Bekir Refet
Bekir Refet (also Bekir Refet Teker , in German publications mostly Rafet or Raffet Bekir ; * May 22, 1899 in Istanbul , † April 5, 1977 in Karlsruhe ) was a Turkish football player and participant in the Olympic Games in 1924 and 1928 . The striker, affectionately known as "Bombacı" ("Bomber") by Turkish soccer fans, was the first Turkish soccer player in Germany and is considered to be the first international soccer player in Turkey .
Early years
Refet was born in the Kadıköy district and joined the local Fenerbahçe Istanbul at the age of 14 as a youth player . In the next season he was included in the squad of the 1st team. In 1916 the young Refet moved to Altınordu İdman Yurdu and was with this team in 1917 and 1918 champions in the Istanbul Friday League . In the championship eleven of 1918, Bekir Refet was part of the regular squad.
After a year at İttihatspor , he moved to Galatasaray Istanbul in 1921 , who signed the 1.60 m tall striker for a trip abroad. The Istanbul club played a European tour from August to October 1921 and competed in 17 matches with Central European football teams from Switzerland , Germany , Czechoslovakia and Hungary . On September 4, 1921, the Turks made a guest appearance in the Karlsruhe Fasanengarten, where they were defeated by the local Karlsruher FC Phönix with 0: 1, but made a good impression. The people of Karlsruhe were particularly impressed by Refet's suppleness. He is said to have performed a perfect somersault in the game while simultaneously forwarding the ball on both legs.
On September 20, 1921, the players from the Bosporus met HSV in Hamburg . Refet was seriously injured in the game. The two Karlsruhe brothers Josef and Emil Oberle , who both spoke Turkish, were able to convince him to move to Phönix Karlsruhe while he was still in the Hamburg hospital. Refet played for Phönix until 1923 and then moved to 1. FC Pforzheim . After Pforzheim's relegation from the Württemberg / Baden district league in 1926 , Refet went to the old master Karlsruher FV . The Turk proved to be a stroke of luck for the Red-Blacks, and until 1935 he was a member of the KFV squad.
Refet only occasionally moved back home for guest appearances in Turkey. In a selection game in Istanbul in 1927 against the famous Slavia Prague , Refet headed the winning goal for the mixed Galatasaray / Beşiktaş team to 1-0 and was celebrated frenetically. The gate established its fame in Turkey as "Bombacı" ("Bomber").
The time at the Karlsruhe FV
The KFV was also enthusiastic about his “bomb shot”. His achievements have always been recognized. This was once a game review in a newspaper, in a nutshell:
"Bekir is Bekir, that should actually suffice as a criticism"
In the first year at KFV, Refet and his new team just failed twice to qualify for the final round of the German championship . Both in the district league and in the consolation round of the league second, the Karlsruhe team fell by the wayside as second. During the consolation round match against VfR Mannheim , Refet went into the dressing room with a facial injury.
At the end of the season there was a cup game against the future German champions 1. FC Nürnberg in the Phönixstadion. The match ended 0-0 in front of 15,000 spectators. It was reported about Refet:
"Bekir, who played for the last time because he is going back to Turkey, offered a brilliant game and brought to mind what the Karlsruhe football sport is losing in him"
However, his appearance in Turkey was short-lived, and in time for the 1927/28 season he was back on the field in the red KFV dress. With his team he won the title of Baden master, but in the South German championship they only came in fifth. Even in 1929 it was enough to win a Baden championship title, but success in the South German championship failed him. After the end of the season, the Turk was able to prove his striker qualities in a selection game for Baden .
The third Baden title in a row could not be won. In 1929/30 , the KFV finished the league level on points with the Freiburg FC , so it came to a playoff for the championship - this game, which took place on December 29, 1929 in Offenburg , Freiburg won 4-2. In the meantime, Refet equalized to 2-2. In January 1930, in the consolation round of the second and third, Refet let himself be carried away to a goalkeeper foul in front of 6,000 spectators in the local derby against Phoenix Karlsruhe:
“The most chivalrous and fairest player in the KFV team had practiced or tried to practice 'quick-witted' vigilante justice in a collision with the Phoenix goalkeeper. Both are considered assault. So expulsion was the last word in the paragraph. "
For this foul, Refet received a ban of 13 weeks from the association, but was pardoned with effect from April 12, 1930.
Refet was also significantly involved in the league championship in 1931 , so that he was again appointed as a representative player. The striker was injured in a friendly against Olympique Marseille and was out for a long time. The 1931/32 season also went largely without Bekir Refet. It wasn't until the final round of the South German Championship against FC Bayern Munich that he made his comeback, poorly healed. The game was lost 1-0, but Refet's performance was widely praised.
After the game year 1932/33 was mixed for Refet , he was able to make a name for himself again in the Gauliga , which was newly introduced in 1933 . His achievements brought him several assignments in the Baden team. In the derby against Phoenix, both teams were still threatened with relegation at this point, Refet missed a penalty. Instead of the ball he hit the penalty spot, and the ball rolled safely into the hands of the Phoenix keeper Maier. The game ended 0-0.
International matches
Refet scored three goals in three international matches for the Turkish national team .
Refet made his debut in the national team on May 25, 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris . This was only the second international appearance of the young Turkish national team. Refet scored both goals for Turkey in the 5-2 loss to Czechoslovakia in the first round of the football tournament. These were also Turkey's first international goals in a major international football tournament.
Refet was also part of the Turkish selection in Amsterdam in 1928 . However, Turkey had no chance against the outstanding Egyptians and was eliminated again in the preliminary round. In the 1: 7 defeat, Refet scored the consolation goal for his team in the 71st minute .
Late years
Refet ended his active career at Karlsruher FV after the 1934/35 season and finally settled in Germany, where he founded a business. He lived with his German wife Else in Ettlingen and Karlsruhe . He did not leave his new home in Baden during the Second World War . This is said to have led to his death being announced in the press several times in Turkey.
Bekir Refet died of a heart attack on April 5, 1977 in Karlsruhe. While his death received little attention in Germany, news of Refet's death in Turkey made headlines in the press. He was buried in Karlsruhe in the presence of the Turkish Consul General and his last surviving KFV teammates, Walter Finneisen and Lorenz Huber , according to the Islamic rite.
Honors
- Honorary captain of the Karlsruhe FV
- Silver badge of honor of 1. FC Pforzheim
literature
- Josef Frey: 90 years of the Karlsruhe football club 1891–1981. Karlsruhe 1981, DNB 820379980 .
Web links
- Player portrait on the website of the Karlsruhe FV
- Bekir Refet in the database of FIFA (English)
- Bekir Refet in the Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu database (English)
- Portrait Bekir Refet (Turkish)
- Raffet Bekir tells: From the old days of football. An entertaining chat with the former football king of Turkey. Newspaper article from 1949 about Bekir Refet (PDF; 2.9 MB).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Season statistics 1920/21 (Turkish).
- ↑ Quoted from Frey, p. 190.
- ↑ Quoted from Frey, p. 96.
- ↑ Quoted from Frey, p. 102.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Refet, Bekir |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Refet Teker, Bekir |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Turkish soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 22, 1899 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Istanbul , Turkey |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 5th 1977 |
| Place of death | Karlsruhe , Germany |