Yiğit İsmail Gökoğlan (born 5 June 1989) is a 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 ...
who plays as a winger for Bergama Belediyespor.
Gökoğlan is also a youth international, having been capped at U-19, U-20, and U-21 levels for
Turkey
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 ...
.
Early years
Gökoğlan was born in
Konak, İzmir
Konak is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. It is the most densely populated of the eleven main urban districts of İzmir, and has historically acted as the administrative and economic core of the city. Situated in an area that roughly corres ...
. His parents divorced at an early age and he lived with his father, seeing his mother on weekends. Originally a forward, Gökoğlan switched to the winger position after moving to
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.Turgutlu
Turgutlu, also known as Kasaba (''Cassaba'' or ''Casaba'') is a city and district in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to 2009 census, its district population is 140,753; 115,930 live in the city itself. The district cove ...
, a large town in
Manisa Province
Manisa Province ( tr, ) is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west, Aydın to the south, Denizli to the southeast, Uşak to the east, Kütahya to the northeast, and Balıkesir to the north. The city of Ma ...
, Gökoğlan was left to live at the training facilities as a 14-year-old.
Club career
Manisaspor
Levent Eriş, along with his assistant Hakan Şapçı, discovered Gökoğlan at a youth league match. They signed him to a youth contract with
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.Giray BULAK took over as manager. Gökoğlan was loaned out to
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 ...
outfit Altınordu during the winter break. He was unable to settle in at first, but began to feel better once the club started winning matches. At the end of the season, Altınordu missed out on direct promotion because of the goal difference rule. However, the team won promotion after defeating Bingöl Belediyespor and Keçiörengücü in the promotion play-offs. Gökoğlan made 14 appearances, scoring one goal.
Galatasaray
After months of speculation on his future, on 12 January 2012 it was announced that Yiğit joined
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 ...
on a -year deal for a fee of €2.5 million.
On 25 January 2012 he scored his first league goal for Galatasaray against
MKE Ankaragücü
MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the closure of t ...
on his debut in a 4–0 home win.
International career
Gökoğlan was first called up to national duty in 2008, after a third round matchup against Aydınspor. He competed in six friendlies, before playing all three matches during 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification. Turkey finished third and did not progress. Gökoğlan was then called up to the U-20s, playing two friendlies against
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. He has also been capped at U-21 level, playing in the Akdeniz Cup and
2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification
The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started with a qualifying competition which began on 27 March 2009 and finished on 13 October 2010. The final tournament was held in Denmark between 11–25 June 2011.
The first stage of the qualifying ...
.
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 ...
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 gat ...