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Muzzy Izzet

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Muzzy Izzet
Izzet in 2010
Personal information
Full name Mustafa Kemal Izzet[1]
Date of birth (1974-10-31)31 October 1974(age 49)[1]
Place of birth Mile End,London, England[1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Senrab
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Chelsea 0 (0)
1996 →Leicester City(loan) 9 (1)
1996–2004 Leicester City 260 (37)
2004–2006 Birmingham City 26 (1)
2009 Thurmaston Town 1 (0)
Total 296 (39)
International career
2000–2004 Turkey 9 (0)
Medal record
Third place FIFA World Cup 2002
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mustafa Kemal"Muzzy"Izzet(/ˈɪzɪt/;Turkish:İzzet;born 31 October 1974) is a Turkish former professionalfootballerwho played as amidfielderforChelsea,Leicester City,Birmingham City.

Born in England, he played for theTurkey national teaminternationally. He was part of the Turkey squad for the 2000 Euros and the squad that won bronze at the 2002 World Cup.

Early life

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His father is aTurkish Cypriotwho came to England as a small boy, and his mother is English.[3]His younger brother,Kemal,also became a professional footballer.

Club career

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Leicester City

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Izzet signed as a schoolboy forChelsea,but never made a first team appearance during three years at the London club. He moved toLeicester Cityin March 1996 on loan for the rest of the season. He became a regular in the side, scoring one goal. When Leicester beatCrystal Palacein the play-offs, Izzet was able to make his move permanent for a fee of £800,000.[4]He kept his place in the side for theirPremier Leagueseason, which was successful for City. They came 9th in the Premier League, and won theLeague Cup.Izzet formed a partnership in midfield withNeil Lennon,which proved vital for Leicester.[citation needed]

In the 1998–99 season, Leicester came 10th in league, and reaching the League Cup final again, but lost out toTottenham Hotspur.The following season, Leicester came 8th, and again got to theLeague Cup Final,this time coming up againstTranmere Rovers,ofDivision One.This year they won 2–1, withMatt Elliottgetting both goals. Izzet had been a regular in the side through all of this time. AfterMartin O'Neillleft to become manager of Scottish clubCeltic,Izzet remained a Leicester player. His time at Leicester attracted interest fromWest HamandMiddlesbrough,but he did not leave the club.

"I love this place – it's just a shame that we couldn't stay up because you never know, I might have been here for longer."

Izzet on Leicester City's relegation from the Premier League in the 2003–04 season.[5]

Despite pledging to stay at Leicester prior to the start of the2001-02season,[6]Izzet submitted a transfer request in the autumn of 2001.[7]However, he rejected a move to Middlesbrough as he did not want to be seen to be "jumping ship".[8]He issued a plea to Martin O'Neill to sign him in May 2002, remarking that "only an idiot wouldn't consider joining Celtic."[9]

Following Leicester's relegation and with the club inadministration,Izzet was again linked with Middlesbrough.[10]However, Leicester insisted they would not accept a reduced offer for Izzet, who was valued at £6 million.[11]He withdrew his transfer request in March 2003,[12]with the club securingpromotion to the Premier Leaguea month later on 19 April.[13]In January 2004, Leicester rejected £500,000 bids fromAston VillaandBlackburn Roversfor Izzet.[14]Leicester were relegated at the end of the2003–04season.[15]Unable to afford Izzet's £30,000 per week wages,[16]the club admitted he was leaving.[5]Izzet was Leicester's standout player during the season, assisting 14 of the club's 48 goals, or 29% of goals scored by the club.[17]

Birmingham City

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Izzet joinedBirmingham Cityin June 2004 on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal.[18]He scored his only goal for Birmingham in September; an equaliser against Bolton Wanderers.[19]The following match, Izzet suffered a knee injury following a challenge fromNewcastle United'sOlivier Bernardon 3 October 2004.[20]This injury plagued the remainder of Izzet's season and he was able to make only two further appearances. The knee problems continued into the following season and he featured sporadically throughout his time at the club, until he was forced to announce his retirement from football in June 2006.[21]

Thurmaston Town

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On 28 November 2009, Izzet made a shock last minute return to Saturday football withLeicestershire Senior Leagueside Thurmaston Town. However, he admitted days later that his knee was still very sore and was quoted saying "whether I can turn out for Thurmaston every week is another thing."[22]He never played for them again.

