Muzzy Izzet

Leicester City

Izzet signed as a schoolboy for Chelsea, but never made a first team appearance during three years at the London club. He moved to Leicester City in March 1996 on loan for the rest of the season. He became a regular in the side, scoring one goal. When Leicester beat Crystal Palace in the play-offs, Izzet was able to make his move permanent for a fee of £800,000. He kept his place in the side for their Premier League season, which was successful for City. They came 9th in the Premier League, and won the League Cup. Izzet formed a partnership in midfield with Neil Lennon, which proved vital for Leicester.

In the 1998–99 season, Leicester came 10th in league, and reaching the League Cup final again, but lost out to Tottenham Hotspur. The following season, Leicester came 8th, and again got to the League Cup Final, this time coming up against Tranmere Rovers, of Division One. This year they won 2–1, with Matt Elliott getting both goals. Izzet had been a regular in the side through all of this time. After Martin O'Neill left to become manager of Scottish club Celtic, Izzet remained a Leicester player. His time at Leicester attracted interest from West Ham and Middlesbrough, but he did not leave the club. Despite pledging to stay at Leicester prior to the start of the 2001-02 season, Izzet submitted a transfer request in the autumn of 2001. However, he rejected a move to Middlesbrough as he did not want to be seen to be "jumping ship". He issued a plea to…

Izzet qualified for the Turkey national side through his Turkish-Cypriot father. He was included in the Turkey squad for Euro 2000, making his debut and sole appearance in the tournament in the group stage as Turkey drew 0–0 with Sweden. He was also part of the squad for the 2002 World Cup, featuring again just once, as a substitute in the 1–0 semi-final defeat to Brazil. In total, Izzet made nine appearances for the national side.

Izzet now runs a football academy with fellow former professional footballer and former Leicester teammate Steve Walsh. In September 2015 Izzet's autobiography was published, titled Muzzy: My Story. The autobiography was co-written with Leicester Mercury writer Lee Marlow. Izzet is an ambassador for Dorothy Goodman School, a Special Educational Needs school in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

His father is a Turkish Cypriot who came to England as a small boy, and his mother is English. His younger brother, Kemal, also became a professional footballer. According to Kemal, their father pushed both him and Muzzy into becoming footballers, due to his passion of the sport.