Zeki Rıza Sporel facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 February 1898 | ||
| Place of birth | Istanbul, Ottoman Empire | ||
| Date of death | 3 November 1969 (aged 71) | ||
| Place of death | Turkey | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1912–1915 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1915–1934 | Fenerbahçe | 352 | (470) |
| National team | |||
| 1923–1934 | Turkey | 16 | (15) |
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Zeki Rıza Sporel (born February 28, 1898 – died November 3, 1969) was a famous Turkish football player. He was also involved in politics. Zeki played as a striker for Fenerbahçe and the Turkey national football team.
He started his football journey in the Fenerbahçe youth teams. Later, he joined the main senior team. Zeki spent his whole career with Fenerbahçe. He set many amazing records during his time there. He was also a very important player for the Turkish national team. He was the first player ever to score a goal for the team! Many people say he was one of the best strikers in Turkish football history. After his football career, Zeki became a member of the Democrat Party in 1946.
Zeki Rıza was the younger brother of Hasan Kamil Sporel. Hasan Kamil also played for Fenerbahçe. He even became the president of the club.
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Zeki's Football Career at Clubs
Zeki was born in Istanbul in 1898. He began playing football in the Fenerbahçe youth system. He spent three years learning and playing there. When he was eighteen, in the 1915–16 season, he joined the senior team. Zeki mostly used his left foot to score goals. He rarely used his right foot or his head.
He set many scoring records for Fenerbahçe. These included scoring the most goals in a single match. He also scored the fastest goal in a game. On February 13, 1931, Zeki scored an amazing eight goals in one match! Fenerbahçe won that game 16–0 against Üsküdar Anadolu. Because he scored so many goals, people lovingly called him Üstad. This means "The Master" in Turkish.
Zeki played his entire football career at Fenerbahçe. He retired in 1934 after playing for eighteen years. By the end of his career, Zeki had scored 470 goals in 352 matches for Fenerbahçe. If you add his goals from the national team and other select teams, his total goals would be over 800!
Playing for the Turkish National Team
Zeki was part of the very first Turkish national team. He played in and scored in the country's first international match. This game was against Romania. He scored two goals in that match.
He played a total of sixteen games for Turkey. He was the team captain ten times. Zeki scored 15 goals for his country. He also represented Turkey in the 1924 Summer Olympics and the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Football Achievements and Awards
Zeki Rıza Sporel won many important titles during his career:
- Turkish Football Championship (1): 1933
- Istanbul Football League (4): 1920–21, 1922–23, 1929–30, 1932–33
- Istanbul Friday League (2): 1920–21, 1922–23
- Istanbul Shield (1): 1930
- General Harrington Cup (1): 1923
Zeki's Political Life
After he stopped playing football, Zeki Sporel joined the Democrat Party. This was a political group in Turkey. He also helped manage the party's newspaper, which was called Zafer.
See also
- List of one-club men
