Bülent Eken

Bülent Eken (26 October 1923 – 25 July 2016) was a Turkish footballer and coach. After his club career he became a manager and served as a coach for several Turkish clubs, and also for Turkish national football team.

Career

Club career Bülent Eken began his career in 1942 with Galatasaray's A Team. He played as a right-back, left-back, center-back, winger, midfielder, and even as a goalkeeper in this club. Eken won an Istanbul League Championship with Galatasaray. In 1950, he transferred to Salernitana in Italy and later played one season with Palermo. He returned to Galatasaray in 1953 and retired from football a year later.

International career Eken played 13 times for the national team. and the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He scored a goal once while being part of the national team, in a match where Syria was defeated 7:0 in the qualifiers of World Cup 1954.

Managerial career After retiring from football, he received coaching education in Italy. In 1963, he managed the Turkish national football team. In 1967, he went to Turkey as an assistant coach for Galatasaray SK. Eken later served as a coach for clubs such as Karşıyaka, Göztepe SK, Altay, İzmirspor, Vefa SK, Adanaspor, Orduspor, and Rizespor.

Family and death He was the brother of former Galatasaray footballers Danyal Vuran and Reha Eken.

Eken died on 25 July 2016, nineteen days after the death of his teammate Turgay Şeren.

Honours Galatasaray Istanbul Football League: 1948–49, 1954–55