Quick Facts
TaurusBiography
Rüştü Reçber ([ˈɾyʃty ˈɾetʃbeɾ]; born 10 May 1973) is a retired Turkish international footballer and a current sports executive. During his professional career, he played as a goalkeeper for Antalyaspor, Fenerbahçe, Barcelona and Beşiktaş.
Rüştü had got a key role in the success of the Turkish national squad, and it was at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where Turkey finished third, that his performances saw him selected for the tournament's all-star team. He is Turkey's record appearance holder, having earned 120 caps. He made his debut against Iceland in 1994 and his final appearance came against Finland in 2012.
Rüştü was named the best goalkeeper in European competitions in 2002, selected for the 2002 UEFA Team of the Year by public vote. In 2004, he was selected to FIFA 100 by Pelé as one of the 125 best living footballers in the world. Rüştü retired from international level after UEFA Euro 2008 with 118 international caps to his name but was called to play against Spain on 28 March 2009 and 1 April and played a final 'farewell' match against Finland in May 2012.
Club career
1985–1991: Early years
Born in Korkuteli, Rüştü was first discovered by goalkeeper coach Ilie Datcu and was later introduced to Fatih Terim. Terim was impressed by Rüştü and told the goalkeeper he would someday become Turkey's greatest ever goalkeeper, even though he was the 3rd choice goalkeeper of his club. Terim recommended Rüştü to the big three clubs of Istanbul: Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş. In 1993, Rüştü signed a contract with Beşiktaş. However, shortly afterwards, he got into a car crash in which he was injured and, consequently, he failed to pass the medical. The transfer was canceled.
1993–2003: Fenerbahçe
At the beginning of the 1993–94 season, he signed a contract with Fenerbahçe. Rüştü was loaned back to Antalyaspor for the season. During the 1994–95 season, the first choice goalkeeper Engin İpekoğlu of Fenerbahçe and the Turkish national team got injured and Rüştü was handed the opportunity to prove himself, rising to the occasion. For the next nine seasons, his spots both in Fenerbahçe and the national team were uncontested. Rüştü won four Süper Lig titles during his tenure at Fenerbahçe and was considered one of the best goalkeeper that Fenerbahçe ever had. Rüştü is also 2nd most capped goalkeeper of Fenerbahçe with 294 games, following Volkan Demirel, the record holder as of 2015.
2004–2006: Barcelona
After spending nine seasons with Turkish football team Fenerbahçe, Rüştü was available on free transfer. Offers came from AC Milan, Barcelona, Internazionale, Valencia, Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus, and Liverpool. Rüştü was very close to signing for Arsenal, but he had a dispute with manager Arsène Wenger and the transfer was cancelled; instead, he was transferred to La Liga giants Barcelona. Rüştü had a successful pre-season with Barcelona in his first season, until injury hit him. The opening match day of La Liga arrived, and Rüştü made his full recovery a day beforehand. Manager Frank Rijkaard chose to play Víctor Valdés because Rüştü's Spanish was still very weak. Rüştü was upset by this, saying "It is not normal for a goalkeeper of my history and caliber to be left out because I don't speak Spanish." Everything went downhill from there, and after a short, uneventful spell with Barcelona, he returned to Fenerbahçe, initially on loan.
2007–2012: Beşiktaş
After winning the league title for a third time with Fenerbahçe in 2006–07, Rüştü had a dispute with the club concerning his future role in the team. Volkan Demirel became the first choice for Fenerbahçe and now Rüştü was the second choice. Beşiktaş saw this opportunity to sign Rüştü, who was a free agent at the time. After the transfer, Fenerbahçe fans were enraged by his decision to move to a rival team. Despite the persistence of injuries, Rüştü was able to play a major role in helping the club win the Süper Lig in 2008–09 and has provided some memorable performances for Beşiktaş, most notably against Manchester United in a Champions League group game at Old Trafford on 25 November 2009 where he produced a number of world-class saves to secure a famous 1–0 win. The result was especially sweet for Rüştü, who conceded six goals on his last visit to Old Trafford with Fenerbahçe.
