Kennedy Bakircioglu (born 2 November 1980) is a Swedish 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is best remembered for his time with

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differ ...

, with whom he won the

2001 Allsvenskan Allsvenskan 2001, part of the 2001 Swedish football season, was the 77th Allsvenskan season played. The first match was played 7 April 2001 and the last match was played 27 October 2001. Hammarby IF won the league ahead of runners-up Djurgårdens ...

and

2014 Superettan The 2014 Superettan, part of the 2014 Swedish football season, was the 15th season of Superettan, Sweden's second-tier football league in its current format. The 2014 fixtures were released on 20 December 2013. The season started on 5 April 2014 a ...

titles. He also represented Assyriska, Iraklis,

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

and

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

, in a 22-year career. A full international between 2001 and 2008, Bakircioglu won 14

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Sweden national team.

Early life

Bakircioglu's family are ethnic

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

, followers of the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

. The family arrived in Sweden in 1972 from

Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...

, Turkey. Born in

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...

, Bakircioglu was named after the former

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

president

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. His father Benjamin was one of the first to play for newly founded

Assyriska FF Assyriska Fotbollsföreningen, also known simply as Assyriska FF, is a Swedish football club based in Södertälje, Stockholm County. The club, formed in 1974 by Assyrian immigrants, has advanced through the league system and is currently play ...

, a club established by the Assyrian diaspora, going on to become its record goal scorer.

Club career

Assyriska

Bakircioglu started his professional career with Assyriska, making his senior debut in 1996 at age 15. He would soon establish himself as a regular starter in Division 1, by then in the Swedish second tier, despite his young age. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, Bakircioglu saw a major breakthrough in his senior career and scored nine goals whilst also providing eight assists, in 25 league games. He had a trial with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

during the winter of that year, but did not impress enough to secure a contract with the English team.

Hammarby

Before the start of

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Bakircioglu transferred to

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

. He scored his first competitive goal for the

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

-based side on 1 July the same year, in a 3–0 home win against

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollför ...

. He quickly became a fan favourite at his new club, and ended the season playing 25 league matches, scoring twice. On 4 July 1999, Bakircioglu made his continental debut in the second round of the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

, a 4–0 home victory over

FC Gomel FC Gomel () is a Belarusian association football, football club based in the city of Gomel. Their home stadium is Central Stadium (Gomel), Central Stadium. History Teams from Gomel (usually city or raion selection or railway-based team ''Lokomo ...

. In the away leg, he scored a brace to help to a 2–2 draw and subsequent qualification. At the end of the year, he was voted "Allsvenskan newcomer of the year". During the 2000 campaign, Bakircioglu was a key player in manager

Sören Cratz Carl Sören Harry Cratz (born 28 September 1948) is a Swedish former football manager. As a manager of Hammarby IF, he won the 2001 Allsvenskan Allsvenskan 2001, part of the 2001 Swedish football season, was the 77th Allsvenskan season played. ...

's squad, playing as

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

behind the strikers. He made 26 league appearances and netted five times, but the side finished eighth. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Bakircioglu scored eight goals in 26 games to lead the team to their first-ever national championship. He also provided seven assists throughout the domestic tournament, and was praised by pundits as player of the season at Hammarby. He scored in the title-deciding fixture against

Örgryte IS Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. ...

on 21 October, a 3–2 win at

Söderstadion Söderstadion () was a football and bandy stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened in 1966 and closed in 2013, being replaced by nearby Tele2 Arena. Söderstadion had a capacity of 12,800 depending on usage. A record attendance of 22,000 was ...

. Bakircioglu continued

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 ...

in similar fashion, and netted 11 goals from 26 appearances. His team, however, suffered a tough year in the table and failed to produce any sort of challenge, eventually ending in ninth position. As reigning Swedish champions, they took part in the second qualifying round of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

where they faced the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

, with the player being featured in both legs of the 5–1 aggregate loss. He reportedly attracted interest from

Beşiktaş J.K. Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (, ), abbreviated as BJK, is a Turkish professional sports club founded in 1903 that is based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. The club's football team is one of the Big Three in Turkey and one of the most ...

from Turkey during the season, but the deal fell through in the last minute. In the 2003 campaign, Bakircioglu scored six goals in the league's first seven rounds – in an eventual total of 12 – as Hammarby went on an unbeaten streak. In September, the club's board of directors suspended both him and Mikael Andersson because the parties could not agree to extend their outgoing contracts. The decision was, however, revoked after only a few days, roughly at the same time as the team was surpassed by city rivals

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

at the top of table and eventually finished second. Bakircioglu left on a free transfer at the end of the year. A year after his departure, he was voted the club's fourth greatest player of all time.

