İlhan Özbay

İlhan Özbay — Biography

Born on 19 September 1982 in the Şefaatli district of Yozgat, İlhan Özbay started out in the Yimpaş Yozgatspor youth academy in 1994, signed his first professional contract in the 2000-01 season, and played for Turkey's youth national teams. He moved to Gaziantepspor in 2001-02, returned to Yozgatspor in 2002, then transferred back to Gaziantepspor in 2003 and stayed until 2005. He joined Kayseri Erciyesspor in 2005, wearing number 66 on the right wing; after a poor first half of 2007-08 he contributed heavily to the team's second-half fight against relegation, and was part of the side that eliminated Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Cup before losing to Atlético Madrid in the next round.

Despite the team's relegation and offers from Maccabi Tel Aviv and Süper Lig clubs, Özbay stayed and was made captain, then spent half a season on loan at Gaziantepspor before returning to Erciyesspor. He moved to Sakaryaspor in 2009-10 and to Mersin İdmanyurdu on 23 December 2010, playing there for two seasons before becoming a free agent; he is also reported to have played for Bucaspor at some point. After playing for hometown club Sorgun Belediyespor in 2012-13, he became its manager in 2014, took charge of Yozgat Bozokspor in 2024 and resigned that November. In January 2026 he was referred to the PFDK, Turkish football's disciplinary board, over match-fixing allegations in a betting-scandal investigation.