Sinan Bolat is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Royal Antwerp. He has played for Turkey both at youth level and senior level.
Club career
Early years
Bolat began his professional career at age 17 with Genk in 2005, but only managed a handful of matches in the league, including three starts. He transferred to Standard Liège on 29 December 2008, six months before his contract was due to expire with Genk. He had previously been linked to both Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor of the Turkish Süper Lig.
Standard Liège
Bolat is reported to have moved to Standard Liège for a transfer fee of just €150,000 in the January 2009 transfer window, on a 4.5-year contract.
Bolat was Liège's preferred starting goalkeeper in the second half of the 2008–09 season due to Rorys Aragón losing favour. Bolat started the last seven matches of the season and kept five clean sheets, conceding only two goals: one in a 3–1 win against Germinal Beerschot and another in a 4–1 win against KV Mechelen. Bolat started the UEFA Cup match against S.C. Braga on 26 February 2009, and managed to keep a clean sheet during the first half. However, he was substituted off at half-time for the experienced Rorys Aragón, as the match finished 1–1. In the final match of the 2008–09 season, Standard needed to win their match away to Gent in order to force a play-off against Anderlecht for the championship title. Standard were 1–0 ahead until the 92nd minute, when a penalty was awarded against them. Bolat became the hero of the night as he pulled off a magnificent save from Bryan Ruiz, ensuring the play-off. Standard went on to win the resulting play-off, winning 2–1 on aggregate, with Bolat keeping another clean sheet in the process, and were crowned champions on 24 May 2009. In his first season, he managed to keep six clean sheets out of nine matches and also saved a penalty. Winning the league automatically qualified Liège for the group stages of UEFA Champions League in the 2009–10 season. English Premier League clubs Manchester United and Arsenal were said to have made an offer for him in May 2009.
2009–10 season
Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, Bolat helped his side to a 2–0 win in the 2009 Belgian Supercup final against Genk on 27 July 2009. In Liège's final UEFA Champions League group stage match, against AZ on 9 December, Bolat pushed upfield when a free-kick was awarded in the 95th minute, and he scored a headed goal to tie the match at 1–1. The draw clinched third place in the group for Liège and gave them a place in the UEFA Europa League at the expense of AZ. This enabled Bolat to earn his place in history as the only goalkeeper ever to score a goal in open-play in the UEFA Champions League.
