Ergin Keleş

Ergin Keleş — Biography

Ergin Keleş (born 1 January 1987 in Arsin, Trabzon) is a retired Turkish professional footballer, 1.84 m tall, who played as a forward. He joined Trabzonspor's academy at the age of nine and rose to the first team under coach Şenol Güneş; after a contract dispute he was loaned to Akçaabat Sebatspor, then recalled to Trabzonspor's camp mid-season and made his league debut against Kayserispor on 22 January 2006. He was loaned to Sakaryaspor the following season, returned to Trabzonspor for 2007-08, and scored his only goal for the club against Gaziantepspor on 26 April 2008.

Keleş moved to Manisaspor in 2009 and was part of the squad that won the Turkish Second League that season. He went on to play for Ankaragücü, Kardemir Karabükspor, Mersin İdmanyurdu, Göztepe, Adanaspor, Gaziantep Büyükşehir Belediyespor, Sivasspor, Afjet Afyonspor and several other clubs, winning the TFF First League with Adanaspor in 2015-16 and with Sivasspor in 2016-17, and finishing runner-up in the 2019-20 Turkish Super Cup with Akhisarspor; he retired from active football in 2024.

Keleş represented Turkey from under-16 through under-21 level, and was joint top scorer, with five goals, at the 2005 UEFA Meridian Cup alongside the French pair Jérémy Ménez and Karim Benzema. Also known for his intellectual persona off the pitch, he published an autobiography, "Nasıl Yıldız Olunmaz?," in 2022; after retiring he had a spell as head coach of Kastamonuspor 1966 and has since worked as a pundit in Turkish sports media.