Fatih Terim was one of the most successful footballers and trainers in Turkey. Born on September 4, 1953 in Adana, Turkey) into a poor family, he was sent to a vocational high school. However, he dropped the school to play soccer.

In 1969 Terim's soccer career began as a junior player with Adana Demirspor. In the club, he was the only player who was paid and this secretly. Within three years, he became captain of the team. He remembers his first game with the captain badge: “Just before the game, I cheered up my teammates, as a captain has to do and ran out to the field. As I looked back on the field, no one was behind me. I was so fast that nobody could follow me. I was so excited.” Terim played 6 more years with Adana Demirspor.

As a successful striker he joined Galatasaray SK in 1974 and played for 11 years in this team. However, during his time with Galatasaray, his club was not able to win a championship in the Turkish football league. Terim was with the national team 51 times, a record from 1984 to 1995, and its captain for 35 national matches.

After he quitted playing soccer, he worked as the coach of MKE Ankaragücü for two years and at the soccer club Göztepe in İzmir for one year. He was appointed technical director of the Turkish national team in 1993. Three years later, the Turkish national team could reach the final tournament at the Euro '96 with him. The same year, Fatih Terim signed a contract with Galatasaray. Under his management Galatasaray won the championship in the Turkish league for four successive years. After he made Galatasaray win the UEFA Cup 2000 and European Super Cup, he transferred to ACF Fiorentina, Italy. The next season, he was named the coach of AC Milan, Italy. However, due to continuous poor performance of the team, he had to leave and returned to Galatasaray as manager. Galatasaray’s failing success led him to resign and to end his career in 2003.

Terim, the charismatic leader with discipline, organization and passion, was nicknamed “Imparator” (Turkish for "Emporer") in Turkey and abroad. In a survey conducted by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) in 80 countries, Fatih Terim was placed among the best eight soccer coaches in the world. He received his award with a ceremony held in Rothenburg, Germany on January 8, 2001.