Tolgay Özbey (born 12 April 1986) is an Australian professional
soccer player, who last played for
Rockdale City Suns
Rockdale Ilinden Football Club (formerly known as the Rockdale City Suns Football Club from 1992 to 2020) is an Australian Macedonian soccer club based in Sydney suburb of Rockdale. Founded in 1969, the club competes in the highest men's comp ...
in the
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Norther ...
as a
striker.
Biography
Australian Clubs
Early in his career, Özbey was recognized for his contributions as a
striker with
Blacktown City Demons
Blacktown City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Blacktown, New South Wales. Founded in 1953, the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Blacktown City's home ground is Blacktown City ...
during which he was chosen as the
NSW Premier League
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Norther ...
"Player of the Year" in 2006 and won the competition's top goal scorer award (Andreas Golden Boot Award) back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.
The successful period in 2006 led to his recruitment on loan by
A-League side
Sydney FC for their 2005–06 season finals campaign. Özbey's first appearance for Sydney came on 12 February 2006, as a substitute in the first leg of the semi-final against
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...
at
Hindmarsh Stadium
Hindmarsh Stadium (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from Adelaide-based company Coopers Brewery) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Austral ...
. Although Özbey was given a few minutes of game time during the final minutes of the first leg of the semi-final against Adelaide, he remained an unused substitute for the rest of Sydney FC's campaign in which Sydney became eventual champions with their 1–0 victory over the
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...
.
Özbey's stint at Sydney FC lead to his signing by former mentor
Nick Theodorakopoulos
Nick Theodorakopoulos (born 29 June 1964) is an Australian football (soccer) coach.
Managerial career
Theodorakopoulos previously coached in the predecessor to the A-League, the NSL with the now-defunct Parramatta Power.
His last coaching ...
who had just taken over charge at A-League side
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...
for the 2006–07 season.
Özbey's time at Newcastle didn't last long after Theodorakopoulos was sacked early on in the season.
Following his attempt at an A-League career, Özbey returned to the NSW Premier League in 2008 with the Marconi Stallions. After a disappointing year with the Stallions, he signed with
Sydney Olympic FC
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club in 1957 by Greek immigran ...
for the 2008 season. Özbey had previously played at Sydney Olympic FC during his youth career.
In July 2009, he had trials in Turkey and was signed soon after by
Bursa Nilüferspor and participated in the
TFF Third League
TFF 3. Lig (Turkish Football Federation Third League) is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in 2001–02 season as a continuation of then third level division Turkish Third Football League.Turkish Third Footba ...
(TFF 3. Lig).
Following the completion of the TFF 3. Lig 2009 season in which Bursa Nilüfer S.A.Ş. finished fourth and missed the opportunity to participate in the TFF 3. Lig Promotion Group, Özbey returned to Australia to again team up with
Aytek Genç and many of his old comrades from the successful 2006 and 2007 Blacktown City Demons teams to play for
Blacktown City FC
Blacktown City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Blacktown, New South Wales. Founded in 1953, the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Blacktown City's home ground is Blacktown City ...
in the NSW Premier League 2010 season.
The 2010 NSW Premier League season proved to be fruitful for Özbey at Blacktown as he won a league record, third Golden Boot award with 22 goals from 19 matches bringing his total goals scored wearing the Blacktown guernsey to 76 from 75 matches. Furthermore, Özbey was voted the 2010 NSW Premier League Player of the Year.
East Bengal
Following the completion of the 2010 NSW Premier League Finals Series, Özbey joined Indian club,
East Bengal FC
East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fli ...
who will be competing in the
All India Football Federation (AIFF)
I-League
The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...
as well as the
AFC Cup to which
East Bengal FC
East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fli ...
qualified after defeating arch rivals
Mohun Bagan AC
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
1–0 in the 2010 AIFF
Federation Cup (India)
The Federation Cup (also known as Hero Federation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was an annual knockout football competition in Indian football which started in 1977. From its inception, until I-League was started in 1997 (then called NFL), ...
. On 26 April in the
2011 AFC Cup
The 2011 AFC Cup was the eighth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia.
Allocation of entries per association
*2 teams to qualify from each ...
at
Barabati Stadium
The Barabati Stadium is an Indian sports stadium used mostly for cricket and association football, and also sometimes for concerts and field hockey, located in Cuttack, Odisha. It is a regular venue for international cricket and is the home gro ...
in
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literally ...
, he gave his side lead by finding the net the 20th minute, and then scored the all important equaliser in the 93rd minute against
South China AA
South China Athletic Association (known simply as South China, SCAA, ) is a Hong Kong professional football club that competes in the Hong Kong First Division, the second-tier league in Hong Kong football league system. The club is histori ...
to manage a 3–3 draw. He also scored against Prayag United in East Bengal's 2–1 win, which secured a runner-up finish in the I-League.
