The best Turkish TV series and movies about sports: “He is a Legend”, “Champion”, “Turkish Hercules”.

Turkish films and TV series have long since gained special popularity with viewers from Russia. And if melodramas don’t surprise anyone, pictures about sport are a separate but no less interesting story.

Yes, Turkish directors skillfully intertwine love story, sports competitions and even matches. In this selection you will find series and movies about basketball, soccer, boxing, hockey and even cybersports.

“He’s a Legend” (TV series, 2017)

Directed by: Devrim Yalcin, Başak Soysal
Starring: Bülent Düzgünolu, Baran Bölükbasi, Hakan Ummak
How many episodes: 29 episodes
IMDB Rating: 6.4 out of 10
Original title: Adi Efsane

“He’s a Legend”

Gifted basketball player Taryk Aksoy’s life went downhill: an injury forced the protagonist to give up his promising career. But fate again strikes a crushing blow: the hero’s wife dies, and he himself finds solace in alcohol. And only when the man is deprived of custody of his daughters, he decides to get on the path of truth.

He finds a job as a coach in one of the poorest schools in the district, where the students are real rebels who are not used to obeying anyone. Taryk has to become not only a coach, but also a teacher for seemingly lost teenagers.

At first Taryk treats his work as a forced measure and temporary circumstances. But soon he begins to treat the boys with a soul. The coach dreams of giving them a chance in life to escape the slums by winning the championship.

“He’s a legend.”

“The Great Terim” (TV series, 2022)

Directed by: Burak Aksoy, Altug Gultan, Christiana Pecci
Starring: Fatih Terim, Frank Gerrish
How many episodes: 4 episodes
IMDB Rating: 6.7 out of 10
Original Title: Terim

“The Great Terim”

Semi-documentary mini-series tells about the life of the famous Turkish coach Fatih Terim. He is a legend in the world of soccer, not only in Turkey, but around the world.

From 1975 to 1985 Terim played as a defender and captain of the national team of his native country. Coaching career of the footballer was not easy. Despite his outstanding character and professionalism, he for a long time could not bring the club Galatasaray to a new sporting level.

However, the efforts and persistence of Terim gave the result – as a coach, he won eight victories in the Turkish championship. That made him the absolute record holder of the country. By the way, at the time of his career Fatih amazed the public with his acting talent. Once, during a match with the Italian team Terim came out as a Sicilian mafioso, which, to put it mildly, frightened the uninformed public.

The video is available on the YouTube channel MytranD Trailers. Netflix owns the rights to the video.

“Champion” (TV series, 2019-2022)

Directed by: Ketche
Starring: Tolgahan Sayışman, Emir Özyakışışır
How many episodes: 34 episodes
IMDB Rating: 6 out of 10
Original Title: Sampiyon

“Champion”

Kafkas is an outstanding boxer with many victories to his credit. A brilliant career, high fees, fame and a favorite girl. He has everything you can dream of. But one day Kafkas learns that his pregnant beloved is terminally ill.

On the eve of the match the girl gives birth to a child and dies. In a fit of despair and grief, Kafkas beats his opponent to death in the ring. Everyone turns away from the once famous boxer, he has no chance to resume his career. After years of oblivion, Kafkas’s favorite son falls seriously ill, and for treatment must find a decent amount of money. And the hero makes a difficult decision: to enter the ring again. After all, his main goal is to save his son’s life, and for this you need to win the fight at any cost.

“Champion”

“One Heart” (TV series, 2019)

Directed by: Nezaket Goskun, Mehmet Ada Oztekin
Starring: Tayanc Ayaydın, Vildan Atasever, Hilmi Cem Intepe
How many episodes: 22 episodes
IMDB Rating: 7.4 out of 10
Original Title: Tek Yürek

“One Heart”

Halit’s life was going on as usual: his favorite job as a hockey coach in Canada, beautiful children and a loving wife. But the family idyll collapses in one day: Halit’s wife dies. Now the head of the family together with the children will have to move to his homeland in Turkey.

There Halit gets a job as a coach of a local street hockey team. Now his task is to teach the kids the basics of sports to achieve participation in world competitions.

“One Heart”

“Good Game” (movie, 2018)

Directed by: Umut Aral
Starring: Mert Yazıcıoğlu, Afra Saracıoğlu, Kerem Bursin
How long: 114 minutes (1:54)
IMDB Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Original Title: Iyi Oyun

“Good Game”

The main character is a handsome guy Cenk, who disappears all day long in an Internet cafe. There he is engaged in his favorite business – practically lives in cyber sports games and earns money. One day the unusual talent of the hero is noticed by his manager, who offers him to join a professional team.

