Colin Kazim-Richards

Colin Kazim-Richards

Colin Kazim-Richards playing for Bursaspor in 2014
Personal information
Full name Colin Kazim-Richards[1]
Date of birth (1986-08-26) 26 August 1986[1]
Place of birth Leytonstone, London, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 13
Youth career
1995–1997 Interwood
1997–1998 Queens Park Rangers
1998–2001 Arsenal
2001–2004 Bury
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2005 Bury 30 (3)
2005–2006 Brighton & Hove Albion 43 (6)
2006–2007 Sheffield United 27 (1)
2007–2011 Fenerbahçe 66 (5)
2010 → Toulouse (loan) 15 (2)
2011–2013 Galatasaray 31 (5)
2012 → Olympiacos (loan) 9 (1)
2012–2013 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 28 (3)
2013–2015 Bursaspor 16 (0)
2014–2015 → Feyenoord (loan) 27 (11)
2015–2016 Feyenoord 11 (1)
2016– Celtic 11 (1)
National team‡
2007 Turkey U21 5 (1)
2008 Turkey A2 1 (0)
2007– Turkey 37 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Colin Kazim-Richards (born 26 August 1986), also known as Colin Kâzım, Kâzım or Kâzım Kâzım, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Celtic and internationally for the Turkey national team. Born and raised in England, he qualified for Turkish nationality through his mother's heritage.[2] An anglicised form of the Turkish given name Kâzım was intended to be a middle name, which would have rendered his full name as Colin-Kazim Richards, but due to an error, he was legally registered as Colin Kazim-Richards.[2]

Having played as a junior for Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal, Kazim-Richards was handed a professional contract by Bury. He also went on to feature in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion before transferring to Premier League side Sheffield United where he remained for one season. He has since forged a career in Europe with Fenerbahçe, Toulouse, Galatasaray and Olympiacos. In 2007 he chose to represent Turkey at international level. As of January 2016 he has earned 37 caps, scoring twice.

Personal life

Born in London, Kazim-Richards attended Greenleaf Primary School in Walthamstow, where he developed an interest in football, which continued into his secondary education at Aveling Park, Walthamstow.[3] His mother is a Turkish Cypriot (which enabled him to join the Turkish national team), and his father is of Antiguan descent.[2]

In a 2008 interview he said:

It's difficult because half my family is Muslim, and the other half is Christian. I've always felt Turkish, though. My nene [grandmother], she can't speak English. Half of my family, their first language is Turkish, and so I went to Turkish school before I played football, although I can't remember any of it now.[4][5]

Club career

Bury

Kazim-Richards began his professional career at Bury, after joining the club at the age of 15 and progressing through the club's youth team and centre of excellence. He broke into the first team in the 2004–05 season, and his performances caught the attention of larger clubs.

Brighton & Hove Albion

At the age of 18, he was signed on a three-year contract by Brighton & Hove Albion for £250,000. The contract was signed after a fan of the club, Aaron Berry, won the sum for the club in a competition run by Coca-Cola which, in turn, led to Kazim-Richards being dubbed the "Coca-Cola Kid". He was often brought on as a second-half substitute, and by the end of the 2005–2006 season, he had scored six league goals for the club, including its 5,000th league goal. He submitted a transfer request after being omitted from the starting line-up of Brighton's opening match as they began their campaign in 2006–2007 against Rotherham.

Sheffield United

Subsequently, Brighton sold him to Sheffield United for £150,000 on 31 August 2006, the deadline day for the transfer window. Kazim-Richards signed a three-year deal with the Blades after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. He scored once for Sheffield United, in a 2–2 draw with Bolton Wanderers in November 2006.[6]

Fenerbahçe

Kazim-Richards with Fenerbahçe in 2008

On 15 June 2007, Kazim-Richards signed a four-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe.[7] He scored his second UEFA Champions League goal for Fenerbahçe in the quarter-final first leg against Chelsea on 2 April 2008. After serving as a rotation player during the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons, Kazim-Richards broke into Christoph Daum's first choice line-up in the 2009–10 season.

Despite success on the pitch during the 2009–10 season, Kazim-Richards had an argument with Fenerbahçe fans after being taken off the pitch in a match against İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor.[8] Against Beşiktaş, Kazim-Richards was red carded for swearing at the referee and banned for four matches.[9] While serving his ban, on the same night that his team mates lost to Kasimpasa, the media reported Kazim-Richards was out on the town. This report was denied by the Fenerbahçe board who released an official statement. The following day, pictures of Kazim-Richards were released and the Fenerbahçe board rescinded their earlier statement, claiming that Kazim-Richards had lied about his whereabouts which had triggered their denial of the report.[10]

Toulouse (loan)

Kazim-Richards joined French club Toulouse on a six-month loan from January 2010, for whom he scored on his debut in a 3–1 away win against Le Mans UC72.[11][12]

Galatasaray

He returned to Fenerbahçe for the following season.[13] On 3 January 2011, Fenerbahçe terminated his contract.[14] He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with local rivals Galatasaray in January 2011 scoring against Fenerbahçe during the season.[15] In July 2012 he went on trial with English Premier League side West Ham United, appearing in pre-season friendlies.[16][17] He played a total of thirty one matches scoring five goals.

Blackburn Rovers (loan)

Kazim-Richards (right) playing for Blackburn Rovers against Cardiff City in 2013

On 10 August 2012 it was confirmed by the official Blackburn Rovers website that the striker had joined the club on a one-year loan deal with the view to a permanent transfer after spending the majority of pre season on trial with the Lancashire club. He scored two goals on his debut in pre season against Irish team Cork City.[18] On 18 August he scored on his competitive debut in a 1–1 away draw against Ipswich Town.

