Ümit Aydın Davala (born 30 July 1973) is a Turkish former international footballer. He was assistant manager at Galatasaray between 2011 and 2013.
Club career
Davala played with VfR Mannheim, ASV Feudenheim, Türkspor Mannheim, Afyonspor, Genclerbirligi, Diyarbakırspor and Istanbulspor AS before joining Galatasaray in 1997. He won three successive Turkish championships. In 2000, he helped the club to win the Turkish Football Cup by scoring two goals in the final against Beşiktaş. In same year, he helped the club win the UEFA Cup final against Arsenal and the European Super Cup against Real Madrid.
In September 2001, Davala transferred to A.C. Milan in a 5 million euro 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. But in November, Terim was fired and replaced by Carlo Ancelotti, after which Ümit lost his first-team place. In June 2002, he was sold to Internazionale Milano in exchange for Dario Šimić, but was immediately loaned back to Galatasaray.[1] In July 2003, Ümit was loaned to Werder Bremen, helping the club win the German Championship and German Cup. In July 2004, he was signed permanently, 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 he was released by the club, and retired from professional football.
International career
Davala was in the squad of Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In the latter tournament, he stood out for his mohawk hair style and scored a goal against China in the group stages, 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
Futsal
After retiring from professional football, he played futsal and became captain of the Turkey national futsal team in the UEFA Futsal Championship.[2]
Coaching career
Ümit Davala had been the head coach of Turkey national under-21 football team until June 2008. He joined Galatasaray S.K. as an assistant manager on 11 June 2008. After a loss to Bursaspor, the Galatasaray board stated that “radical changes†were on the way. And, true to their word, the board declared that assistant coaches Umit Davala and Edwin Boekamp were sacked on 10 October 2008 after a brief chat with club president Adnan Polat.[3] He joined Galatasaray S.K. again as an assistant manager in June 2011.
Honours
Galatasaray
Werder Bremen
References
External links