Fikret Yılmaz

Fikret Yılmaz — Biography

Fikret Yılmaz, born August 1, 1957, in Adana, is a retired Turkish footballer who played as a goalkeeper before moving into coaching. Turning out for Beşiktaş, Balıkesirspor, Adanaspor, Antalyaspor, Tavşanlı Linyitspor, Kemerspor, and Şarampolspor in Turkey's top divisions from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, he made his professional debut on 2 June 1985 in a 3-1 Süper Lig loss to Fenerbahçe, and scored his only career goal for Kemerspor against Antalya Köy Hizmetlerispor on 12 August 1991. He is also known as the father of Turkish international footballer Burak Yılmaz.

A goalkeeping coach in Turkey's professional leagues from 1996, he took temporary charge of MKE Ankaragücü for five weeks in the 2009-10 season after Hikmet Karaman's dismissal, then became head coach of Kayseri Erciyesspor at the start of 2011-12 following Ergün Penbe's departure, resigning from that post on 23 December 2011. He went on to manage Orduspor in 2013-14, Balıkesirspor for part of 2015-16, and Kardemir Karabükspor ahead of the 2018-19 season, stepping down from the latter role in September 2018. He has continued to draw media attention through public comments on his son Burak's career.