Ufuk Talay

Ufuk Talay (born 26 March 1976) is an Australian football coach and former player. Talay was suited to play in central midfield and was known for his good distribution and on-field vision.[1] He is the current manager of Wellington Phoenix.[2]

Ufuk Talay
Personal information
Full name Ufuk Talay
Date of birth (1976-03-26) 26 March 1976
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 Marconi Stallions 42 (4)
1995–2002 Galatasaray 28 (1)
1996–1997 → Antalyaspor (loan) 12 (0)
1997–1998 → Karabükspor (loan) 20 (3)
1999–2000 → Bursaspor (loan) 24 (1)
2001 → Bursaspor (loan) 0 (0)
2001–2002 → Nîmes Olympique (loan) 12 (2)
2002–2004 Gaziantepspor 15 (0)
2004–2005 Mersin İdmanyurdu 23 (1)
2005–2008 Sydney FC 59 (6)
2008 Avispa Fukuoka 37 (5)
2009–2011 North Queensland Fury 33 (3)
2011 Sydney United (0)
Total 305 (26)
National team‡
1994–1995 Australia U-20 10 (1)
Teams managed
2012 Sydney United (assistant)
2012–2016 AIS (assistant)
2013–2016 Australia U-17 (assistant)
2016–2018 Australia U-20
2018–2019 Sydney FC (assistant)
2019– Wellington Phoenix
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:47, 13 February 2011 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:30, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Club career

Talay first entered a national competition for Marconi-Fairfield in the now defunct NSL, as first an understudy to Steve Corica and later as a midfield partner. He made his debut late in the 92/93 season, playing the last six regular season games and scoring in the final round. Marconi went on to win the grand final with seventeen-year-old Talay watching as an unused substitute. Talay remained with Marconi for a further two years, becoming a regular starter in the first team.

Turkey

Seeking a more promising career to build on his NSL and national team experience, Talay joined Turkish giants Galatasaray in the Turkish Super League. He spent time on loan out to other sides in the Turkish top flight and lower divisions with Antalyaspor, Karabükspor and Bursaspor, followed by a brief six-month stint in the French second division with Nîmes Olympique, before Galatasaray transferred him to Gaziantepspor in 2002. He shortly moved again to second division side Mersin Idman Yurdu, before being enticed to return to Australia with Sydney FC in the new A-League competition.

Sydney FC

As the sixteenth player signed to the inaugural Sydney FC squad, Talay sought to reignite his football career and at Sydney was reunited with former Marconi teammates Corica and Matthew Bingley, as well as Clint Bolton and Robbie Middleby whom shared the experience of the Youth World Cup. He has been described by Socceroo Josip Skoko as "the best player to never represent Australia", and Talay has expressed his desire for a full international cap. A motivation for his return to Australia is "the chance to get back in the spotlight and get that Aussie shirt".[3]

His first season was cut short by a knee injury, missing the last seven games (including the grand final) after solid performances in the A-League and Club World Cup. As the 2006/07 season started, Talay found himself on the outer as new coach Terry Butcher favoured a central pairing of Terry McFlynn and Mark Milligan. His early appearances of the season were as a late substitute, before other injuries opened the opportunity to win back a first team place, which he held for the remainder of the year. He also took over penalty-duties for the side, making the most of the opportunity twice in the year. Two yellow cards in the final league match saw Talay suspended for Sydney's first leg final against Newcastle but on return for the second leg he could not prevent the club's elimination.

Following the close of the A-League season, Sydney proceeded on to the AFC Champions League 2007 competition. Talay played all six group-stage games, scoring goals against Shanghai Shenhua and Urawa. In the return match against Shanghai Shenhua, he sensationally hit the crossbar from the penalty spot, Sydney eventually drawing the match 0–0.[4]'

Talay remains with Sydney for the 2007/08 season, continuing into the final season of his original three-year contract, playing every game of the season except one (due to suspension after receiving a fourth yellow card for the year the previous match). In December 2007, it was announced that he would follow former Sydney FC teammate Mark Rudan to Japan, signing with second division side Avispa Fukuoka, the move completed in February at the close of Sydney's season.[5]

Avispa Fukuoka

Talay Joined fellow Australians Mark Rudan and Newcastle's Joel Griffiths becoming the third Australian in their squad. He was an immediate success, scoring twice in three games, and netting a third in his fifth game.

North Queensland Fury FC

Talay returned to Australia in 2009 after signing a two-year deal with newly established A-League franchise North Queensland Fury FC, after expressing interest in returning home to his family. He played in their inaugural year, the A-League 2009-10 season and the following season. Talay was recommended as captain by former teammate Robbie Middleby.

