Gökhan Zan (born 7 September 1981) 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 lea ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Zan was born in

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

. He started his career with Hatayspor and then moved on to Çanakkale Dardanelspor before joining Beşiktaş in 2003. He needed time to make his mark with the Turkish giants, and spent a spell on loan with

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matc ...

before returning to the İnönü Stadium.

Galatasaray

Following 2008–09 season-end, Zan could not negotiate a deal with

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

. On 22 June 2009, it had been announced that Zan made a deal with Galatasaray for a period of two years starting from 2009–10 season. In further rumours, it has been written on papers that Zan had never been called by Beşiktaş in order to negotiate after his contract had been expired, which was dealt for two years within an optional second season. After 20 days with no proposal from the club, Zan have accepted Galatasaray's offer. On 27 June 2011, Zan signed a new contract, with €700,000 per annum wage plus €20,000 per game. He scored his first goal for the club on the second half of the

2010–11 Süper Lig The 2010–11 Süper Lig (known as the ''Spor Toto Süper Lig'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd season since its establishment. The season began on 14 August 2010 and concluded on 22 May 2011. Fenerbahçe claimed their 18th title, but th ...

season which came in the first half as the game ended in a 1–1 draw against

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

. Zan played 12 matches on the 2011–12 Süper Lig season and scored 2 goals, one against

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish football club located in Eskişehir. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division of Turkish football for 16 years until they were relegated. After being out of the Süper Lig for 12 years the ...

in 2–0 win and the other in a 4–0 win against Ankaragücü. He was part of Galatasaray's champion squad. In early April 2013, his contract was extended for another two-years until 2015.

International career

Zan emerged as a key man for Turkey in their Euro 2008 qualifying push, starring in seven games for

Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...

's side. At the tournament itself, Zan made three appearances after he was initially injured in the opening game against Portugal. He has appeared in two qualifying matches for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

;Beşiktaş *

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 ...

: 2008–09 * Türkiye Kupası: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09 * Süper Kupa:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

;Galatasaray *

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15 * Türkiye Kupası: 2013–14 * Süper Kupa:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

;Turkey *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

bronze medalist:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

References

External links

Profile
at Galatasaray.org * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zan, Gokhan 1981 births Living people People from Antakya Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's international footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Süper Lig players UEFA Euro 2008 players Hatayspor footballers Çanakkale Dardanelspor footballers Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Gaziantepspor footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Turkey men's youth international footballers Men's association football central defenders Footballers from Hatay 21st-century Turkish sportsmen