Vedat Okyar

Vedat Okyar

Personal information
Date of birth	August 1945
Place of birth	Bursa, Turkey
Date of death	20 July 2009(2009-07-20) (age 64)
Place of death	Istanbul, Turkey
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Yücespor
	Adaletspor
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1963–1968	Bursaspor
1968–1976	Beşiktaş	253	(21)
1976–1977	Diyarbakırspor
1977–1980	Karagümrük
National team
1969–1971	Turkey	33	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Vedat Okyar (August 1945 – 20 July 2009) was a Turkish international footballer who later became a sports journalist.

Early life

Vedat Okyar was born in Bursa August 1945. He played amateur football for Yücespor and Adaletspor before becoming a professional in 1965.

Career

Football career

Okyar played professionally as a midfielder for Bursaspor, Beşiktaş, Diyarbakırspor and Karagümrük. He was club captain of Beşiktaş between 1975 and 1976, and he also earned thirty-three caps for the Turkish national side.

Journalism career

After retiring as a professional footballer at age 42, Okyar became a sports journalist.

Death

Okyar died of colorectal cancer in a Istanbul hospital on 20 July 2009, aged 64. Following the religious funeral service at Teşvikiye Mosque, he was laid to rest at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.