Okan Yılmaz

Okan Yılmaz — Biography

Okan Yılmaz is a retired Turkish footballer and coach, born on 16 May 1978 in Bursa. Standing 1.77 m tall and playing as a forward, he began his professional career at İnegölspor in 1996 before moving to Bursaspor two years later, where over seven seasons he scored 98 goals in 224 league matches and was crowned Süper Lig top scorer twice, in 2000-01 and 2002-03.

In 2003 he signed a pre-contract with France's Marseille but changed his mind at the last moment and stayed with Bursaspor, remaining with the club through its relegation and topping the second division's scoring charts with 25 goals in 2004-05. He later played for Malatyaspor, Konyaspor, Sakaryaspor, Diyarbakırspor, Orduspor and Greece's Panthrakikos, and earned caps for the Turkey national team, featuring at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.

After retiring in 2012, Okan Yılmaz moved into coaching, taking on roles with Bursaspor's youth setup as well as clubs such as Menemenspor and Karşıyaka.