Okan Yılmaz (born 16 May 1978) is a Turkish retired 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 forward.

Early life and club career

Yılmaz started playing football for Karayollari Yolspor in 1988. His professional career began in

İnegölspor İnegölspor is a Turkish sports club located in İnegöl, Bursa Province Bursa Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in ...

when he was signed up in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, he was transferred to Bursaspor. Yılmaz spent the brunt of his career at the

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

-based club, leading the

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 ...

in goals scored twice (2001 and 2003). He was courted by CSKA Moscow and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in 2003. A transfer fee from ''l'OM'' was accepted by Bursaspor, but Yılmaz did not agree to the contracts terms.Bir Zamanların Yıldız Futbolcuları
takvim.com.tr , accessed 15 May 2010

International career

Yılmaz started his international career with the Turkey U-21 squad in 2000. He was promoted to the senior squad in 2003, but has not been called up since 2004. He has five goals in eight caps, as well as a third-place finish in the

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivi ...

. In the semi-final v

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Yilmaz had the opportunity to equalise with a penalty, but missed, and consequently,

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 ...

lost 3–2, and went to the third place playoff.

Career statistics

Club

International

''(Correct as of 15 May 2010)''

Honours

;Turkey * FIFA Confederations Cup 2003 third place: 2003 ;Individual * Süper Lig top goalscorer: 2001, 2003 *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...

top goalscorer: 2005

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yilmaz, Okan 1978 births Living people Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's international footballers 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players Turkish expatriate men's footballers Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Greece İnegölspor footballers Bursaspor footballers Malatyaspor footballers Konyaspor footballers Sakaryaspor footballers Diyarbakırspor footballers Orduspor footballers Vanspor footballers Süper Lig players Panthrakikos F.C. players Men's association football forwards Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Footballers from Bursa