Tuncay Sanli is a Turkish Footballer born on January 16, 1982 in Sakarya. Fondly called “Cesur Yurek” and “Fenerbahçe’Nin Yuregi”, he plays as a Striker as well as a Midfielder. Tuncay Sanli was included into the Turkey national football team in 2002. He was a part of the squad that finished 3rd and also won the Silver Ball and Silver Shoe at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Confederations Cup in 2003. He became the second best player of the tournament and also the second top-scorer, with 3 goals and 1 assist. He played goalkeeper in the group stage match of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2008, in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Czech Republic. Tuncay Sanli scored his hat-trick for Turkey in a World Cup Qualifying play-off match against Switzerland.
Tuncay Sanli spent early years of his career at Sakaryaspor as a right winger. He plied his trade in the 2nd division and went on to make 66 appearances for the club scoring 32 times. In 2002, he went to Fenerbahçe S.K. on a transfer, where he began playing first as a forward and then as a left winger. Tuncay Sanli created history in 2004, as he became the first Turkish player ever to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League, scoring all of the 3 goals in Fenerbahçe's 3–0 victory over the Premier League side, Manchester United. Tuncay Sanli holds the honor of becoming the second player to ever score a hat trick against Manchester United in Europe. During his stint with Fenerbahçe S.K., Tuncay Sanli made 204 appearances scoring 77 times and was part of the team that lifted the Turkish Super League title in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
The all-time top scorer for Fenerbahçe in European cups with 12 goals, Tuncay Sanli joined Middlesbrough F.C in July 2007 and made his debut in Boros shirt against German team, Schalke 04. He scored his first Premiership goal in a draw with Reading F.C. in December 2007 and his 4th goal of the season helped in a 1-0 win over Portsmouth F.C. Tuncay Sanli struck the winning goal against Derby County, a fine volley from a Stewart Downing cross that won ‘BBC Match of the Day’, ‘Goal of the Month for December 2007’, and was later nominated for ‘Goal of the Season’. In his first season for Middlesbrough, he became their second leading goal scorer with 8 goals. A versatile footballer, Tuncay Sanli is widely known for his energy, flair and dribbling skills.