Mohun Bagan
Tolgay Ozbey switched to cross-city rivals
Mohun Bagan
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
for the 2012–13 season signing a 2-year deal worth Rs 3.3 crore. The transition was not smooth as the two clubs and the player involved themselves in reciprocal verbal attacks. Early in the season, he picked up an injury in the
Federation Cup (India)
The Federation Cup (also known as Hero Federation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was an annual knockout football competition in Indian football which started in 1977. From its inception, until I-League was started in 1997 (then called NFL), ...
and was out of action for a few months. He played a big part in Mohun Bagan's survival after being docked off all their points in the I-League. He appeared in 17 I-League matches for the club and scored 10 goals. He scored his first I-League goal for Mohun Bagan against Prayag United on 27 January 2013. He was a frequent scorer in the later half of the season as he scored braces against
Sporting Clube de Goa
Sporting Clube de Goa, simply known as Sporting Goa (also known by its abbreviation SCG), is an Indian professional football club based in Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa, that competes in Goa Professional League. The club has also competed ...
and
Pailan Arrows
Indian Arrows (formerly known as Pailan Arrows) was an Indian developmental football club that competed in the I-League. The club was formed by the All India Football Federation in 2010, with a main goal of nurturing young Indian football tal ...
. He also scored goals against
United Sikkim
United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the I- ...
,
Shillong Lajong,
Air India (football club)
Air India Football Club is an Indian professional football club, founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. They are sponsored by Air India, and have enjoyed some success in the MDFA Elite League. They have also compet ...
,
Mumbai FC,
ONGC FC.
Tolgay scored his first derby goal for Mohun Bagan in the last match of the season. The Australian striker had a good run down the right side of the East Bengal defense, before taking a powerful left-footed shot in the last minute of the match in Mohun Bagan's 2–3 loss in the
Calcutta Premier Division
The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is of ...
decider.
However, following some problems with the Mohun Bagan officials, he opted to leave the club.
Mohammedan Sporting
Ozbey signed for newly promoted
Mohammedan on a one-year deal for
2013–14 I-League season, hence joining the elusive list of players who have played for all three Kolkata giants. He started the season in style, scoring a goal in the
Durand Cup
The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...
final on 19 September 2013.
Dempo
On 12 January 2014, Özbey signed for Goan giant Dempo SC in a one-year deal. He immediately responded to this new signing and scored four (4) goals against the defending champions
Churchill Brothers S.C. On 30 May he signed an extension with the club.
Return to Australia
Mid-way through the
2015 National Premier Leagues NSW season, Ozbey returned to
Sydney Olympic, and debuted against
Manly United
Manly United Football Club is an Australian football club based in the northern beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW and their home ground is Cromer Park, in the suburb of Dee Why, approximately 15 minu ...
. Whilst injury would go on to hamper the rest of his season, Ozbey returned for Olympic in their
2015 FFA Cup
The 2015 FFA Cup was the second season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams began competition in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including all 10 A-League teams, the reigning Nat ...
campaign against
Gungahlin United and
Hume City.
In November 2015, it was announced that Ozbey had joined
Rockdale City Suns
Rockdale Ilinden Football Club (formerly known as the Rockdale City Suns Football Club from 1992 to 2020) is an Australian Macedonian soccer club based in Sydney suburb of Rockdale. Founded in 1969, the club competes in the highest men's comp ...
for the
2016 National Premier Leagues NSW season.
Personal life
Özbey is of
Turkish descent and is nicknamed Tolly.
Tolly's double triples the wins
Tolgay is a 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 ...
fan and writes regular columns for the Bengali tabloid ''Ebela
''Ebela'' (Bengali language, Bengali: এবেলা) was a Bengali language, Bengali tabloid targeted primarily at young Bengali readers of West Bengal. It is the second Bengali language, Bengali daily published by ABP Group after ''Anandabaz ...
''.
References
External links
Tolgay Özbey Joins Sydney FC for the Finals
Tolgay ozbey football player
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozbey, Tolgay
1986 births
Living people
Australian people of Turkish descent
Australian men's soccer players
A-League Men players
National Soccer League (Australia) players
Blacktown City FC players
Marconi Stallions FC players
Newcastle Jets FC players
Sydney FC players
Sydney Olympic FC players
Sydney United 58 FC players
Rockdale Ilinden FC players
Expatriate men's footballers in India
Australian expatriate sportspeople in India
I-League players
Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) players
Dempo SC players
Indian Super League players
FC Goa players
Men's association football forwards
Expatriate men's footballers in Fiji
Calcutta Football League players
Soccer players from Sydney