Hakan Ünsal

Infobox football biography
playername = Hakan Ünsal


dateofbirth = May 14, 1973
cityofbirth = Sinop
countryofbirth = Turkey
years = 1993-1994
1994-2002
2002-2003
2003-2005
2005-2006

clubs = Karabükspor
Galatasaray
Blackburn Rovers
Galatasaray
Çaykur Rizespor
caps(goals)=29 (2)
147 (15)
8 (0)
69 (2)
11 (0)
nationalyears =1995-2003
nationalteam =Turkey
nationalcaps(goals) = 43 (0)

Hakan Ünsal (born May 14, 1973 in Sinop) is a retired Turkish football player.

Hakan Ünsal is remembered for his rocket left foot and his pinpoint passing as well as his nonstop desire for victory. He played most of his career at Galatasaray after joining from Karabükspor in 1993/94. After being a part of the squad that won the UEFA Cup, Hakan moved to Blackburn Rovers of the English Premiership in January 2002. His return to Galatasaray was rapid as he was once again in Galatasaray colours for the 2002/03 season. After leaving Galatasaray following the 2004/05 season, he had a brief stint with Çaykur Rizespor before retiring from football.

He played for Turkey national football team and was a participant at the 2002 FIFA World Cup where he collected his third place medal.

He is most famous for an incident during the World Cup when Brazil played Turkey. Rivaldo was about to take a corner and Hakan kicked the ball at him as he was annoyed about the time Rivaldo was taking, delaying the game, as Brazil was winning 2-1. The ball hit Rivaldo on his legs but he collapsed dramatically holding his face and consequently Ünsal was sent off and Brazil went on to win the match. Rivaldo was fined, but the sanctions were criticised as too lenient.

Ünsal is also remembered for his high level of sportmanship on the field.

Hakan currently works as a pundit for Turkish sports show Altipas. And he also presents a TV show on NTV Spor called 100% Futbol.

Honours

* Galatasaray
** UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2000)
** UEFA Cup: 1 (2000)

* Turkey
** UEFA Euro 2000 Quarter-Finalist
** FIFA World Cup 2002: 3rd place