Rüştü's most recent success came in the 2010–11 Turkish Cup where he played all 120 minutes, including penalties, as the club won the tournament.
International career
FIFA World Cup 2002
Turkey finished third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, with Rüştü one of the impressing players making his way into the "Team of the Tournament". The tournament enhanced his reputation and Rüştü caught the attention of the big European clubs. However, Rüştü had made a promise to the Fenerbahçe fans before the World Cup that he would see out his contract, which ended after the 2002–03 season.
Euro 2008
With Turkey's first choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel suspended, Rüştü started their quarter-final match against Croatia. He was the captain of the team for the final handful of minutes due to substitution of injured Nihat Kahveci. A questionable foray from his goalmouth allowed Croatia to score the match's first goal with a minute remaining in extra time. Rüştü immediately made amends for his mistake though, assisting on Semih Şentürk's injury time goal in the 122nd minute. In the ensuing penalty shootout, he faced four kicks, saving the last one to secure Turkey's victory in the shootout and enabling Turkey to progress to the Euro semi-finals for the first time ever. In the aftermath of the semi-final game with Germany, he announced his retirement from the national team. However, he was since called up against Spain for a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. He was called up for the last time for Turkey in a game against Finland on 26 May 2012. This was the last game he played for Turkey, which he served successfully for 18 years.
Style of play
Rüştü was renowned as a gifted shot-stopper, possessed an excellent positional sense. Using his height, he was also able to come up for high balls. He also possessed strong reflexes and good deflecting ability. Known as a penalty stopper, his shoot-out performance against Croatia in the UEFA Euro 2008 quarter-finals was described as heroic by UEFA in 2015. He was featured in a UEFA Training Ground series video under the title of Rüştü's Turkish Delight, in which he was described as a Master of Penalties. He was an eccentric goalkeeper, who also stood out for his charismatic personality. He was also adept at taking goal kicks and clearing backpasses.
Personal life
Rüştü is married to Işıl Reçber (née: Kepe) and the couple have a son and a daughter. The couple first met in period when Rüştü just signed for Fenerbahçe from Antalyaspor, in 1994. Rüştü used to be a Galatasaray supporter in his childhood. His son, Burak, born in 2007, plays football at Galatasaray academy.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 August 2014.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | European Competition | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Burdurgücü | 1990–91 | 3. Lig | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Antalyaspor | 1991–92 | 2. Lig | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1992–93 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94 | 33 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 33 | 0 | ||
| Total | 34 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 34 | 0 | ||
| Fenerbahçe | 1994–95 | 1. Lig | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 0 | ||
| 1998–99 | 30 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Süper Lig | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | 24 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 240 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 296 | 0 | ||
| Barcelona | 2003–04 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Fenerbahçe | 2004–05 | Süper Lig | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | 8 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 54 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 75 | 0 | ||
| Beşiktaş | 2007–08 | Süper Lig | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 99 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 124 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 432 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 68 | 0 | 537 | 0 | ||
International
- As of match played 26 May 2012.
| Turkey national team | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995 | 10 | 0 |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 |
| 1998 | 5 | 0 |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 |
| 2000 | 9 | 0 |
| 2001 | 10 | 0 |
| 2002 | 13 | 0 |
| 2003 | 13 | 0 |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 |
| 2006 | 10 | 0 |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 120 | 0 |
Honours
Club
Fenerbahçe
- Süper Lig: 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007
- Atatürk Cup Winners: 1998
Beşiktaş
- Süper Lig: 2009
- Türkiye Kupası: 2009, 2011
International
Turkey
- UEFA Euro 2000: Quarter-Finalist
- FIFA World Cup 2002 Third-Place
- 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Third-Place
- UEFA Euro 2008: Semi-Finalist
Individual
- FIFA World Cup All Star Team: 2002
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2002
- IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the Year 2002: 3rd
- IFFHS Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century: 23rd
- FIFA 100