Gürsel Aksel

Gürsel Aksel (10 May 1937 – 13 October 1978), was a Turkish former footballer who played as a midfielder. Aksel spent his entire professional career with Göztepe, and is their most capped player in their history. He had 3 caps with the Turkey national football team, and after retiring was briefly a manager before his untimely death in 1978.

Gürsel Aksel
Personal information
Full name Gürsel Aksel
Date of birth (1937-05-10)10 May 1937
Place of birth Uzunköprü, Turkey
Date of death 13 October 1978(1978-10-13) (aged 41)
Place of death Rize, Turkey
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1955–1959 Göztepe
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1972 Göztepe 390 (81)
National team‡
1964 Turkey U21 2 (0)
1965–1968 Turkey 3 (1)
Teams managed
1975–1976 Göztepe
1976–1977 Orduspor
1977–1978 Çaykur Rizespor
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2020

Professional career and death

Aksel joined Göztepe in 1955, at the same time as his brother Güler Aksel who was the first footballer to sign professionally for the team. He debuted professionally in 1959, and played 390 games with 81 goals over his 14 seasons with the team in the Süper Lig. He is the all-time appearance leader in the history of Göztepe, and their second-most prolific scorer.

After his career, Aksel had a brief stint in management with Göztepe, Orduspor, and Çaykur Rizespor. On 13 October 1978, Aksel died in an explosion in a gas station in Rize, Turkey. He was survived by his wife, and 2 children. Göztepe's home stadium, Gürsel Aksel Stadium, is named in his honour.[1]

Honours
Göztepe

References
  1. "Göztepe'nin 'Koca Kaptanı' Gürsel Aksel". www.aa.com.tr.
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