Selçuk İnan

Early career

İnan was born in Iskenderun on 10 February 1985. By the age of 14, he was spotted by scouting agents and immediately signed by one of the local clubs, Karaağaçspor. His multidimensional style of play and unique footballing mind were soon noticed by Dardanel Spor. At professional level, İnan scored his first goal in a league match against Antalyaspor on 1 December 2002, when he was only 17. İnan began his professional career as a 14-year-old with Karaağaçspor before signing for Dardanelspor in 2000. He played there until his move to Manisaspor in 2005, where he spent three seasons. In 2008, İnan signed for Trabzonspor under the management of Ersun Yanal, who had previously coached him at Manisaspor. He scored twice against Ankaraspor in his first Süper Lig match with Trabzonspor and later netted the club’s 2,000th league goal in a match against İstanbul BB on 1 November 2008. İnan established a prolific partnership with strikers Umut Bulut and Burak Yılmaz (his former teammate at Manisaspor). During İnan’s tenure, Trabzonspor enjoyed its most successful two seasons of the decade, notably finishing as runners-up in the 2010–11 Süper Lig season.

Galatasaray

2011–13: Early Galatasaray years

İnan agreed to a five-year deal on a free transfer with Galatasaray on 25 May 2011. He quickly took over the Galatasaray midfield from the day he set foot in Türk Telekom Arena. Partnering up with Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo, İnan began to…

Kasımpaşa

On 22 November 2022, İnan began his managerial career as the head coach of Kasımpaşa, signing a contract with the Süper Lig club. He left the position by mutual consent on 18 March 2023 after managing the team for 13 matches.

Gaziantep FK

On 8 March 2024, İnan was appointed as the head coach of Gaziantep FK, replacing Marius Șumudică. He successfully led the team to safety in the 2023–24 Süper Lig season, securing their place in the top flight. Following this achievement, the club announced a contract extension with İnan in June 2024 for the 2024–25 season. In the 2024–25 season, İnan managed the team until May 2025. On 10 May 2025, Gaziantep FK announced that they had parted ways with İnan by mutual agreement. During his tenure of approximately 14 months, he oversaw 48 matches, recording 20 wins, 7 draws, and 21 losses.

Kocaelispor

On 3 June 2025, İnan was appointed as the new head coach of Kocaelispor, which had recently been promoted to the Süper Lig after a 16-year absence. He signed a one-year contract with an option for an additional year, replacing İsmet Taşdemir. As of February 2026, he continues to manage the team in the Süper Lig.

Youth and early senior career

İnan has played at every level for Turkey from under-16 to the senior side. He made his debut against Moldova on 13 October 2007. Although he was called up back in February for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers match against Georgia, İnan could not join the team on the pitch due to injury. He also did not take action at the Euro 2008 group stage due to a two-game suspension received prior to the tournament. İnan played at every game in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers and made six assists to his teammates in total, although it was not enough for the Turks to qualify for the tournament's final stages, in Poland and Ukraine. İnan scored his first international goal on 24 May 2012 in a 3–1 friendly match victory over Georgia.

Controversy with Turkey manager Avcı

During Turkey's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, Turkey manager Abdullah Avcı insisted on not playing İnan despite his great run of form with Galatasaray. Many Turkish fans refused to believe it was a tactical issue but was rather a case that had been played out off the pitch. After a multiple games without İnan, Turkish fans began blaming the manager due to the unsuccessful results in qualifying. In a qualifier against Estonia, however, Avcı made a substitution in the 65th minute and İnan finally had his chance after a long period of dissension. The midfielder scored immediately and secured the win for Turkey. İnan, however, did not celebrate his goal and had a quiet statement…

İnan often remains private and is not often seen in the media. He has two elder sisters and lives as a single person residing in Florya, Istanbul, near Galatasaray's main training facility, the Florya Metin Oktay Sports Complex and Training Center. İnan and former Galatasaray teammate Burak Yılmaz are close friends and have played together in four different club and national team set-ups, beginning with the Turkey U17 team. They also grew up knowing one another. Other clubs the two have played together on are Manisaspor, Trabzonspor and lastly Galatasaray. İnan married Cemre Kardeş on 16 June 2015. Their daughter, Lisa Alvin, was born on 19 September 2019.