Cihat Arman


Cihat Arman, was a Turkish football goalkeeper and manager.

Biography

Arman started playing football in his age of 15 and debuted in Ankaragücü. In 1936, he transferred to the Istanbul club Güneş. After the closure of this club, he moved to Fenerbahçe, where he uninterruptedly played 308 games in total. He was nicknamed the "Flying goalkeeper" due to his acrobatic and successful saves. Him flying with his yellow shirt was the inspiration behind "The Yellow Canaries", the nickname for the football team of Fenerbahçe.
During World War II, international competitions were rarely held. So, Arman played only 13 games with the Turkey national football team during this time. After 1949 he served as the goalkeeper and captain. He also coached the Turkish national team and qualified for the 1950 World Cup trashing Syria 7–0 but Turkey withdrew due to financial problems.
After Arman retired from active sport in 1950, he coached the Istanbul clubs Kasımpaşa, İstanbulspor, Yeşildirek, Beşiktaş and the national team.
The sports journalist died on May 14, 1994 in Istanbul.