Çağlar Söyüncü

Çağlar Söyüncü (Turkish pronunciation: [tʃaːˈɫaɾ ˈsœjyŋdʒy]; born 23 May 1996) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Turkey national team.

Çağlar Söyüncü
Söyüncü with Turkey in 2016
Personal information
Full name Çağlar Söyüncü[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-23) 23 May 1996[2][3]
Place of birth İzmir, Turkey
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[4]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Atlético Madrid
Number 4
Youth career
2006–2011 Menemen Belediyespor
2011–2013 Bucaspor
2013–2014 Gümüşorduspor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Altınordu 34 (2)
2016–2018 SC Freiburg 50 (1)
2018–2023 Leicester City 98 (4)
2023– Atlético Madrid 2 (0)
International career‡
2014 Turkey U18 1 (0)
2015 Turkey U19 3 (0)
2015 Turkey U20 3 (0)
2015 Turkey U21 1 (0)
2016– Turkey 55 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 2023

Söyüncü's first senior professional team was the Turkish second division Altınordu. In the summer of 2016, he joined SC Freiburg of Germany's Bundesliga, before moving to Leicester City in 2018. He made his senior national team debut in 2016.

Club career

Altınordu

Söyüncü began his senior professional career with Altınordu in the TFF First League, the second level of the Turkish football league system. During the 2015–16 season with Altınordu, Söyüncü was linked with Beşiktaş J.K.,[5] Galatasaray S.K. and Sevilla FC but the 20 year old Turkish national player selected the Bundesliga because he thought it was better choice for his career and his improvement.[6]

SC Freiburg

On 24 May 2016, in the 2016 Bundesliga summer transfer window, Söyüncü joined German side SC Freiburg, which was promoted to the top flight competition of Germany for the 2016–17 season.[7][8] He is the first Turkish footballer who made a transfer to the Bundesliga directly from the TFF First League, the second-highest professional level football league of Turkey.[9]

He made his Bundesliga debut away against Hertha Berlin which ended in a 2–1 loss, on 28 August 2016.[10] He was linked with Lille, Roma, and Villarreal during the mid-season transfer window of the 2016–17 season.[11] Manchester City was also reported to be interested in Söyüncü.[12]

Leicester City

On 9 August 2018, Söyüncü joined English Premier League side Leicester City on a five-year contract.[13] He signed for an apparent £18 million transfer fee, possibly rising to £20 million with add-ons.[14] Söyüncü had his Premier League debut on 27 October 2018 at the King Power Stadium where Leicester shared points with West Ham United following the final score of 1–1.[15]

Söyüncü scored his first Premier League goal in Leicester's 11th game of the 2019–20 season on 3 November 2019 against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, a 2–0 win.[16][17] On 11 May 2021, he scored the winning goal for Leicester City in a 2–1 away victory over Manchester United, to be their first win at Old Trafford since 1998.[18]

Söyüncü about to head the ball during a Leicester City match in 2021

During the 2022/23 season Söyüncü found himself out of the first 11, despite having played more than 20 matches per season for the previous three seasons. This was allegedly due to a personality clash with the manager Brendan Rogers.[19] Söyüncü impressed when he was restored to the team after Dean Smith took over as manager, however this was insufficient to prevent relegation.[20]

On 5 June 2023, following the club's relegation from the Premier League, it was announced that Söyüncü and six other first team players would be leaving the club upon the expiration of their contracts at the end of the month.[21]

Atlético Madrid

On 5 July 2023, Söyüncü joined Spanish La Liga side Atlético Madrid on a four-year deal.[22]

International career

In November 2015, he was called up to Turkey national football team by coach Fatih Terim, following the injury of central defender Serdar Aziz.[23][24] Söyüncü is the first Altınordu player called up to Turkey national football team after 78 years, since Sait Altınordu, the iconic player of the club, was selected in 1937.[25] He is also the first player called up to national team from any İzmir-based football clubs since 1997. On 17 November 2015, Söyüncü was a reserve for the friendly game against Greece, but stayed on the bench and did not actually get a chance to play.[26] On 18 March 2016, he was called to national squad for friendly games against Sweden and Austria, to be held on 24 March 2016 in Antalya, Turkey and on 29 March in Austria, respectively.[27][28]

Substituting for Ozan Tufan in the dying minutes of a friendly game against Sweden, Söyüncü earned his first senior national team cap on 24 March 2016.[29] Earning his second cap, he was in the starting line-up in the friendly with Russia on 1 September 2016, which ended 0–0.[30]

On 1 June 2018, Söyüncü scored his first senior international goal on a friendly game against Tunisia, held at Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland.[31]

Style of play and reception

Possessing leadership attributes, Söyüncü is good at playmaking, dribbling and timing.[32] Standing at 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in), he is strong in the air.[32] In 2016, he stated that his idol is Spanish defender Carles Puyol and he admires German international Mats Hummels.[33]

