Football, Character, Talent.
Loyalty to the colors he belonged to and endless energy. Sait Altınordu, who eternalized his love for his club, where he wore the red and yellow jersey for 25 years, by choosing the surname "Altınordu" for himself, is one of the symbolic figures of Turkish football, and he gifted a lifetime to his beloved club. Sait Altınordu, one of the exceptional talents raised in İzmir, had great skill in corner kicks and free kicks, and his ability to control the ball with both feet and his dribbling skills were at a superior level. Sait Altınordu was born in Kadıköy, Istanbul in 1912. He completed his first primary school there.
He started playing football in Kadıköy Kuşdili meadow in 1925.
In 1927, young Sait moved to İzmir with his family and continued playing football in Karantina.
The loss of the İzmir Championship in the final in the 1925-26 season caused great sadness in Altınordu sports club. General Captain Saim Seymener initiated a campaign to recruit talented young footballers from various fields and schools in İzmir for the club. In 1928, through Şekerci Hakkı Alkım, 16-year-old young Sait Altınordu was brought to the club. Playing in the youth team in his first year, Sait Altınordu made his debut with the A team in the league match against Sakarya on March 22, 1929.
Along with his young friends who were brought to the team during the rejuvenation movement of Altınordu during the same years, such as Adil Bümen, Mazhar Öksüz, Cemil Şatır, Vedat Düzkan, and Hamdi Toptop, they played together until 1945. This stability brought Altınordu a total of 6 out of 7 local İzmir league championships.
Sait Altınordu, who was capped 4 times for the national team, played for the first time on April 22, 1932, against Hungary in the right-wing position at Taksim Stadium.
On July 12, 1936, he played as a right interior against Yugoslavia,
On August 3, 1936, he played as a right interior against Norway at the Berlin Olympics,
On August 1, 1937, he played as a right interior against Yugoslavia in Belgrade.
Additionally, Sait Altınordu participated in 37 friendly matches against foreign teams, both at home and abroad.
An tournament was organized for Sait Altınordu, who ended his active football career at the end of the 1952-53 season, and İzmir Demirspor won the cup by defeating KSK in the final.
The Regional Consultation Committee appointed veteran footballer Sait Altınordu as the Regional Football Coach in the 1952-53 season, following the desire of all İzmir clubs. Thus, Sait Altınordu continued to serve İzmir football by coaching the youth teams of the clubs and the regional select team.
Among Sait Altınordu's first students were young İzmir football players who would later become very successful, such as 17-year-old Damlacıklı Metin Oktay, 16-year-old Ergun Öztuna (Puşkaş Ergun), and 18-year-old goalkeeper Akın Barhan, who later said they were inspired by him.
Among the İzmir youngsters he later nurtured were Ogün Altıparmak from KSK, Aydoğan Çipiloğlu and Rüştü Güneş from Altınordu.
As a technical director, Sait Altınordu achieved a great success by guiding İzmirspor to finish 6th in the 1959-60 season of the 1st League. Towards the end of the season, he resigned as İzmirspor's board of directors also resigned. In the same season, Altınordu found themselves in the relegation zone and tried to save themselves from relegation in the Promotion and Relegation (play-off) matches to be played in Bursa.
Coach Sait immediately came to the aid of his beloved club and started preparing Altınordu players for the promotion and relegation matches with the dynamic spirit of Altınordu. In the end, Altınordu became the champion in the 7-team promotion and relegation league, securing their place in the 1st League.
Sait Altınordu is again the technical director of Altınordu in the 1960-61 season.
In the heated Altınordu congress in June 1960, he delivered the following historic speech to restore peace.
"We have limited time. Our club does not have time to dwell on past rumors. Let's join hands and prepare a bright future for Altınordu. Everything is for Altınordu."
At the beginning of the season, together with Captain Candoğan Sakaoğlu, Sait immediately started working on new transfers. After completing the internal transfers, they first snatch the talented young national player Muhterem Ar, whom Sait Coach greatly desired, from Galatasaray.
Sait Altınordu was saddened by Altınordu's relegation from the 1st League in 1965. Sait Baba is always with his community.
In the 1965-66 season, Altınordu needs to defeat Adana D.S. in Adana in the final match. Altınordu wins 3-1 in Adana, becoming the champion. Sait Altınordu receives the joyful news over the phone.
On November 14, 1973, the Red-Blue İzmir Selection Team played against the A National Team for Sait Altınordu's testimonial. The A National Team won the match 4-1.
On November 17, 1978, Sait Altınordu passed away due to a heart attack.
