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Former Turkey international Nihat Kahveci retires from football
The experienced striker, who made his mark at Real Sociedad, has decided to hang up his boots after more than six months without a club
17 Jan 2012 19:41:00
By Luis Mira
Nihat Kahveci (Getty)
Nihat Kahveci has announced that he is retiring from football with immediate effect.
The 32-year-old had been without a club since Besiktas terminated his contract in May after a sub-par campaign in which he failed to score in 17 appearances.
"I would like to share my decision to put an end to my professional career as a footballer," a statement from Nihat read.
Nihat broke into Besiktas' first team in 1997 and featured for the Istanbul-based club until 2002, when he moved to Real Sociedad.
At the Primera Division club, the striker formed a great partnership with Darko Kovacevic and finished joint second with Real Madrid's Ronaldo in the scoring charts in 2002-03.
Nihat also played at Villarreal between 2006 and 2009 before returning to Besiktas, where he failed to make his mark and even clashed with team-mate Ricardo Quaresma and a journalist.
He won 69 caps for Turkey, helping his country to a third-placed finish at the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan.
The 32-year-old had been without a club since Besiktas terminated his contract in May after a sub-par campaign in which he failed to score in 17 appearances.
| Bet: | Returns: | Turkey £25.00 | Draw £33.00 | Ukraine £25.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Turkey £25.00 | Draw £31.00 | Ukraine £25.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Turkey £25.00 | Draw £32.00 | Ukraine £27.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Turkey £24.50 | Draw £32.00 | Ukraine £26.50 |
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"I would like to share my decision to put an end to my professional career as a footballer," a statement from Nihat read.
Nihat broke into Besiktas' first team in 1997 and featured for the Istanbul-based club until 2002, when he moved to Real Sociedad.
At the Primera Division club, the striker formed a great partnership with Darko Kovacevic and finished joint second with Real Madrid's Ronaldo in the scoring charts in 2002-03.
Nihat also played at Villarreal between 2006 and 2009 before returning to Besiktas, where he failed to make his mark and even clashed with team-mate Ricardo Quaresma and a journalist.
He won 69 caps for Turkey, helping his country to a third-placed finish at the 2002 World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan.
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