Vahap Özaltay
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1907 or 1908 or 1909 | ||
| Place of birth |
Istanbul, Ottoman Empire or İzmir, Ottoman Empire or Beirut, Ottoman Empire (today Lebanon) | ||
| Date of death | 10 June 1965 | ||
| Place of death | İzmir, Turkey | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Youth career | |||
| 1921–1922 | Kastamonu Sultânisi | ||
| 1922–1923 | Altay S.K. | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1923–1931 | Altay S.K. | ||
| 1932–1934 | Racing Club de France | ||
| 1934–1936 | Altay S.K. | ||
| 1936–1937 | Racing Club de France | ||
| 1937 | Şişli Spor Kulübü | ||
| 1937–1940 | Altay S.K. | ||
| International career | |||
| 1932 | Turkey | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1937 | Şişli Spor Kulübü (Player-coach) | ||
| 1954 | Turkey national army football team | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vahap Özaltay or Vehâb Özaltay (born, Beşir oğlu Vahap; in 1907, 1908 or 1909 – 10 June 1965) was a Turkish international footballer and track and field athlete.
He is notable for being the first Turkish player to ever play for a foreign club, when he signed for Racing Club de France in 1932, and for his three stints with Altay S.K. with whom, in 1937, he became the first professional footballer in Turkey. He chose his last name based on his love for Altay (lit. "Pure/Real Altay").
Özaltay was born in 1908 in Beirut. He was the son of a civil servant. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Aydın. Shortly after the Greek Occupation of İzmir on 21 May 1919, his family moved to Kastamonu. He started his football career in Kastamonu.