Ümit Özat (born 30 October 1976) is a Turkish professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

Club career

Born in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Özat initially played for Gençlerbirliği and for Fenerbahçe as a central defender or a defensive midfielder. Later, he was converted to a full-back on the left side. He is right-footed, but still he played as left full-back. Mostly playing as a wingback and also supporting attackers, Özat was known for his unexpected long shots and rather successful crosses with his weak foot. He could also play the sweeper position when needed. Uemit-oezat

In May 2007, he signed a three-year contract with 1. FC Köln. On 29 August 2008, Özat collapsed during a

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

match against

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

. After losing consciousness for a short period and being treated on the field, he became responsive and was sent to hospital for further examination. Further testing has determined that the ex-club captain has a heart condition called

myocarditis Myocarditis is inflammation of the cardiac muscle. Myocarditis can progress to inflammatory cardiomyopathy when there is associated ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction due to chronic inflammation. Symptoms can include shortness of bre ...

. On 14 March 2009, it became official that Özat had ended his career. His retirement was influenced by the collapse.

International career

Özat made his debut for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 16 August 2000 against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. He played 41 times for the national team including 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 ...

in which they achieved third place. Özat scored one goal for his country in the process.

Managerial career

Özat's career continued as an assistant manager of

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

under

Zvonimir Soldo Zvonimir Soldo (born 2 November 1967) is a Croatian football manager and former player. During his playing career, he mostly played as defensive midfielder. Club career Early career After studying law for six semesters at the University of Zagr ...

, between his resign on 21 December 2009. He subsequently became Roger Lemerre's assistant at Ankaragücü, stepping up to become the manager when Lemerre was sacked in May 2010. His first managerial position was that of Ankaragücü, who he managed for over six months. After Ankaragücü, Özat also managed: Manisaspor,

Elazığspor Elazığspor is a Turkish professional football club located in Elazığ and currently competes in the TFF Second League. They play their home games at Elazığ Atatürk Stadium in Elazığ, which has a maximum capacity of 18,423. The club was ...

, Boluspor,

Samsunspor Samsunspor Kulübü, officially known as Samsunspor Football Club Joint Stock Company, or as Reeder Samsunspor due to sponsorship agreements, is a Turkey, Turkish Football club (association football), professional football club that competes in t ...

, Mersin İdman Yurdu, Gençlerbirliği,

Giresunspor Giresunspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Giresun. History Giresunspor was founded in 1925 and re-formed in 1967 after the merger of Yeşiltepespor, Akıngençlikspor, and Beşiktaşspor. The football club is playing ...

and Adana Demirspor. On 16 December 2019, he became the new manager of, at the time,

Bosnian Premier League The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; sr-Cyrl, Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), officially known as the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for sponsorship purposes, is the top tier football leagu ...

club Čelik Zenica, signing a contract with the club until the summer of 2021. In his first official game as Čelik manager, Özat's team lost in a 2–0 league game against Zrinjski Mostar on 23 February 2020. He left Čelik in June 2020.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Fenerbahçe *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07 Turkey *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

third-place:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Turkey U-23 *

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

runner-up:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Order * Turkish State Medal of Distinguished Service

References

External links

* *
Umit Ozat
at BBC.co.uk * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozat, Umit 1976 births 1. FC Köln players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2. Bundesliga players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Bundesliga players Bursaspor footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Footballers from Ankara Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Living people Süper Lig managers Süper Lig players Turkey men's international footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Turkish Alevis Turkish expatriate men's footballers Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Turkish men's footballers Turkish football managers Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers MKE Ankaragücü managers Manisaspor managers Elazığspor managers Boluspor managers Samsunspor managers Mersin Talim Yurdu managers Gençlerbirliği S.K. managers Giresunspor managers Adana Demirspor managers NK Čelik Zenica managers Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 1997 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Turkish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Germany Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina