Ozan Kabak – Wikipedia
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Turkish footballer
Ozan Muhammed Kabak (born 25 March 2000) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim and the Turkey national team.
Club career[edit]
Galatasaray[edit]
Ozan trained with the Galatasaray youth academy, joining in 2011. He signed his first professional contract with Galatasaray on 1 July 2017.[4] Ozan made his professional debut for Galatasaray in a 2–0 Süper Lig win over Yeni Malatyaspor on 12 May 2018.[5] This made him the first footballer born in the 2000s to play in the Süper Lig.[6] On 24 October 2018, he played his first Champions League match in a 0–0 home draw against Schalke 04 in the 2018–19 season.[7]
VfB Stuttgart[edit]
On 17 January 2019, Kabak moved to Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart where he signed a contract until June 2024.[8] On 3 March, he scored twice in a 5–1 win over Hannover 96, registering his first senior career goals.[9] In doing so, at the age of 18 years, 11 months and 7 days, he became the youngest Turkish center-back, and third-youngest Stuttgart player to ever score twice in a single Bundesliga match.[10]
Schalke 04[edit]
On 30 June 2019, Kabak joined Schalke 04 on a five-year contract for a fee of €15 million, after Schalke activated a release clause in his contract.[11] He was a regular performer in his first season with the club, appearing in 28 matches and scoring three goals.[12] In September 2020, he was banned for five games and hit with a €15,000 fine after being caught spitting at Werder Bremen’s Ludwig Augustinsson. Kabak apologised to Augustinsson via Twitter afterwards, insisting the incident, for which he was shown a red card, was an accident.[13]
Liverpool (loan)[edit]
On 1 February 2021, Kabak signed for Liverpool on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. The deal was reportedly worth £1 million, plus potentially £500,000 in add-ons depending on appearances and Liverpool’s performance in the Champions League. It also included an option to buy, which was set at approximately £18 million and could rise to £26.5m with add-ons.[14][15] On 13 February 2021, he made his Liverpool debut in a Premier League game against Leicester City, ending in a 1–3 away defeat.[16][17] On 16 February, he played in a 2–0 away win over RB Leipzig in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, becoming the first Turkish player to appear for an English club in the competition.[18] At the end of the season, Liverpool declined to sign Kabak on a permanent basis.[19]
Norwich City (loan)[edit]
On 30 August 2021, Kabak returned to England to join newly promoted Norwich City on a season-long loan deal with the club having an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.[20]
1899 Hoffenheim[edit]
On 23 July 2022, Kabak moved to 1899 Hoffenheim and signed a contract until 30 June 2026.[21]
International career[edit]
Ozan is a youth international for Turkey. He captained the Turkey U17s at the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship,[22] and was listed as one of the 10 players to watch by UEFA.[23] On 17 November 2019, Kabak made his debut in the Turkey senior team during the team’s UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against Andorra, playing the full match which Turkey won 2–0.[24] Kabak scored his first international goal on 16 November 2022 in a 2-1 friendly win over Scotland.[25]
Career statistics[edit]
Club[edit]
- As of match played 15 April 2023[26]
International[edit]
- As of match played 25 March 2023[27]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Turkey’s goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kabak goal.
Honours[edit]
Club[edit]
- Galatasaray
Individual[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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