Former English international and current pundit Martin Keown analysed Söyüncü for BBC Sport in 2019, describing him "a defender made for the modern game", highlighting his agility, aggressiveness and heading attributes.[34]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 14 August 2023[35][36]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Altınordu 2014–15 TFF First League 4060———100
2015–16 30200———302
Total 34260———402
SC Freiburg 2016–17 Bundesliga 24010———250
2017–18 26120—2[lower-alpha 3]0—301
Total 50130—20—551
Leicester City 2018–19[37] Premier League 600020——80
2019–20[38] 3414040——421
2020–21[39] 23160003[lower-alpha 3]0—321
2021–22[40] 28110308[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0411
2022–23[41] 711010——91
Total 984120100110101324
Atlético Madrid 2023–24 La Liga 1000—000010
Career total 1837210100130102287
  1. Includes Turkish Cup, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Six appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International
As of match played 12 September 2023[42]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Turkey 201620
201790
2018111
201960
202020
202113[lower-alpha 1]1
202280
202340
Total552
  1. Three appearances in UEFA Euro 2020
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first.[43]
List of international goals scored by Çağlar Söyüncü
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
11 June 2018Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland Tunisia2–22–2Friendly
227 March 2021La Rosaleda Stadium, Malaga, Spain Norway2–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Leicester City

Individual

References
  1. "Çağlar Söyüncü". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. "Çağlar Söyüncü'nün doğum günü kutlandı" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 25 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. "Çaglar Söyüncü: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  4. "Çaglar Söyüncü". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  5. "Beşiktaş'tan Eto'o bombası!" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  6. "Çağlar Söyüncü için itiraf:Beşiktaş ve Sevilla" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  7. "Offiziell: Söyüncü schlägt im Breisgau auf" (in German). Kicker. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  8. "Freiburg sign Turkey defender Caglar Söyüncü". www.bundesliga.com. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  9. "1. Lig'den yurt dışına ilk transfer" (in Turkish). Al Jazeera Türk. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  10. "Çağlar Söyüncü Freiburg ile ilk maçına çıktı" (in Turkish). Fanatik. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  11. "Çağlar Söyüncü'nün yıldızı parlıyor" (in Turkish). Four Four Two Turkish Edition. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  12. "Leicester City Agree Çağlar Söyüncü Transfer". Leicester City F.C. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  13. "Leicester City 'agree Caglar Soyuncu fee'". Sports Mole. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  14. "As it happened: Leicester City 1-1 West Ham United" (in Turkish). West Ham United. 27 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  15. Saj Chowdhury (3 November 2019). "Crystal Palace 0-2 Leicester: Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy scores as Foxes go third". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  16. "Çağlar Söyüncü gol attı, İngiltere sallandı!" (in Turkish). Habertürk. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  17. "Manchester United 1–2 Leicester City". BBC Sport. 11 May 2021.
  18. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/soyuncu-leicester-rodgers-evans-amartey-7707273
  19. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/how-caglar-soyuncu-won-over-8356087
  20. "Seven Players To Depart LCFC". Leicester City Football Club. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  21. "Welcome, Söyüncü!". Atlético de Madrid. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  22. "Hedefim kalıcı olmak" (in Turkish). Habertürk. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  23. "Terim'den sürpriz davet!" (in Turkish). NTV Spor. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  24. "İzmir'in son gururu: Çağlar Söyüncü" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  25. "Türkiye 0–0 Yunanistan" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  26. "A Milli Takım'ın İsveç ve Avusturya maçları aday kadrosu ve programı" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  27. "A Milli Takımı'nın Aday Kadrosu Açıkandı" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  28. "Türkiye 2–1 İsveç" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  29. "Türkiye – Rusya: 0–0" (in Turkish). NTV Spor. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  30. "Tunus - Türkiye Maç Detayı - TFF" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 1 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  31. "Bu çocukta iş var: Çağlar Söyüncü (Altınordu)" (in Turkish). Four Four Two Turkish Edition. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  32. "A Milli Takımı'nın Aday Kadrosu Açıkandı" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  33. Keown, Martin (3 November 2019). "Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu is 'a defender made for the modern game' - Martin Keown analysis". BBC Sport (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  34. "C. Söyüncü". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  35. "Çağlar Söyüncü (Altınordu) @ Maçkolik.com". mackolik.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  36. "Games played by Çağlar Söyüncü in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  37. "Games played by Çağlar Söyüncü in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  38. "Games played by Çağlar Söyüncü in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  39. "Games played by Çağlar Söyüncü in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  40. "Games played by Çağlar Söyüncü in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  41. "Çağlar Söyüncü TFF Futbolcu Bilgileri" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  42. "Söyüncü, Çağlar". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  43. McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021). "Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  44. Hafez, Shamoon (7 August 2021). "Leicester City 1–0 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  45. "Gillette-Milliyet Yılın Sporcusu Ödülleri sahiplerini buldu".
  46. "PFA Player of the Year: Kevin de Bruyne and Beth England named 2020 winners". BBC Sport. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
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