Hakan Şükür
Centre-Forward · Galatasaray · Turkey
About Hakan Şükür
Hakan Şükür is Turkey's greatest footballer and the scorer of the fastest goal in World Cup history — 11 seconds into the third-place playoff against South Korea at the 2002 World Cup. He is Turkey's all-time top scorer with 51 international goals and led Turkey to their best-ever World Cup finish (3rd place, 2002). He won multiple Turkish league titles with Galatasaray and won the UEFA Cup in 2000.
Hakan Şükür's story
11 Seconds
June 29, 2002. World Cup third-place playoff. Turkey vs South Korea. Daegu. The kick-off whistle blew. South Korea kicked off. Turkish midfielder İlhan Mansız won the ball. Cross from the right. Hakan Şükür, arriving in the penalty area, struck the ball — low, past goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae. Goal. 11 seconds. The fastest goal in World Cup history. Turkey won 3-2.
Galatasaray's Bull
Şükür spent the majority of his career at Galatasaray — 242 goals in 508 appearances, making him the most prolific scorer in Turkish football history. He helped Galatasaray to their greatest achievement: the 1999-2000 UEFA Cup victory over Arsenal — a final won on penalties that remains the only European trophy won by a Turkish club.
2002
At the 2002 World Cup, Turkey finished third — their best ever World Cup result and a tournament that coincided with Turkey's emergence as a genuine European football force. Şükür was the team's physical presence and aerial threat, and his tournament goal record (including the fastest goal in the event's history) reflected a player at peak physical condition at 30 years old.
Did you know?
- ⚡ He scored after 11 seconds against South Korea at the 2002 World Cup — the fastest goal in the tournament's history — a record that has stood for over 20 years and may stand indefinitely.
- ⚽ He scored 51 goals in 112 international appearances for Turkey — the all-time national record — and led Turkey to their best-ever World Cup finish (3rd place, 2002).
- 👨👩👧👦 Married; has children. He settled in the United States after becoming disillusioned with politics in Turkey following a break with President Erdoğan.
- 🌟 Mircea Lucescu, his Galatasaray manager, said: "Hakan Şükür was the most physically imposing Turkish player I ever managed. He could hold up the ball for the team while also being dangerous in the air and on the ground."
- 📊 He scored 242 goals for Galatasaray — the all-time club record — across two spells spanning 20 years, making him the most prolific scorer in Turkish football history.
- 🇮🇹 His three-year European stint — at Internazionale, Parma, and Torino — produced 28 Serie A goals across a period when he was adapting to Italian defensive structures, with inconsistent results that reflected the difficulty of the transition.
- 💼 After retiring, he was elected to the Turkish Parliament as an MP before going into exile in the USA in 2013 following a political dispute — one of football's most dramatic post-career stories.
- 🤝 His striking partnership with Nihat Kahveci at the 2002 World Cup — Şükür the physical focal point, Nihat the creative finisher — gave Turkey their most productive international attacking combination in the tournament's history.
- 🎯 His aerial dominance — winning 78% of aerial duels across his Galatasaray career, according to club records — made him the most effective aerially-dominant striker in Turkish football history and one of the finest in European football of his era.
Honours
- UEFA Cup: Galatasaray (2000) — defeating Arsenal in the final
- UEFA Super Cup: Galatasaray (2000)
- Süper Lig x5: Galatasaray — the most by any Turkish striker
- World Cup's Fastest Goal: 11 seconds vs South Korea — the all-time World Cup record
- Turkey All-Time Top Scorer: 51 goals in 112 appearances — the national record
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