Cenk Özkacar

Cenk Özkacar (born 6 October 2000) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defender for La Liga club Valencia and the Turkey national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back.

Cenk Özkacar
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-10-06) 6 October 2000
Place of birth İzmir, Turkey
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Valencia
Number 15
Youth career
2011–2013 Bucaspor
2013–2014 Altinordu
2014–2018 Altay
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Altay 12 (0)
2018–2019 → Karacabey Belediyespor (loan) 23 (1)
2020–2021 Lyon B 2 (0)
2020–2023 Lyon 0 (0)
2021–2022 → OH Leuven (loan) 32 (2)
2022–2023 → Valencia (loan) 17 (0)
2023– Valencia 8 (0)
International career‡
2019– Turkey U21 6 (0)
2022– Turkey 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2023

Club career

Early years in Turkey

Born in İzmir, Özkacar spent his youth career at local teams Bucaspor, Altinordu and Altay.[2] He made his professional debut in 2018, while on loan at Karacabey Belediyespor, before returning to Altay the following year.[2]

Lyon

On 18 August 2020, Özkacar joined Ligue 1 club Lyon on a five-year deal.[3] On 21 April 2021, he made his debut for Lyon as a late substitute for Léo Dubois during a 2–0 loss to Monaco in the Coupe de France.[4]

Loan to Leuven

On 6 July 2021, Belgian First Division A team OH Leuven presented Özkacar as new player, on loan from Lyon for one season.[5]

Loan to Valencia

In August 2022, Özkacar signed on loan for La Liga side Valencia.[6]

International career

Özkacar has been capped six time by the Turkey U21s.[2]

He had his first cap with the Turkey senior national team on 8 June 2022, getting subbed on in the UEFA Nations League match against Lithuania, replacing Ozan Kabak in the 76th minute. He managed to help his team keeping the clean sheet and ended up winning 6–0.[7]

Career statistics

Club
As of 7 October 2023[8]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Karacabey Belediyespor (loan) 2018–19 TFF Third League 211102[lower-alpha 2]0241
Altay 2019–20 TFF First League 12040—160
Lyon 2020–21 Ligue 1 00102[lower-alpha 3]030
OH Leuven (loan) 2021–22 Belgian First Division A 32220—332
Valencia (loan) 2022–23 La Liga 170301[lower-alpha 4]0210
Valencia 2023–24 80000080
Total 2533010290
Career total 903110501063
  1. Includes Turkish Cup, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup and Copa del Rey
  2. Appearances in TFF Third League's play-off matches
  3. Appearances in Championnat National 2 with Lyon B
  4. Appearance in Supercopa de España

International
As of match played 15 October 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Turkey 202230
202330
Total60

References
  1. "Cenk Özkacar". LaLiga Santander. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. "Cenk Özkaçar Profile @ TFF.org" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 13 September 2023.
  3. "Cenk Özkaçar joins OL through 2025". Olympique Lyonnais. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. "Cenk Özkaçar Lyon'da ilk maçına çıktı" (in Turkish). Ajansspor. 22 April 2021.
  5. "OH Leuven huurt Turkse jeugdinternational van Olympique Lyon" [OH Leuven loans Turkish youth international from Olympique Lyon] (in Dutch). Oud-Heverlee Leuven. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  6. "Ozkacar ya está en Valencia: Cuarto fichaje y cero euros de gasto" (in Spanish). Marca. 23 August 2022.
  7. "Cenk Özkaçar Lyon'da ilk maçına çıktı" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 8 June 2022.
  8. Cenk Özkacar at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
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