Sydney United

Despite announcing his retirement once North Queensland Fury folded, It was announced on 12 March 2011 that Talay had signed for NSW Premier League club Sydney United.[6]

International career

His first national level selection was for the Young Socceroos in 1994. He joined the squad in a number of Youth World Cup qualifiers and retained his place for the 1995 Youth World Cup in Qatar.[7]

In January 2008, he was named by coach Pim Verbeek in a 22-man Socceroos training camp squad, made up entirely of A-League players,[8] in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup third round qualifiers in Sydney.[9] However, he did not make the final 39-man squad for the qualifiers.[10]

Coaching career

Talay was assistant coach at the FFA Centre of Excellence and the Australia under-17 team, before replacing Paul Okon as head coach of the under-20 team in September 2016.[11] In June 2018, he left his role with the national set-up to join Sydney FC as assistant to Steve Corica, a teammate during his previous spell at the club.[12]

Wellington Phoenix

On 4 May 2019, Talay was announced as head coach for the Wellington Phoenix for the upcoming 2019–20 A-League season.[2] In his first press conference, Talay expressed his idea of building a young team with a strong Kiwi core. Talay had a positive start to his managerial tenure with the Wellington Phoenix when he led them to a 7–0 victory over Wairarapa United in a pre-season friendly in his first match in charge.[13]

His tenure started with four consecutive defeats, the worst start in club history. However, Talay helped the Phoenix achieve a top three finish for the first time in the Phoenix's 13-year history, capping off of a historic season which included a club record-equalling four match winning streak and a nine-match unbeaten run from 10 Nov 2019 to 11 Jan 2020. Talay introduced a fast-paced, free-flowing style of Phoenix football that had many pundits branding the Phoenix as the A-League's most exciting team to watch.[14] Talay reiterated his commitment to the Phoenix, knocking back offers from A-league clubs Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers.

In mid-2020, Talay's first year at the helm of Wellington was honoured when he was voted as A-League Coach of the Year.[15]

Personal life

Talay is of Turkish descent,[9][16] and is able to speak Turkish fluently.[17]

Honours

Marconi Stallions

Galatasaray

Sydney FC

Managerial statistics
As of 20 September 2020[18]
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Wellington Phoenix FC 4 May 2019 Present 27 12 5 10 044.44
Total 27 12 5 10 044.44

Club statistics

(correct as of 17 December 2018)[19][20][21]

Club Season League[lower-alpha 1] Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental[lower-alpha 3] Other[lower-alpha 4] Total
Division Apps Gls Apps Gls Apps Gls Apps Gls Apps Gls
Marconi-Fairfield 1992–93 NSL 6100——61
1993–94NSL 211––——211
1994–95NSL 15200——152
Marconi total 42400——424
Galatasaray 1995–96 1.Lig 1217000—191
1996–971.Lig 100000—10
1997–981.Lig 000000—00
1998–991.Lig 804010—130
1999–001.Lig 000000—00
2000–011.Lig 000000—00
2001–02Süper Lig 000000—00
Galatasaray total 21111010—331
Antalyaspor (loan) 1996–971.Lig 121------121
Karabükspor (loan) 1997–981.Lig 203------203
Bursaspor (loan) 1999–001.Lig 241------241
Bursaspor (loan) 2001Süper Lig 00------00
Nîmes Olympique (loan) 2001–02 Division 2 122------122
Gaziantepspor 2002–03Süper Lig 150------150
2003–04Süper Lig ??------??
Mersin İdmanyurdu 2004–05 Lig A 231------??
Sydney FC 2005–06A-League 161—4171273
2006–07A-League 212—6240314
2007–08A-League 223——51274
Sydney total 596—1031118511
Avispa Fukuoka 2008 J2 League 375------275
North Queensland Fury 2009–10A-League 110———110
2010–11A-League 223———203
North Queensland total 333———333
Career total 2612711011311129431
  1. National Soccer League and A-League statistics include final series matches
  2. Includes the NSL Cup, Turkish Cup, Coupe de France, and Emperor's Cup
  3. Includes the UEFA Champions League (Galatasaray), O-League, and AFC Champions League (Sydney FC)
  4. Includes A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, OFC Club Championship Qualifying Tournament, and FIFA Club World Cup

References
  1. Cockerill, Michael (8 November 2006). "Talay vision worth seeing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  2. "Wellington Phoenix Announce New Head Coach". Wellington Phoenix. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  3. Cockerill, Michael (5 February 2005). "Bigger and better, Talay's new mission is to be noticed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  4. "Sydney FC 0 Shanghai Shenhua 0". 9 May 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  5. "Talay joins Japanese exodus". FourFourTwo Australia. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  6. "Talay signs for United". NSW Premier League. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  7. "Australia Squad". FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. Cowley, Michael (3 January 2008). "Verbeek opens door for Talay to fulfil a dream". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  9. Field, Katherine (2 January 2008). "Be-Talay-te than never". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  10. Michael, Cockerill (24 January 2008). "Socceroos snub won't throw Talay, Corica off their game: Kosmina". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  11. "Ufuk Talay appointed as Young Socceroos Coach". Football Federation Australia. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  12. "Ufuk Talay replaces Phil Moss at Sydney FC". Yahoo!. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  13. https://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/news/wellington-phoenix-enjoy-winning-start-pre-season
  14. https://www.wellingtonphoenix.com/news/open-letter-wellington-phoenix-general-manager-david-dome
  15. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2020/08/football-wellington-phoenix-s-ufuk-talay-named-as-coach-of-a-league-team-of-the-season.html
  16. "Ufuk Talay player profile". Sydney FC. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  17. Beattie, Chris (16 November 2008). "Ufuk Talay: Harry Kewell, Bruce Djite can succeed in Turkey". Tribal Football. Yahoo!7 Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  18. "Ufuk Talay". ALeagueStats. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  19. OzFootball Archives
  20. Galatasaray SK Unofficial
  21. A-League – Fixtures and Results
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