Engin Fırat, the head coach of the club "Nejmeh" competing in the Lebanese Premier League, has suddenly passed away.
Medianews.az, citing Oxu.Az, reports that the 55-year-old specialist died of a heart attack at Istanbul Airport yesterday while returning to his homeland from Lebanon.
Engin Fırat began his rich coaching career in 2002 as an assistant to Werner Lorant at the "Fenerbahçe" club. After "Fenerbahçe," he went to Germany and worked shoulder to shoulder with Lorant again at "LR Ahlen," and subsequently held various positions at South Korea's "Incheon United" and Turkey's "Sivasspor" clubs.
The specialist, who also left his mark on Iranian football, coached "Saipa FC" and "Sepahan" clubs and played an important role as the assistant to the legendary footballer Ali Daei in the Iranian national team. Fırat was appointed head coach of the Moldova national team in 2019 and led the Kenya national team in 21 matches between 2021 and 2024. Most recently, on February 8, 2026, he had signed a contract with "Nejmeh SC," considered one of Lebanon's leading clubs.
In 2023 and 2025, the name of the Turkish specialist was also mentioned in connection with the Azerbaijan national team.