kids encyclopedia robot

Hakan Yakin facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Hakan Yakin
Hakan Yakin - Gare de Berne le 16-11-2006 (cropped).jpg
Yakin in 2006
Personal information
Full name Hakan Yakin
Date of birth (1977-02-22) 22 February 1977 (age 48)
Place of birth Basel, Switzerland
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Second striker
Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1984–1994 Concordia Basel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Concordia Basel
1995–1997 Basel 67 (14)
1997–1998 Grasshoppers 11 (1)
1998–1999 → St. Gallen (loan) 35 (8)
1999–2001 Grasshoppers 54 (22)
2001–2003 Basel 67 (30)
2003 Paris Saint-Germain 0 (0)
2004 Basel 6 (3)
2004–2005 VfB Stuttgart 9 (0)
2004–2005 → Galatasaray (loan) 2 (0)
2005–2008 Young Boys 84 (40)
2008–2009 Al-Gharafa 15 (5)
2009–2011 Luzern 79 (26)
2012–2013 Bellinzona 32 (13)
Total 455 (162)
International career
2000–2011 Switzerland 87 (20)
Managerial career
2014–2015 Zug 94
2016 Gallen (U18)
2016 Gallen (U21)
2017 Schaffhausen (assistant)
2017 Grasshoppers (assistant)
2019–2022 Schaffhausen (assistant)
2021 Schaffhausen (caretaker)
2022–2023 Schaffhausen
2023–2024 İstanbulspor
2025– Schaffhausen
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Hakan Yakin (born 22 February 1977) is a Swiss football coach and a former player. He played most of his career as a forward or an attacking midfielder in Switzerland. He also played for teams in France, Germany, Turkey, and Qatar. Hakan played for the Swiss national team for eleven years. He played in 87 games and scored 20 goals for his country. He is currently the head coach of FC Schaffhausen.

About Hakan Yakin's Life

Hakan Yakin was born in Basel, Switzerland. His parents were from Turkey. He grew up in a town called Münchenstein, which is near Basel. His older brother, Murat Yakin, is also a famous football player and coach. Murat has also played for the Swiss national team. Their older half-brother, Ertan Irizik, was also a professional football player.

Hakan Yakin's Club Career

Starting Out at Concordia Basel and FC Basel

Hakan started playing football in the youth teams of his local club, Concordia Basel. In January 1995, he signed his first professional contract with his hometown club, Basel. He played his first game for Basel on 12 April 1995. He came into the game in the 60th minute. Just 18 seconds later, he scored a goal with his first touch of the ball! Basel won that game 5–0.

Moving to Grasshoppers and St. Gallen

After two and a half years at Basel, Hakan moved to Grasshoppers. However, he didn't play as much as he wanted there. So, he was loaned to St. Gallen for part of the 1997–98 season. He quickly became a regular player at St. Gallen. After his loan, he returned to Grasshoppers.

Returning to FC Basel and Champions League Success

In January 2001, Hakan moved back to Basel. At the end of the 2001–02 season, he helped Basel win both the national league and the Swiss Cup. The next year, they won the Swiss Cup again.

Hakan remembers a special game in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League against Liverpool on 12 November 2002. Basel was winning 3–0 at halftime, and Hakan helped set up all three goals! The game ended in a 3–3 draw, but Basel still moved on in the tournament.

During the 2002–03 season, Hakan scored three goals in one half against Young Boys. This is called a "perfect hat-trick." Basel won that game 3–0. However, in the next game against Young Boys, he got two yellow cards and was sent off the field.

Yakinhäberli
Yakin celebrating a goal for Young Boys in 2008 with Thomas Häberli

Playing Abroad and Back to Switzerland

After his time at Basel, Hakan tried playing for clubs outside Switzerland. He played for Paris Saint-Germain in France, VfB Stuttgart in Germany, and Galatasaray in Turkey. These moves were not very successful for him.

In 2005–06, Hakan returned to Switzerland and joined Young Boys. In July 2008, he signed a contract with Qatar champions Al-Gharafa.

In March 2009, Hakan trained with the Grasshoppers Under-21 team. His brother Murat was coaching that team. Later, on 25 June 2009, Hakan signed with FC Luzern in Switzerland. In 2011, his brother Murat became his coach at FC Luzern.

