Cihan Haspolatlı

Cihan Haspolatlı — Biography

Cihan Haspolatlı was born on January 4, 1980, in Diyarbakır and is a former Turkish international footballer of Kurdish origin who stood 1.84 meters tall. He began his professional career at Kocaelispor, winning the Turkish Cup with the club in the 2001-02 season, and his form there and with Turkey's youth sides earned him a move to Fatih Terim's Galatasaray in 2002-03, where he quickly became a fixture in midfield.

He scored the winner in a 2002-03 UEFA Champions League group match against Olympiacos, and over five seasons in Galatasaray colors won the Turkish Cup in 2004-05 and, playing out of position at right-back under coach Eric Gerets, shared in the club's celebrated 2005-06 league title. He was called into the national team setup 27 times across age levels, earning 25 appearances in total, and was part of Şenol Güneş's training-camp squad ahead of the 2002 World Cup, though he did not make the final selection.

After Galatasaray he played for Bursaspor, Konyaspor and MKE Ankaragücü before joining İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor in 2010-11, helping the club reach the Turkish Cup final and making 70 league appearances with three goals. His contract lapsed ahead of the 2013-14 season, and when a widely linked move to clubs such as Boluspor failed to materialize, he retired; he has since taken part in veteran tournaments and appears in the media as a football commentator.