International career

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Izzet qualified for theTurkey national sidethrough his Turkish-Cypriot father.[23]He was included in the Turkey squad forEuro 2000,making his debut and sole appearance in the tournament in thegroup stageas Turkey drew 0–0 withSweden.[24]He was also part of the squad for the2002 World Cup,featuring again just once, as a substitute in the 1–0semi-finaldefeat toBrazil.[25]

In total, Izzet made nine appearances for the national side.[26][27]

Later career

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Izzet now runs a football academy with fellow former professional footballer and former Leicester teammateSteve Walsh.[28] In September 2015 Izzet's autobiography was published, titledMuzzy: My Story.The autobiography was co-written withLeicester Mercurywriter Lee Marlow.[29]

Izzet is an ambassador for Dorothy Goodman School, a Special Educational Needs school inHinckley,Leicestershire.[30]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[26][27]
National team Year Apps Goals
Turkey 2000 4 0
2002 4 0
2004 1 0
Total 9 0

Honours

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Leicester City

Turkey

Individual

References

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  1. ^abc"Muzzy Izzet".Barry Hugman's Footballers.Retrieved19 May2019.
  2. ^ab"Muzzy Izzet: Overview".Premier League.Retrieved21 November2019.
  3. ^Barclay, Patrick (9 June 2000)."Izzet finds delight with Turkey".The Telegraph.Retrieved29 October2011.
  4. ^"Remembering Muzzy Izzet's Triumphant Leicester Spell".lcfc.Retrieved1 August2020.
  5. ^ab"Adams confirms Izzet exit".BBC Sport. 8 May 2004.Retrieved2 February2010.
  6. ^"Izzet: I'm staying at Leicester".BBC Sport. 11 July 2001.Retrieved15 February2010.
  7. ^"Izzet in no rush".BBC Sport. 5 November 2001.Retrieved15 February2010.
  8. ^"Izzet uncertain over future".BBC Sport. 10 January 2003.Retrieved15 February2010.
  9. ^"Izzet wants Celtic switch".BBC Sport. 16 May 2002.Retrieved15 February2010.
  10. ^Webster, Rupert."FOX TO FLEE RELEGATION".Sky Sports.
  11. ^"Leicester's Izzet warning".BBC Sport. 5 July 2002.Retrieved15 February2010.
  12. ^"Izzet withdraws transfer request".BBC Sport. 6 March 2003.Retrieved18 October2008.
  13. ^@LCFC (19 April 2022)."Promotion, confirmed"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  14. ^"Izzet could leave Foxes".BBC Sport. 4 January 2004.Retrieved15 February2010.
  15. ^"Adams accepts Izzet loss".BBC Sport. 5 May 2004.Retrieved15 February2010.
  16. ^"Izzet set for Birmingham".BBC Sport. 8 May 2004.Retrieved15 February2010.
  17. ^"The Muzzy Izzet stat that proves De Bruyne is nothing special".Football365.24 November 2020.Retrieved3 April2021.
  18. ^"Birmingham sign Izzet".BBC Sport. 3 June 2004.Retrieved18 October2008.
  19. ^"Bolton 1–1 Birmingham".BBC.25 September 2004.Retrieved24 October2009.
  20. ^"Birmingham 2-2 Newcastle".3 October 2004.Retrieved25 June2023.
  21. ^"Knee injury forces Izzet to quit".BBC Sport. 27 June 2006.Retrieved18 October2008.
  22. ^"Comeback may be short-lived, says former Leicester City star Muzzy Izzet".Leicester Mercury.3 December 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 15 December 2014.Retrieved1 November2012.
  23. ^UEFA (6 October 2003)."Nothing ventured or gained for Sweden or Turkey in EURO 2000 Group B".UEFA.Retrieved1 August2020.
  24. ^"Izzet finds delight with Turkey".The Daily Telegraph.9 June 2000.Retrieved1 August2020.
  25. ^FIFA."2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™ - Matches - Brazil - Turkey".fifa.Archived fromthe originalon 29 September 2020.Retrieved1 August2020.
  26. ^ab"Player details: Mustafa Kemal İzzet".Turkish Football Federation.Retrieved9 February2018.
  27. ^ab"Muzzy İzzet".National Football Teams.Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann.Retrieved9 February2018.
  28. ^"Steve Walsh & Muzzy Izzet Soccer Academy - information - Leicester".Archived fromthe originalon 9 April 2012.Retrieved8 January2013.
  29. ^"Muzzy Izzet's story – it certainly beats what Lee Marlow is having for his tea".Leicester Mercury. 20 July 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 14 August 2015.Retrieved15 September2015.
  30. ^"Muzzy Izzet Leicester City (1996-2004) | Dorothy Goodman School".dorothygoodman.co.uk.Retrieved1 August2020.
  31. ^"Claridge's five-star silver service".Independent.16 April 1997.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2022.Retrieved3 April2021.
  32. ^"Leicester triumph at Wembley".BBC.27 February 200.Retrieved3 April2021.
  33. ^"Nielsen nicks it for Spurs".BBC.22 March 1999.Retrieved3 April2021.
  34. ^Crouch, Terry (2002).The World Cup – The Complete History.Great Britain:Aurum Press Ltd.p. 548.ISBN1845131495.
  35. ^"2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™".FIFA.Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2022.Retrieved8 February2022.
  36. ^"Korea Republic 2 – 3 Turkey".FIFA.Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2022.Retrieved8 February2022.
  37. ^"Premier League Player Stats - Assists".premierleague.Retrieved1 June2022.Select season in the "Filter by season" drop-down menu.
  38. ^McKechnie, David (28 April 2003)."Henry lands PFA award".The Guardian.London.Retrieved25 April2018.
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