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Nihat Kahveci (born 23 November 1979), better known mononymously as Nihat, is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a forward and right winger for Beşiktaş, Real Sociedad and Villarreal CF. He works as a football commentator for TRT. He has a UEFA Pro Licence.
He had his debut on January, 26 in a 3–1 loss against Celta de Vigo, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute for Xabi Alonso and played for 18 minutes.
His first goal came in a 2–2 draw against Rayo Vallecano on 24 February 2002. In the first half of the season, Nihat played 11 matches and scored one goal.
In 2002–03, his second season in Spain, Nihat scored a brace in the Basque derby, the opening match of the season, helping his team to win 4–2. He finished the season with 23 goals making him the league's joint-second highest scorer for the season behind Roy Makaay (29 goals) and tied with Ronaldo. That season, Real Sociedad finished second in the league that season, just two points behind Real Madrid, mostly thanks to a very fruitful strike partnership with Serbian forward Darko Kovačević, such that sports journalist Phil Ball nicknamed the pair "Little and Large", in reference to the height difference between the two (Nihat's height is 1.75 m and Kovačević's is 1.87 m). His consistent, good performances have led to interests from other clubs, to which Nihat turned a deaf ear.
In his third season at Real Sociedad, Nihat made 32 appearances scoring a total of 14 goals. Nihat also played in the UEFA Champions League with Real Sociedad as the club was paired with Juventus FC, Galatasaray and Olympiacos. La Real qualified to the knockout stage, but was eliminated by Olympique Lyonnais, losing 2–0 on aggregate. By the end of the season, Nihat won the Don Balón Award for Best Foreign Player.
In his fourth season, Nihat made 23 appearances and scored 13 goals. In the middle of the season, Nihat tore his ACL during a match against Sevilla FC which caused him to be out of action for six months.
In June 2005, reports claimed that Nihat was linked to Russian club CSKA Moscow for €20 million Euros but the move never materialized. Nihat insisted he had to concentrate on the club to prevent relegation: "I can't go now. I can't walk out on Real Sociedad, We are fighting to try and secure some tranquillity and I am one of those who thinks that the more strength there is in the team, the better. On Sunday we took a very important step in Santander, and now it is a question of continuing to take steps forward in the league.". Nihat was also linked with clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United.
In his fifth and last season at Real Sociedad, Nihat made his return from injury in a 3–0 loss in the Basque derby, against Athletic Bilbao. He went on to make 32 appearances and score seven goals. During that season, Nihat was about to sign for Russian club Spartak Moscow but had to stay for the remainder of the season due to Kovačević's injury.
After a six months without a club, on 12 January 2012; Nihat announced his retirement from football with immediate effect, saying: "I would like to share my decision to put an end to my professional career as a footballer,". After some days, Nihat told NTV Spor that his retirement was prompted by his age limiting his ability on the pitch and admitted that returning to Beşiktaş was a mistake and ill-judged, although stated there were some beautiful moments.
Nihat was ruled out of Turkey's semi-final with Germany due to a thigh injury, which ultimately required surgery and prevented him from playing for Villarreal in the early part of the 2008–09 season.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||
| Beşiktaş | 1997–98 | 1.Lig | 2 |
| 1998–99 | 1.Lig | 8 | |
| 1999–2000 | 1.Lig | 7 | |
| 2000–01 | 1.Lig | 5 | |
| 2001–02 | Süper Lig | 9 | |
| Real Sociedad | 2001–02 | La Liga | 2 |
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 23 | |
| 2003–04 | La Liga | 14 | |
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 13 | |
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 7 | |
| Villarreal CF | 2006–07 | La Liga | 4 |
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 21 | |
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 0 | |
| Beşiktaş | 2009–10 | Süper Lig | 5 |
| 2010–11 | Süper Lig | 4 | |
| + List of international goals scored by Nihat Kahveci |
| 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Friendly match |
| UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| Friendly |
| Friendly |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Friendly |
| Friendly |
| UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| Friendly |
| Euro 2008 |
| 3–2 |
| Friendly |
| UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
Turkey
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