Faruk Namdar

Faruk Namdar — Biography

Faruk Namdar (born 6 May 1974 in Berlin) is a former Turkish professional footballer. Born into a Turkish working-class family in Berlin, he began playing at the youth level of BSV Hürriyetspor, a club founded by Turks in the city, before moving on to the youth ranks of Reinickendorfer Füchse and then Tennis Borussia Berlin, where he turned professional.

Unable to secure a regular starting place at Tennis Borussia, Namdar spent half a season on loan at Hannover 96. Still short of playing time, he moved to Turkey in December 1999 together with teammate Celaleddin Koçak, joining Altay. Six months later the pair moved again, this time to MKE Ankaragücü, where Namdar began his Süper Lig career; he contributed to the club finishing sixth in 2000-01 and fourth in 2001-02, campaigns that carried Ankaragücü into the UEFA Cup. In 2003-04 he spent half a season on loan at Karşıyaka before returning to Ankaragücü for two further seasons, then transferred to Mardinspor.

He played for Mardinspor until the end of the 2006-07 season, after which he returned to Tennis Borussia Berlin, the club where he had started as a professional, for one final season before retiring. In the closing stretch of his career he is also said to have played for Diyarbakırspor.