On 24 May 2013 it was announced that Sussex Police had charged Kazim-Richards under Section 5 of the Public Order Act over an alleged homophobic gesture to Brighton fans on 12 February 2013 while he was playing for Blackburn Rovers in a Championship match at his old club Brighton and Hove Albion's Amex Stadium. He was due to appear before magistrates in Brighton on 22 August 2013.[19][20] The trial was set for 14 and 15 January 2014 at Brighton Magistrates Court.[21] He was found guilty in April 2014.[22]

Bursaspor

On 4 September 2013, Kazim-Richards joined Bursaspor for €250,000.[23] He signed a four-year deal and will earn €1 million per year.[24] Kazım scored his first official goal for Bursaspor in a Turkish Cup meeting against Adana Demirspor.

Feyenoord

After a successful loan spell at Feyenoord during the 2014-15 season, Kazim-Richards made a permanent move to the Dutch club in the summer of 2015.

Celtic

On 1 February 2016, Kazim-Richards joined Scottish club Celtic, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.[25] He scored his first goal for the club a Scottish Cup tie against East Kilbride on 7 February 2016.[26]

International career

Kazim-Richards scored and was credited with an assist in his debut for the Turkey under-21 team in a victory against Switzerland on 24 March 2007. On 30 April, the Turkish national coach Fatih Terim declared that Kazim-Richards would play for the senior team.[27]

Terim called him up for matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Brazil.[28] He received his first senior international cap in a 0–0 friendly draw against Brazil on 5 June 2007, a game in which he played 38 minutes. He was a member of Turkey's Euro 2008 squad, playing in all five matches as the side reached the semi-finals.

On 10 August 2011, he scored two goals in a friendly match against Estonia at Türk Telekom Arena.

On 15 January 2016, Kazim-Richards threatened Dutch Algemeen Dagblad newspaper journalist Mikos Gouka. As a consequence of this, Feyenoord trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst dropped him from the squad and he did not play the next match, against PSV.[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 April 2016[30]
Club Season League Cup[31] Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bury 2004–05 30320—323
Total 30320—323
Brighton & Hove Albion 2005–06 42620—446
2006–07 1000—10
Total 43620—456
Sheffield United 2006–07 27120—291
Total 27120—291
Fenerbahçe 2007–08 2805191422
2008–09 2225141314
2009–10 1131041164
2010–11 50101070
Total 6651221839610
Toulouse (loan) 2009–10 15230—182
Total 15230—182
Galatasaray 2010–11 13342—175
2011–12 18200—182
Total 31542—357
Olympiacos (loan) 2011–12 91000091
Total 91000091
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2012–13 28332—315
Total 28332—315
Bursaspor 2013–14 16052—212
Total 16052—212
Feyenoord (loan) 2014–15 271110713512
Total 271110713512
Feyenoord 2015–16 11143—154
Total 11143—154
Celtic 2015–16 11121—132
Total 11121—132
Career Total 31640401225437855

International

As of 31 March 2015.[32]
International statistics
National team Year Apps Goals
Turkey 2007 1 0
2008 14 0
2009 6 0
2010 7 0
2011 7 2
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014 0 0
2015 2 0
Total 37 2

References

  1. 1 2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2007). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2007–08. Mainstream Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-84596-246-3.
  2. 1 2 3 "I can handle the pressure insists new striker". The Argus. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Colin Kazim-Richards' biodata at www.football.co.uk
  4. ↑ Anna Kessel. "Bury, Brighton, Bramall Lane, Champions League". the Guardian.
  5. ↑ "Login".
  6. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (11 November 2006). "Sheff Utd 2–2 Bolton". BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Resmi Sitesi". Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi.
  8. ↑ "Koltuk Fener'de - H�rriyet". hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 5 April 2014. replacement character in |title= at position 20 (help)
  9. ↑ "Kazım'a 4 maç ceza - Sabah Spor - 26 Kasım 2009". sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Derinev.com. "Bilgilendirme | Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu Resmi Sitesi". fenerbahce.org. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Colin Kazim-Richards Joins Toulouse
  12. ↑ "KAZIM KAZIM - Futbolcu Bilgileri TFF".
  13. ↑ "superlignews.com". superlignews.com. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Colin Kazım'ın sözleşmesi feshedildi". 4 January 2011.
  15. ↑ "GALATASARAY.ORG".
  16. ↑ "Macca on Colchester victory". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "Energie Cottbus 2 West Ham 2: Kazim-Richards and Baldock strike for Hammers". Daily Mail (London). 29 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "Colin completes loan switch". rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "BBC News - Colin Kazim-Richards to face homophobia charge". BBC Sport. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  20. ↑ "Blackburn's Kazim-Richards charged over alleged homophobic gesture | Football | theguardian.com". London: guardian.co.uk. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "BBC News - Colin Kazim-Richards to face trial over homophobic gesture". BBC Sport. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  22. ↑ "Colin Kazim-Richards guilty over homophobic gesture". BBC Sport. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  23. ↑ "Kamuyu Aydınlatma Platformu". kap.gov.tr. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  24. ↑ Bursaspor. "Bursaspor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi". bursaspor.org.tr. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "Colin Kazim-Richards signs for Celtic". Celtic FC. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "East Kilbride 0-2 Celtic". BBC. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  27. ↑ Mizrahi, Yakir (1 May 2007). "Turkey calls for Kazim-Richards". UEFA. Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  28. ↑ "Turkey called for Kazim-Richards". 24 May 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
  29. ↑ "Kazim-Richards dropped by Feyenoord after threatening journalist - beIN SPORTS". Beinsports-MENA. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  30. ↑ "Colin Kazim-Richards". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  31. ↑ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield
  32. ↑ "Colin Kâzım-Richards". National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 June 2014.

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