Sabri Sarıoğlu

Sabri Sarıoğlu — Biography

Born on 26 July 1984 in the Çarşamba district of Samsun, Sabri Sarıoğlu grew up in Yeni Özkartalspor's youth ranks after his family settled in Istanbul in 1990, before joining Galatasaray's reserve side in 1999. Under coach Mircea Lucescu he was called up to the first-team squad in the 2001-02 season and included among Galatasaray's registered Champions League players, then made his competitive debut under Fatih Terim on 4 May 2003 against Trabzonspor. He quickly became the club's regular right-back, marked his 100th league appearance with a goal against Bursaspor in December 2006, and was named team captain in September 2011 after Arda Turan's move to Atlético Madrid. By the time his contract went unrenewed in 2017, he had made 475 official first-team appearances and won six league titles along with several Turkish Cup and Super Cup trophies. A regular for the Turkey national team, he was part of the squad that won bronze at Euro 2008, where he registered an assist. After retiring from playing he moved into coaching.