Hakan Ünsal (born 14 May 1973) is a Turkish former 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 ...

who played as a

left wingback In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He achieved third place at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

with Turkey national team.

Career

Hakan Ünsal is remembered by many for his rocket left foot and his pinpoint passing as well as his ambition. He played most of his career at

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 ...

after joining from Karabükspor in 1993–94. After being a part of the squad that won the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

in 2000, Ünsal moved to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

of the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

in January 2002. Blackburn had hoped to sign him in time for their upcoming appearance in the 2002 League Cup Final, however a work permit delayed his debut and he missed them lifting the cup. His return to Galatasaray was rapid as he was once again in Galatasaray colours for the 2002–03 season. After leaving Galatasaray following the 2004–05 season, he had a brief stint with

Çaykur Rizespor Çaykur Rizespor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Rize. The club play in the TFF First League. The club was founded on May 19, 1953, with green-yellow as club colours, but later changed to blue-green. Since 1990, the team ...

before retiring from football. He played for Turkey national team and was a participant at the

where he collected his third place medal. He is most famous for an incident during the World Cup when Brazil played Turkey.

Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo (), is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as a w ...

was about to take a corner and Ünsal kicked the ball at him as he was annoyed about the time Rivaldo was taking, delaying the game, as Brazil was winning 2–1. The ball hit Rivaldo on his legs but he collapsed dramatically holding his face and consequently Ünsal was sent off and Brazil went on to win the match. Rivaldo was fined, but the sanctions were criticized by many as being too lenient. Ünsal is also remembered for his high level of sportsmanship on the field.

Career statistics

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 ...

: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

: 1995–96, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2004–05 *

: 1999–2000 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

;Turkey *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

third place:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

References

External links

* *
Profile at TFF.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unsal, Hakan Living people 1973 births People from Sinop, Turkey Association football defenders Turkish footballers Kardemir Karabükspor footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Çaykur Rizespor footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Premier League players Süper Lig players UEFA Cup winning players Turkey international footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Expatriate footballers in England Turkish expatriate sportspeople in England Turkish expatriate footballers