In January 2012, Hakan moved to Bellinzona, which plays in the second-highest league in Switzerland. He played his first game for them on 26 February. He scored his first two goals for Bellinzona on 9 April 2012.

Hakan Yakin's International Career

Yakin061115
Yakin in Bern, Switzerland, in 2006

Hakan played 87 games for the Swiss national team. His first game was in 2000. He was offered the chance to become a Turkish citizen before playing for Switzerland, but he chose to play for Switzerland.

He played for Switzerland in the UEFA Euro 2004 and UEFA Euro 2008 tournaments. He also played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

On 11 June 2008, Hakan scored the first goal in Switzerland's Euro 2008 match against Turkey. He didn't celebrate the goal out of respect for his family's home country. Switzerland lost that game 2–1. However, in Switzerland's last group match against Portugal on 15 June, Hakan scored two goals. This helped Switzerland win 2–0, which was their first-ever win at the UEFA European Championship. Hakan finished the tournament as one of the top goal scorers with three goals.

Hakan played in seven of Switzerland's ten qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored one goal in their first qualifying game against Israel. He announced that he was retiring from the Swiss national team on 4 October 2011.

Hakan Yakin's Coaching Career

Hakan Yakin became an assistant coach for his brother Murat at Schaffhausen in 2019. When Murat became the manager of the Switzerland national football team in August 2021, Hakan took over as a temporary manager for Schaffhausen for three games. He then went back to being an assistant coach. They helped Schaffhausen finish second in their league, but they didn't get promoted.

On 4 June 2022, Hakan was named the new head coach at Schaffhausen. He needed to get a special coaching license for this role. He left Schaffhausen on 20 May 2023, after the club decided not to renew his contract. He stepped down for the last two games of the season for personal reasons.

On 4 March 2025, Hakan returned to coach Schaffhausen again.

Hakan Yakin's International Goals

Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first.

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 19 February 2000 Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat  Oman 4–1 4–1 Friendly
2. 26 April 2000 Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern  Germany 1–0 1–1 Friendly
3. 16 August 2000 Espenmoos, St. Gallen  Greece 2–2 2–2 Friendly
4. 15 August 2001 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna  Austria 2–1 2–1 Friendly
5. 1 September 2001 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Yugoslavia 1–0 1–2 2002 World Cup qualifier
6. 12 February 2002 Makario Stadium, Nicosia  Cyprus 1–1 1–1 Friendly
7. 13 February 2002 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol  Hungary 2–0 2–1 Friendly
8. 21 August 2002 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Austria 1–1 3–2 Friendly
9. 8 September 2002 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Georgia 2–1 4–1 Euro 2004 qualifier
10. 16 October 2002 Lansdowne Road, Dublin  Republic of Ireland 1–0 2–1 Euro 2004 qualifier
11. 12 February 2003 Nova Gorica Sports Park, Nova Gorica  Slovenia 1–0 5–1 Friendly
12. 11 October 2003 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Republic of Ireland 1–0 2–0 Euro 2004 qualifier
13. 28 April 2004 Stade de Genève, Geneva  Slovenia 2–1 2–1 Friendly
14. 8 September 2004 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Republic of Ireland 1–1 1–1 2006 World Cup qualifier
15. 13 October 2007 Letzigrund, Zurich  Austria 2–1 3–1 Friendly
16. 11 June 2008 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Turkey 1–0 1–2 Euro 2008
17. 15 June 2008 St. Jakob-Park, Basel  Portugal 1–0 2–0 Euro 2008
18. 2–0
19. 20 August 2008 Stade de Genève, Geneva  Cyprus 2–0 4–1 Friendly
20. 6 September 2008 Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan  Israel 1–0 2–2 2010 World Cup qualifier

Hakan Yakin's Achievements

Club Trophies

Grasshoppers

Basel

Galatasaray

  • Turkish Cup: 2004–05

Young Boys

  • Uhrencup: 2007

Individual Awards

  • Axpo Swiss Super League Player of the Year: 2003, 2008
  • Swiss Super League top scorer: 2007–08 (24 goals)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Hakan Yakın para niños

kids search engine
Hakan Yakin Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.