Now Cenk’s life is filled with colors: new friends and meeting a girl change his gray days. But cybersport has its own rules. All the more that Cenk has his jealousies and detractors.

“Good Game”

“Influence” (TV series, 2021-2023)

Directed by: Hande Türkel
Starring: Aslıkhan Malbora, Mehmetjan Minjinozlu, Ali Barkin
How many episodes: 20 episodes
IMDB Rating: 6.7 out of 10
Original Title: Etkileyici

“Influence”

Leyla accidentally meets a handsome guy who invites her to a nightclub, and at the exit the couple is surrounded by a crowd of journalists and paparazzi.

It turns out that the girl’s new acquaintance is a popular soccer player, whose life is followed by all the media and photographers. The press, not thinking long, writes Leila in the athlete’s mistresses. Now the girl’s life is turned upside down – she is pursued by photographers, fans of her lover don’t give her a pass, and her family doesn’t believe Leila’s words that it’s just a coincidence.

“Influence”

“Stopped” (TV series, 2022)

Directed by: Yunus Ozan Korkut
Starring: Oktay Ciubuk, Bahar Shahin, Ilyas Salman
How many episodes: 9 episodes
IMDB Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Original Title: Duran

“Stopped”

Three friends Mustafa, Jalal and Duran live in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Istanbul and dream of a better life. Each is looking for a different path that will allow them to succeed. Mustafa dreams of becoming a criminal mastermind, Jalal dreams of forming his own rock band, and Duran dreams of building a boxing career.

Duran is preparing for an important Thai boxing match and already sees himself as a champion. But the guys’ lives change at the moment when the granddaughter of the owner of the gym where Duran trains arrives. The bright girl immediately wins the attention of the main characters and uses them for her own devious purposes. After all, the beauty owns a stolen diamond, which she needs to sell and not get caught by the authorities.

“Stopped”

“Turkish Hercules” (movie, 2019)

Directed by Özer Feyziaglu
Starring Selen Öztürk, Yetkin Dikindjiler, Gürkan Uygun
How long: 141 minutes (2:21)
IMDB Rating: 8.2 out of 10
Original Title: Cep Herkülü: Naim Süleymanoglu

“Turkish Hercules”

A biographical picture about the fate of the famous weightlifter Naim Süleymanoglu, who won three Olympic golds, seven world championship victories and 46 absolute world records.

The legendary athlete began his journey in his youth, and at the age of 15 he set the first world record. By the way, Naim is the only one who could lift three times his own weight. He was called “pocket Hercules” for his very short stature – only 147 cm.

“Anka” (movie, 2022)

Directed by: Süleyman Mert Özdemir
Starring: Ozan Akbaba, Ugur Uzunel, Engin Hepileri
How long: 130 minutes (2:10)
IMDB Rating: 4.7 out of 10
Original Title: Anka

“Anka”

Murat is used to testing his fate. His passion is illegal racing, and the most risky and unpredictable. With his ardor and thirst for extreme, the protagonist tries to hide the pain that torments him for a long time. A few years ago, Murat’s entire family died in an accident. And now the guy is looking for mental salvation in dangerous, on the verge of life and death, racing.

Everything changes when he is offered to take part in one secret race. Rashly, not having listened to the rules, the hero agrees, but it turns out that the whole way the racer must overcome with a blindfold. That is blind. But it is not Murat’s rule to back down.

“Anka”

“The Last Stroke of Our Love” (movie, 2020)

Directed by Deniz Yılmaz Şayir
Starring Emir Çubukçu, Seren Şirinje, Emine Arslan
How long: 97 minutes (1:37)
IMDB Rating: 5.2 out of 10
Original Title: Askimizin Son Tekmesi

“The Last Stroke of Our Love”

Modest Cetin is shy to confess his feelings to the beautiful Esra while remaining her best friend. When he finally gathers the courage, he learns that his friend is going to marry a basketball player. Now Cetin’s task is to solve the issue with the groom and challenge him to a fight. But how to fight back a strong basketball player, if Cetin can’t even do push-ups and pull-ups?

Then the guy goes to the kickboxing section. In the first sparring he chooses as an opponent a weak, at first glance, girl Defne. But she turns out to be the coach’s daughter and Turkish kickboxing champion! The first training session ends with Cetin in a hospital bed, and it is not Esra who nurses him back to health, but the formidable Defne.