Biography
Who is Hakan Yakın?
Early life and family
Hakan Yakın was born in Basel, Switzerland. His parents were Turkish. He lived and attended school in Münchenstein. This area is near the borders of Germany and France.
Hakan has a brother named Murat Yakin. Murat played football and now coaches the Switzerland national team. He also has an elder half-brother called Ertan Irizik. Ertan was also a professional football player.
Professional playing career
Hakan started with the youth teams at Concordia Basel. He signed a professional deal with FC Basel in January 1995. His first league game was on April 12, 1995, against Lausanne. He scored a header 18 seconds after coming on as a substitute.
He later moved to Grasshoppers under Christian Gross. A loan spell at St. Gallen occurred in the 1997-98 season. Hakan returned to FC Basel in January 2001. He won the national Double in 2002. On November 12, 2002, he provided three assists in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool. He scored three goals against Young Boys on April 19, 2003.
International football
Hakan Yakın played for the Switzerland national team for eleven years. He earned 87 caps and scored 20 goals. His first cap came in 2000. He declined Turkish nationality before joining the Swiss squad.
He played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. He also appeared in Euro 2004 and Euro 2008. During Euro 2008, he scored against Turkey on June 11. He scored two goals against Portugal on June 15. He was joint-second highest scorer in that tournament with three goals. He scored one goal against Israel during 2010 World Cup qualifying. He retired from international play on October 4, 2011.
Managerial career
Hakan became an assistant coach at Schaffhausen in 2019. He worked under his brother Murat. In August 2021, he served as caretaker manager for three matches. He then returned to his assistant role under Martin Andermatt.
The team finished second in the 2021-22 Swiss Challenge League. Hakan was named head coach on June 4, 2022. He had to take a course for his UEFA Pro Licence. He left Schaffhausen on May 20, 2023. He returned to the club as head coach on March 4, 2025.
Honours and personal details
Hakan stands 180 cm tall. He won the Swiss Super League with Grasshoppers in 2000-01. He won both the league and Swiss Cup with Basel in 2001-02. He won another Swiss Cup in 2002-03. He earned a Turkish Cup with Galatasaray in 2004-05.
Hakan was the Axpo Swiss Super League Player of the Year in 2003 and 2008. He was the league top scorer in 2007-08 with 24 goals.
Birthday and age
Hakan Yakın was born on February 22, 1977, which makes Hakan 49 years old today. That birthday falls under the Pisces sign. Hakan shares the date with 56 other famous people.
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