving the team, Hakan became one of the team captains, and on 12 August during the
2012–13 Süper Lig match, he played as the captain as Galatasaray won the Super Cup against their rivals
Fenerbahçe with a 3–2 win.
He scored his first
2012–13 Süper Lig goal of the new season on 19 October 2012, in a match against
Gençlerbirliği when they were trailing 3–2 to make the final score 3–3 draw right before the final whistle.
International career
![Hakan Balta in national team (11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Hakan_Balta_in_national_team_%2811.08.2010%29.JPG)
Having made his debut for the national side in the 1–1 friendly draw with Azerbaijan in April 2006, Hakan's services were not required again until a crucial point in the
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
qualifying campaign. He was called up to the
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
qualifiers against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and
Bosnia-Herzegovia. He played the full 90 minutes of both victories, which secured
Fatih Terim
Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish association football manager and former player. He is the former manager of Galatasaray, a position he previously held four times.
Terim has managed several clubs in Italy (Milan and Fiorentina) ...
's side their place at Austria and Switzerland. He was a constant starter in all games during Turkey's run in Euro 2008. Turkey reached the semi-final stage with a streak of last-gasp wins. He continued to be a member of the first team also under
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...
management. He scored Turkey's consolation goal against Germany in a 3–1 defeat in
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...
match.
Managerial career
Balta, who has been serving as the Assistant Administrative Director of the Football A Team as of 8 February 2022, has been appointed as the Technical Director of the Galatasaray Under-19 Football Team.
Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
Honours
;Galatasaray
*
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
(5):
2007–08,
2011–12,
2012–13,
2014–15,
2017–18
*
Türkiye Kupası (3):
2013–14,
2014–15,
2015–16
*
Süper Kupa (5):
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
,
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
;Turkey
*
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
bronze medalist:
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
References
External links
Profileat Galatasaray.org
Statisticsat
TFF.org
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Balta, Hakan
1983 births
Living people
Footballers from Berlin
Citizens of Turkey through descent
Turkish footballers
Turkey international footballers
German footballers
German people of Turkish descent
Manisaspor footballers
Galatasaray S.K. footballers
Süper Lig players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
Association football fullbacks
UEFA Euro 2016 players