Berkant Göktan: Bayern’s prodigy hailed by Uli Hoeneß who lost his way | OneFootball

Berkant Göktan, once tipped for greatness at Bayern Munich and praised by Franz Beckenbauer and Uli Hoeneß, saw a glittering pathway collapse after a teenage debut, according to Goal.com.

In summer 2006 he was back in Munich’s English Garden, out of contract after Kaiserslautern and staying fit with park kickabouts. He was 25 and adrift.

Spotted at Helios Munich, he joined Bayern at eight, signed a pre-contract at 13 and put football before school. Team-mates later vouched for rare technique.

He trained with Giovanni Trapattoni’s seniors at 16 and debuted in the Champions League at 17 years and nine months against Manchester United, replacing Hasan Salihamidzic. He went close with a left-footed curler.

Ottmar Hitzfeld soon moved him out of favour. Loans to Borussia Mönchengladbach and Arminia Bielefeld yielded five and 16 outings, one goal, then a Bayern reserve-team return and obvious stagnation.

In 2001 he joined Galatasaray, settled, scored five league goals in a title win and faced Liverpool and Barcelona in Europe. Minutes vanished, Besiktas followed, then a brief Kaiserslautern spell ended in April 2006.

A resurgence came at 1860 Munich under Marco Kurz, with 10 in 13 then another 10 despite injury. In October 2008 a club-ordered cocaine test was positive, and he left soon after.

A foot problem and reported tensions with his father Fahrettin compounded matters. He chose Thailand over Mexico, explored Buddhism, briefly joined Muangthong United, then resurfaced in 2012 at SV Heimstetten for a six-minute cameo in a 0-5 defeat in October 2013.

Source: Goal.com