Gökhan Gönül

Gökhan Gönül (born 4 January 1985) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a right back for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. He is also a senior international for Turkey.

Gökhan Gönül
Gönül with Turkey in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-01-04) 4 January 1985
Place of birth Bafra, Turkey
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Right back
Club information
Current team
 Fenerbahçe
Number 77
Youth career
1999–2002 Bursayolspor
2002–2003 Gençlerbirliği
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Hacettepe 92 (15)
2007–2016 Fenerbahçe 254 (10)
2016–2020 Beşiktaş 113 (8)
2020– Fenerbahçe 6 (1)
National team‡
2007– Turkey 66 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2019

Gönül was born in Bafra, Samsun, where he and his family lived before moving to Bursa when Gönül was six years old. His uncle signed him up with Bursayolspor's youth squad in 1999, and Gönül began his footballing career as a goalkeeper. However, after several other young goalkeepers signed with the club, Gönül was moved to the outfield. After putting in several performances, Gönül was told he would not play goalkeeper again. At first, Gönül played football as a hobby and something to play when there was nothing else to do. He began taking the sport more seriously when his coach at the time, Mehmet Kirazoğlu, took him under his wing and trained him individually. Soon after, Gönül played in a senior match against 30-year-olds; Gönül was 13 at the time.[1]

Early life

Gönül played several positions before he could find his spot, lacing up as a libero, midfielder, and forward at various levels. Gönül was the captain of the 14-16 team at Bursayolspor, and helped the club to a 3-3 draw with Bursaspor, scoring three goals while playing libero. Hasan Bora, a staff member at Bursaspor at the time, was interested in signing Gönül after his performance. However, after seeing several of his peers join the club and fail to progress, Gönül took it as a sign and decided against joining the club. Fatih Terim, then coach of Galatasaray, also expressed interest in Gönül. He invited the youngster to Istanbul, but Gönül ultimately did not agree to join the team. Instead, he signed with Gençlerbirliği on 9 August 2002.[2]

Career

Gönül began his career with the Ankara-based club in the A2 league. In his first season, he scored two goals in 19 A2 league appearances. The following season, Gönül was loaned out to feeder club Hacettepe. He spent the 2003–04 season on loan, before joining the club on a full transfer at the end of the season. In his first two seasons with the club, Gönül scored eight goals in 48 appearances and helped the club to back-to-back promotions. Gençlerbirliği transferred him back to the club at the start of the 2005–06. However, an injury kept him sidelined for several months and he was unable to make his debut for the club. Instead, he was loaned out once more to Hacettepe at the winter break. Gönül helped the club to another promotion, completing three promotions in four years. He also won the award for Best Player of the TFF First League.[1] Fenerbahçe transferred him before the start of the 2007–08 season, where he flourished under then-coach Zico. After putting in performances during the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, he earned the nickname "Turkish Cafu".[3] The club reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history.[4] Gökhan Gönül extended to his contract in June 2012. The new deal will see him at the club until the 2015–16 and take home €1.7 million per season.[5]

International career
Gönül with Turkey in November 2011

Gönül was never capped at youth international level. He made his debut against Norway on 27 November 2007.[6] Gönül made three more appearances, but was not selected to the Euro 2008 squad due to his injury.[2]

He is part of the Turkish national team for Euro 2016.[7]

Honours
Fenerbahçe S.K.
Beşiktaş J.K.

Club statistics

Club
Club Season League Cup[nb 1] Europe Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hacettepe 2003–04 TFF First League 275----275
2004–05 213----213
2005–06 173----173
2006–07 27420--294
Total 921520--9415
Fenerbahçe 2007–08 Süper Lig 2404180361
2008–09 29070100460
2009–10 3026080442
2010–11 3032030353
2011–12 31120--331
2012–13 2732113-424
2013–14 2900020310
2014–15 3203000350
2015–16 2211060291
Total 2541027250033112
Beşiktaş 2016–17 Süper Lig 2912070381
2017–18 2504030320
2018–19 2930091384
2019–20 3041010324
Total 1138702011409
Fenerbahçe 2020–21 Süper Lig 61000061
Career total 4653536270157138
Last Update: 2 November 2020[8]

International
Turkey national team
YearAppsGoals
200720
200860
200990
201050
201151
201240
201330
Total341

International goals
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first.[9]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.29 March 2011Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, İstanbul, Turkey Austria2–02–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualification

Notes
  1. Includes Süper Kupa

References
  1. "Gönül adamı; Gökhan Gönül" (in Turkish). tff.org. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  2. "GÖKHAN GÖNÜL" (in Turkish). tff.org. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  3. Türker Tozar (17 April 2008). "Turkish Cafu coming to the boil". uefa.com. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  4. "Champions League: What Country Has Been the Most Successful". Bleacher Report. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  5. "Fenerbahçe extend Cristian Baroni & Gökhan Gönül's contract". turkish-football.com. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  6. "His First Match in His International Career, Norway 1-2 Turkey". whoscored.com. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  7. "UEFA EURO 2016". UEFA. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  8. "GÖKHAN GÖNÜL". Turkish Football Federation. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. "Gökhan Gönül". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
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