Emre Belozoglu

Biography

Emre Belözoðlu, also known as Emre or Belözoðlu Emre (born 07 September 1980 in Ýstanbul) is a Turkish football player. He is a midfielder for FA Premier League club Newcastle United and the Turkish national team.

Belözoðlu was developed by Turkish club Galatasaray, and made his first appearance for the club's senior squad as a 16-year-old in the 1996-97 season. The following year, he became a regular, and continued with the club through the 2000-01 season, picking up a UEFA Cup winners' medal in 2000. In 2001, he transferred to Internazionale. He was one of the best players in the Turkish team that finished a surprising third at the 2002 World Cup.

Emre was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

On July 14 2005, Newcastle agreed a £3.8m fee with Internazionale for Emre, and he signed a contract with the club. Emre announced that one of his influences on joining Newcastle was his respect for manager Graeme Souness.

Emre scored his first goal for Newcastle against Yeading F.C. in a 5-0 friendly game, he then got his first premier league goal by scoring a free-kick against local rivals Sunderland in October 2005.

After the post-match brawl in the World Cup qualifiers with Switzerland, Emre was banned for Turkey's next six matches. Fined CHF 15,000 (£6,622) plus costs of CHF 1,000 (£440) for his part in the brawl.