Quick Facts
Biography
Ümit Aydın Davala (born 30 July 1973) is a Turkish football coach and former international player, who is the co-assistant manager of Galatasaray, alongside co-assistant manager Hasan Şaş and manager Fatih Terim.
Club career
Davala played with VfR Mannheim, ASV Feudenheim, Türkspor Mannheim, Afyonspor, Diyarbakırspor and İstanbulspor before joining Galatasaray in 1997. He won three successive Turkish championships. In 2000, he helped the club to win the Turkish Cup by scoring two goals in the final against Beşiktaş. In the same year, he helped the club win the 2000 UEFA Cup final against Arsenal and the 2000 UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid.
In September 2001, Davala transferred to Milan in a €5 million deal. He made the transfer because he wanted to follow his former coach at Galatasaray, Fatih Terim, who had been named head coach of Milan. However, in November, Terim was fired and replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, after which Davala lost his first-team place.
In June 2002, Davala was sold to Internazionale in exchange for Dario Šimić, but was immediately loaned to Galatasaray. In July 2003, Davala was loaned to Werder Bremen, helping the club win the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. In July 2004, he was signed permanently by Bremen, but injuries limited his appearances. A hip injury suffered in October 2005 proved too difficult, and over the winter break of the 2005–06 season, Davala was released by the club. He subsequently retired from professional football.
International career
Davala was part of the Turkey squads for UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In the latter, he stood out for his mohawk hair style and scored a goal against PR China in the group stage, adding the winner against Japan in the second round. He also provided the cross that resulted on İlhan Mansız's golden goal against Senegal in the quarter-finals. Turkey would finish the tournament in third place.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 28 March 2001 | Skopje, Macedonia |  Macedonia | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 13 June 2002 | Seoul, South Korea |  China PR | 3–0 | 3–0 | FIFA World Cup 2002 |
| 3. | 18 June 2002 | Miyagi, Japan |  Japan | 0–1 | 0–1 | FIFA World Cup 2002 |
| 4. | 16 October 2002 | Istanbul, Turkey |  Liechtenstein | 0–2 | 0–5 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
Futsal
After retiring from professional football, Davala played futsal and became captain of the Turkey national futsal team in the UEFA Futsal Championship.
Coaching career
Davala had been the head coach of Turkey national under-21 team until June 2008. He then joined Galatasaray S.K. as an assistant manager on 11 June 2008. After a loss to Bursaspor, the Galatasaray board stated "radical changes" were on the way, and, true to its word, the board declared that assistant coaches Davala and Edwin Boekamp were sacked on 10 October 2008 after a brief chat with club president Adnan Polat. However, Davala rejoined Galatasaray as an assistant manager again in June 2011.
Music career
Davala released several rap themed songs, just after he retired from football. One was a collaboration with Kayahan.
Honours
Galatasaray
- Süper Lig: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000
- Turkish Cup: 1995–96, 1998–99, 1999–2000
- UEFA Cup: 1999–2000
- UEFA Super Cup: 2000
Werder Bremen
- Bundesliga: 2003–04
- DFB-Pokal: 2003–04