Kubilay Türkyilmaz (Turkish: Kubilay Türkyılmaz; born 4 March 1967) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a forward. He ended his international career as the all-time joint leading goal scorer for the Switzerland national team, with 34 goals in 64 appearances between 1988 and 2001, equalling the goals scored by Max Abegglen. Their record was bettered by Alexander Frei in 2008.[1]

Kubilay Türkyilmaz
Personal information
Date of birth (1967-03-04) 4 March 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Bellinzona, Switzerland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1985–1986 US Semine
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1989 Bellinzona 79 (46)
1989–1990 Servette 46 (25)
1990–1993 Bologna 83 (24)
1993–1995 Galatasaray 43 (16)
1995–1998 Grasshoppers 84 (51)
1998 Locarno 12 (6)
1999 Luzern 14 (6)
2000 Bellinzona 13 (15)
2000–2001 Brescia 9 (3)
2001 Lugano 6 (3)
Total 389 (195)
International career
1988–2001 Switzerland 64 (34)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Born in Bellinzona, Ticino, Türkyilmaz began his club career with the local club Bellinzona in 1986 and later joined Servette in 1989. He left the country in 1990 for the Italian club Bologna before joining Galatasaray of Turkey, where he won the Süper Lig in his first season, 1993–94, and scored twice against Manchester United in the next season's UEFA Champions League.[2] In 1995, he returned to Switzerland with Grasshoppers, winning the league in 1995–96 and 1997–98.

International career

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Türkyilmaz made his international debut on 2 February 1988 against France[2] in Toulouse as a 65th-minute substitute for Hans-Peter Zwicker. Switzerland lost the Tournoi de France match 2–1. His first goals were two against Luxembourg in qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, on 21 September 1988, his seventh match.

He missed the 1994 FIFA World Cup with serious injury, but appeared at Euro 1996, scoring Switzerland's equaliser against England in the opening match of the tournament, a 1–1 draw at Wembley.[2]

His last 8 international matches, from 1997 to 2001, saw him score 14 times, including his first international hat-trick, versus Azerbaijan in qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He added another hat trick, of three penalty kicks on 7 October 2000 in a 5–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Zürich against the Faroe Islands. It was the first hat-trick of its kind in the competition's history.[3] In his final match, on 5 September 2001, he scored twice against Luxembourg away in qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

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Türkyilmaz was born in Switzerland to a family of Turkish descent that immigrated from the Yozgat Province;[4] he has said that he would have played for Turkey had they inquired first.[2] He once refused to play for Switzerland in a game against Turkey for fear of being branded a traitor.[5] He now runs a café in his native Bellinzona.[2]

Career statistics

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Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Türkyilmaz goal.
List of international goals scored by Kubilay Türkyilmaz[6]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 September 1988 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg   Luxembourg 2–0 4–1 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 4–0
3 21 June 1989 St. Jakob Stadion, Basel, Switzerland   Brazil 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4 20 September 1989 Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel, Switzerland   Portugal 1–0 1–2 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 11 October 1989 St. Jakob Stadion, Basel, Switzerland   Belgium 2–1 2–2 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 15 November 1989 Espenmoos, St. Gallen, Switzerland   Luxembourg 2–1 2–1 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 8 May 1990 Wankdorfstadion, Bern, Switzerland   Argentina 1–1 1–1 Friendly
8 21 August 1990 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria   Austria 1–1 3–1 Friendly
9 2–1
10 12 March 1991 Sportplatz Rheinau, Balzers, Liechtenstein   Liechtenstein 4–0 6–0 Friendly
11 1 May 1991 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Bulgaria 3–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
12 5 June 1991 Espenmoos, St. Gallen, Switzerland   San Marino 7–0 7–0 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
13 21 August 1991 Strahov Stadium, Prague, Czechoslovakia   Czechoslovakia 1–1 1–1 Friendly
14 9 October 1991 Stadion Allmend, Lucerne, Switzerland   Sweden 3–0 3–1 Friendly
15 17 April 1993 Ta' Qali National Stadium, Attard, Malta   Malta 2–0 2–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 12 October 1994 Wankdorfstadion, Bern, Switzerland   Sweden 4–2 4–2 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
17 16 August 1995 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland   Iceland 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
18 11 October 1995 Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland   Hungary 1–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
19 24 April 1996 Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano, Switzerland   Wales 2–0 2–0 Friendly
20 8 June 1996 Wembley Stadium, London, England   England 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 1996
21 30 April 1997 Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland   Hungary 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
22 11 October 1997 Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland   Azerbaijan 1–0 5–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
23 2–0
24 5–0
25 4 September 1990 Parken, Copenhagen, Denmark   Denmark 1–1 1–2 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
26 8 September 1999 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland   Belarus 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
27 2–0
28 7 October 2000 Hardturm, Zürich, Switzerland   Faroe Islands 3–1 5–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
29 4–1
30 5–1
31 11 October 2000 Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia   Slovenia 1–0 2–2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
32 2–1
33 5 September 2001 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg   Luxembourg 2–0 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
34 3–0

Honours

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Galatasaray

Grasshoppers

Individual[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Switzerland coast home against Liechtenstein". Swissinfo. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Turkyilmaz: Swiss star, Turkish heart". FIFA. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Ronaldo, 3e joueur à transformer 3 penalties" [Ronaldo, 3rd player to convert three penalties] (in French). RDS. 3 June 2004. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Yozgat, Kubilay'la temasa geçiyor" (in Turkish). NTV. 16 June 2000. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  5. ^ Staniforth, Tommy (10 October 1998). "Football: New start for depleted Germans". The Independent. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Kubilay Türkyilmaz". European Football. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Player of the year » Switzerland". World Football. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
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