Iraklis

On 12 January 2004, Bakircioglu moved to the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

with Iraklis FC. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, linking up with compatriot Mats Jingblad who held the managerial position at his new club. Bakircioglu was sparingly used in his only full campaign in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Twente

Bakircioglu moved teams and countries again in the 2005 off-season, joining

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

in the Netherlands and impressing manager

Fred Rutten Fredericus Jacobus Rutten (; born 5 December 1962) is a Dutch football coach and former player. As a player, he spent his entire career with Twente during the years 1979 to 1992. Following his playing career, Rutten also managed Twente, before m ...

straight away to become a first-team regular. In 2006–07, he scored 15 goals in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

as the

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

side finished fourth and

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

to the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Ajax

On 5 May 2007, newspaper ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; ) is the largest Netherlands, Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief since ...

'' announced that Bakircioglu had reached an agreement with fellow league club

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

. He was officially signed ten days later, and scored on his official debut, an 8–1 away rout of

De Graafschap Vereniging Betaald Voetbal De Graafschap, simply known as De Graafschap () is a professional association football club based in Doetinchem, Netherlands. The team competes in the , the second level of the Dutch football league system. Founded o ...

. In August 2008, new manager

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

deemed Bakircioglu surplus to requirements, but the latter decided to stay, being restricted to only 17 league games over two seasons. He did manage, however, a crucial goal for the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

team, in the

2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup association football, football tournament. The 2009 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), F ...

, in a 1–0 away win against

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

in the

round of 32 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

(2–1 aggregate victory).

Racing Santander

Bakircioglu left Ajax in June 2010, signing for Spain's

early in the following month. He started in all but two matches he appeared in his first season, as the

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

ns retained their

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

status. Three of his league goals came in the last month of competition, against

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

(2–0 home win),

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

(2–1, home) and

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

(1–2 loss also at the

Campos de Sport de El Sardinero Campos de Sport de El Sardinero ("El Sardinero Sport Fields"), or simply El Sardinero, is a multi-purpose stadium in Santander, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches, serving as the home ground of the former La Liga side Racing ...

). Bakircioglu spent the vast majority of 2011–12 nursing an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury, and Racing would also return to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

after one full decade in the top flight.

Return to Hammarby

At the end of August 2012, Bakircioglu returned to Hammarby, now in the

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

. On 23 June 2013, they faced

Ängelholms FF Ängelholms FF is a football (soccer), football club based in Ängelholm, Sweden. The club is affiliated to Skånes Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Ängelholms IP. The club was formed in 1976 as a merger between Ängelholms IF and Sk ...

in the last football game at

, that had been the club's home ground since 1967; the game ended 1–1, with his team securing a late draw when he scored from a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

. Bakircioglu led all scorers with 17 goals and contributed seven decisive passes in the 2014 campaign, helping to a return to the top division whilst also acting as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. A regular in both

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, with the team finishing 11th on both occasions, the 36-year-old signed a new one-year contract in December 2016. In his later years, Bakircioglu repositioned himself as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, dictating the game as a

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

. He agreed to a new one-year deal on 22 October 2017, and simultaneously announced that he would retire from football when it expired. On 1 October 2018, at the end of his last season, he scored from a spectacular free kick to make it 3–0 in the league fixture against

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

, and proceeded to celebrate the goal in front of the home fans by catching and drinking from a cup of beer that was thrown towards him from the stands.

International career

Bakircioglu made over 40 appearances for

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before making his full debut on 20 November 2003 in a friendly against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He appeared in three

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals tournament took place between August 2006 and November 2007. Fifty teams were divided into seven groups. In a Round-robin tournament, double round-robin system, each team played against each of the others ...

games in 2007, but did not make the squad for the final tournament. Bakircioglu played his 14th and last international match on 26 May 2008, in a friendly with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

In popular culture

Bakircioglu gained fame and cult status early in his career thanks to the computer game '' Championship Manager: Season 01/02'', where he was considered one of the greatest "hidden gem" players of all time.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Hammarby *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Ajax *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2009–10 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Individual *Allsvenskan Newcomer of the Year:

*Superettan top scorer:

References

External links

Stats at Voetbal International
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakircioglu, Kennedy 1980 births Living people Swedish people of Assyrian descent Syriac Orthodox Christians 21st-century Swedish sportsmen Swedish men's footballers Assyrian footballers Footballers from Södertälje Men's association football midfielders Allsvenskan players Superettan players Assyriska FF players Hammarby Fotboll players Super League Greece players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players Eredivisie players FC Twente players AFC Ajax players La Liga players Racing de Santander players Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers Sweden men's international footballers Swedish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain