Fatih Terim

Fatih Terim is a Turkish football manager and former defender, nicknamed "İmparator" — the Emperor. ¹ Born in Adana in 1953, he played eleven years for Galatasaray and then became the most successful manager in the club's history, winning four consecutive league titles and the UEFA Cup in 2000, coaching in Italy with Fiorentina and AC Milan, and leading Turkey to the semi-finals of Euro 2008. ¹ None of the sources read for this record states a religion for him, so his data record leaves his faith as unknown. ¹²

Terim was born on 4 September 1953 in Adana to Nuriye and Talat Terim; his father was a Turkish Cypriot who had emigrated to Turkey. ¹ He began his professional career at Adana Demirspor in 1969, captained the side at nineteen, and in 1974 joined Galatasaray as a sweeper, playing eleven years for the Istanbul club without winning a league title but collecting three Turkish Cups. ¹ He played 51 times for Turkey, captaining the side in 35 of those matches, both national records at the time, before retiring in 1985. ¹

After early coaching posts at Ankaragücü and Göztepe and three years as assistant to Turkey's national coach, Terim took over the national team in 1993 and led Turkey to Euro 96, their first European Championship finals. ¹ Appointed by Galatasaray in 1996, he won four consecutive league championships, and in 2000 his side beat Arsenal to win the UEFA Cup — the first European trophy won by a Turkish club — making him the most successful manager in Galatasaray's history. ¹

Terim moved to Fiorentina in 2000, where his attacking side reached the Coppa Italia final before his clashes with the club's owner led him to resign in February 2001; that June he took over AC Milan, but was dismissed after five months. ¹ Back at Galatasaray he resigned in 2004, then returned to the national team and produced the run that defined his legend: at Euro 2008 Turkey reversed match after match in the closing minutes — beating Switzerland and the Czech Republic from behind and Croatia on penalties — before losing the semi-final to Germany, having led for only thirteen of their estimated 490 minutes in the tournament. ¹

Terim's third spell at Galatasaray brought league titles in 2012 and 2013 and a Champions League quarter-final, and his fourth, from December 2017, two more titles, taking his personal total to eight Süper Lig championships. ¹ He later coached Panathinaikos in Greece and Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia, leaving the latter in July 2025. ¹

The sources read for this record say nothing about Terim's religion. The English article, read in full — including its personal-life section, which covers his Adana birth, his Turkish Cypriot father and his marriage — makes no statement of his religion. ¹ The Arabic article likewise makes none, and Wikidata carries no religion value for him at all. ³² Turkey's Hanafi tradition is a national milieu rather than a personal attestation, so the data record leaves his faith as unknown.