Özer Umdu

Özer Umdu — Biography

Özer Umdu is a retired Turkish footballer born in 1952 in Balıkesir; only the year of his birth is known. He started out at Bandırma Çelikspor before joining Balıkesirspor's first-team squad at the start of the 1972-73 season, quickly becoming a regular starter and playing a major role in the club's strong run in the second division.

In the 1974-75 season he helped Balıkesirspor win the second-division title and gain promotion to the First League (today's Süper Lig), a feat that, combined with his heading ability, earned him the nickname "Altın Kafa" ("Golden Head"). At the end of that season he transferred to Zonguldakspor, later playing for Adanaspor and Beşiktaş, and was crowned the Süper Lig's top scorer with 15 goals in the 1978-79 season.

Since retiring he has remained a well-known figure around his native Balıkesir and Bandırma. At one point a local newspaper mistakenly reported that he had died of a heart attack because of a mix-up with another person of the same name; Balıkesirspor even held a moment of silence and wore black armbands for that weekend's match, though Umdu was alive and later said he was deeply saddened by the episode.