Tanju Çolak facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 November 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Samsun, Turkey | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Samsun Yolspor | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1987 | Samsunspor | 157 | (123) |
| 1987–1991 | Galatasaray | 124 | (116) |
| 1991–1993 | Fenerbahçe | 54 | (50) |
| 1993–1994 | İstanbulspor | 19 | (17) |
| Total | 354 | (306) | |
| International career | |||
| 1980–1982 | Turkey U18 | 14 | (?) |
| 1982–1985 | Turkey U21 | 10 | (4) |
| 1984–1991 | Turkey | 31 | (9) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Tanju Çolak was born on November 10, 1963, in Samsun, Turkey. He is a famous former footballer from Turkey. He played as a forward, which means he was mainly responsible for scoring goals.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Tanju Çolak started his football journey with Samsun Yolspor. In 1981, he joined Samsunspor. He quickly became a top player there. He was the best goal scorer in the league for Samsunspor in both the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons.
After his success at Samsunspor, Çolak moved to Galatasaray in 1987. This was a big step in his career. In the 1987–88 season, he scored an amazing 39 goals. This made him the top scorer in all of Europe! Because of this, he won the European Golden Boot award. This award goes to the player who scores the most goals in any European league. Tanju Çolak is the only Turkish footballer to ever win this special award.
He continued to score many goals. In the 1991–92 season, he was again the top scorer in the Turkish league. After that season, he moved to another big club, Fenerbahçe.
Tanju Çolak scored a total of 240 goals in the Turkish Super League. This was a record for the most goals scored by one player in the league's history. He achieved this in just nine seasons, between 1982–83 and 1985–93. His record stood for a long time. Later, another great player, Hakan Şükür, broke his record in the 2007–08 season.
Playing for His Country
Tanju Çolak also played for the Turkish national team. He played in 31 matches for his country. During these games, he scored 9 goals.
Amazing Achievements
Tanju Çolak had many great achievements during his football career:
- He scored 240 goals in 252 matches in the Turkish league. This was a record for many years.
- He scored the most goals in a single season (39 goals in 1987–1988 while playing for Galatasaray).
- He scored the most goals in one match (6 goals in 1992–1993 while playing for Fenerbahçe).
- He was the top league scorer five times:
- 1985–1986 and 1986–1987 with Samsunspor.
- 1987–1988 and 1990–1991 with Galatasaray.
- 1992–1993 with Fenerbahçe.
- He was the top scorer in Europe (1st place) in 1987–1988 with 39 goals.
- He was also among the top European scorers in other seasons: 3rd place in 1985–1986 (33 goals) and 2nd place in 1990–1991 (31 goals).
Awards and Trophies
Tanju Çolak won several awards and trophies with his teams and as an individual player.
Team Trophies
Galatasaray
- Süper Lig: 1987–88 (This is the top football league in Turkey)
- Turkish Cup: 1990–91 (A major cup competition in Turkey)
- Turkish Super Cup: 1988 (A match between the league champion and cup winner)
Individual Awards
- Gol Kralı: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1992–93 (This means "Goal King" – awarded to the top scorer in the Turkish league)
- European Golden Boot: 1987–88 (Award for the top league goal scorer in Europe)
- IFFHS Legends (Recognized as a legendary player by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics)
See also
In Spanish: Tanju Çolak para niños
