Introduction
Murat Yakin (Turkish: Murat Yakın; born 15 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and former Switzerland national team player.
Playing career
During his playing career, Yakin was capped 49 times for the Switzerland national team, representing his country at UEFA Euro 2004. He spent arguably the best years of his career playing for his hometown club FC Basel, where he was the defensive linchpin, captain and libero of a team which enjoyed domestic and relative European success. He won the Swiss Super League on five occasions (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005), and the Swiss Cup three times (1994, 2002, 2003). He recalls the 2002–03 Champions League second leg qualifying match on 28 August 2002 against Celtic in St. Jakob-Park as the "match of his life". Basel won the game 2–0, with Yakin scoring the second goal in the 22 minute as Basel qualified 3–3 on the away goals rule for the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Although his spells abroad were not wholly successful, he was widely regarded as one of Swiss football's finest products, frequently being linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In 2003, he played in the FIFA "Match against Poverty" as part of a star-studded ensemble showcasing the world's best players.
Coaching career
Early career
Yakin was appointed coach of FC Thun in 2009 after a time as a youth coach at Grasshopper. In May 2011, he joined FC Luzern for a reported 200,000 Swiss francs. He took over from Christian Brand, who was made caretaker after the sacking of Rolf Fringer.
Basel
On 15 October 2012, Yakin was appointed as the new manager of FC Basel. Under his management, Basel won twice, home and away, against Chelsea in the 2012–13 Champions League group stage. He praised the supporters in the stadium, saying that they pushed the team to win through the 90 minutes. He was also delighted to have received praise from then Chelsea manager José Mourinho. On 17 May 2014, FC Basel announced Yakin was no longer with the club.
Spartak Moscow
On 16 June 2014, Yakin was appointed as manager of Russian Premier League side Spartak Moscow. On 30 May 2015, his contract with the club was terminated after a mutual agreement.
Coaching record
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Ref. | |||
| FC Frauenfeld | 24 February 2008 | 30 June 2008 | — | ||||||||
| Grasshopper II | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | — | ||||||||
| FC Thun | 1 July 2009 | 30 June 2011 | 7001740000000000000♠74 | 7001350000000000000♠35 | 7001230000000000000♠23 | 7001160000000000000♠16 | 7002138000000000000♠138 | 7001850000000000000♠85 | +53 | 7001473000000000000♠47.30 | |
| FC Luzern | 1 July 2011 | 20 August 2012 | 7001460000000000000♠46 | 7001190000000000000♠19 | 7001160000000000000♠16 | 7001110000000000000♠11 | 7001960000000000000♠96 | 7001470000000000000♠47 | +49 | 7001413009999900000♠41.30 | |
| FC Basel | 15 October 2012 | 17 May 2014 | 7001710000000000000♠71 | 7001400000000000000♠40 | 7001200000000000000♠20 | 7001110000000000000♠11 | 7002136000000000000♠136 | 7001710000000000000♠71 | +65 | 7001563400000000000♠56.34 | |
| Spartak Moscow | 16 June 2014 | 7001190000000000000♠19 | 7000900000000000000♠9 | 7000500000000000000♠5 | 7000500000000000000♠5 | 7001270000000000000♠27 | 7001220000000000000♠22 | +5 | 7001473700000000000♠47.37 | ||
| Total | 7002210000000000000♠210 | 7002103000000000000♠103 | 7001640000000000000♠64 | 7001430000000000000♠43 | 7002397000000000000♠397 | 7002225000000000000♠225 | +172 | 7001490500000000000♠49.05 | — | ||
Personal life
Murat Yakin is the older brother of Hakan Yakin, also a footballer.