Monday, November 28, 2016

German-born players capped by other national teams

Boateng vs Boateng: Germany vs Ghana

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Germany
Turkey
German-Americans/American-Germans
English-born players capped by other national teams
Brazilian-born players capped by other national teams
Argentine-born players capped by other national teams
French Players Capped by Other National Teams
It's Miller/Muller time
All Diegos Team
Baden-Württemberg

I have created blog entries for Brazilian-born players and Argentine-born players who were capped by other countries.  This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for German-born players capped by other country.  The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.  

Almost all of the Brazilian players were foreign players who obtained the citizenship of their adoptive countries.  They were professional footballers to come to their adoptive countries to play football.  Almost none of the German players were foreign players.  Most of the German-born players were immigrants or sons of immigrants who decided to play for the national teams of their ancestors.  I have already created blog entries for German Turks and German-Americans/American Germans.

Fabian Johnson vs Germany

Team
GK: Maik Taylor (North Ireland)
Born to a English father and a German mother, Maik Taylor himself served in the British military while playing in the lower division. His best club stints were with Southampton, Fulham and Birmingham, where he played in the Premiership. Internationally, he chose to represent North Ireland, earning 88 caps between 1999 and 2011.

GK: Oka Nikolov (Macedonia)
Oka Nikolov spent nineteen seasons with Eintracht Frankfurt, appearing in 413 official games over the course of 13 Bundesliga seasons.  He joined Philadelphia Union in 2013, but failed to appear in any game.  He appeared 5 times for Macedonia, but never in an official game due to his issue with passport.  All matches were friendlies.

GK: David Yelldell (USA)
David Yelldell was the son of American serviceman serving in Germany and a German mother.  He played with Stuttgart Kicker, Blackburn Rover, Bayer Leverkusen, TuS Koblenz, MSV Duisburg and now with SG Sonnenhof Großaspach.  In 2011, he was capped once by the USA in a match against Paraguay.

RB: Cha Du-Ri (South Korea)
Cha Du-Ri was born in Germany while his father Cha Bum-Kun played in the Bundesliga. He had spells with many Bundesliga clubs, including his father's Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt. He was capped 76 times.  He was a member of the squad at the Korea/Japan World Cup Finals in 2002 and then, 8 years later in 2010.

RB: Ümit Davala  (Turkey)
Born in Germany, Ümit Davala played mainly in Turkey before joining Galatasaray in 1996. He was a part of their UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup winning team in 2000.  He also had stints with both AC Milan and Inter Milan, but never played a single game for Inter Milan.  He was capped 41 times. He was in the squad of Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

CB: Oleg Kuznetsov (USSR/Ukraine)
Born in East Germany, Oleg Kuznetsov was capped by the USSR, the CIS and Ukraine.  He was a star defender for the Soviet Union in the late 1980's.  He helped them to reach the Final of the Euro 1988 before losing to Holland.  He also played in the World Cup Finals in 1986 and 1990, and then, for CIS in the European Championship of 1992.  He played mainly for Dynamo Kyiv.  He played for Rangers in Scot;and after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Oleg Kuznetsov
CB: Ogun Temizkanoglu (Turkey)
Ogun Temizkanoglu played mostly for Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe as a central defender. He also played for Konyaspor and Akçaabat Sebatspor. He retired after terminating his contract with Akçaabat Sebatspor on 12 August 2005.  He played for Turkey national football team and was a participant at the 1996 and 2000 UEFA European Championship.  Capped 76 times.

CB: Robert Kovac (Croatia)
Born in West Germany, Robert Kovac represented Croatia in two World Cup Finals: 2002 and 2006, and has also participated at two European Championships: 2004 and 2008. He was the captain of the national team after his brother Niko retired.  He played a few of the biggest clubs in the world, notably with Bayern Munich and Juvnetus.  

CB/DM: Thomas Dooley (USA)
Thomas Dooley was the son of a US serviceman stationed in Germany and a German mother.  He won the Bundesliga with Kaiserslautern in 1990-1991 and then the UEFA Cup with Schalke 04 in 1996-1997.  He was capped 81 times between 1992 and 1999.  He was a key player as the United States reached the 2nd round at the 1994 World Cup Finals and was the captain at the World Cup in 1998.  He was the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1993. He is a Members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Thomas Dooley vs Germany

LB: José Holebas (Greece)
Holebas was born in West Germany to a Greek father and a Uruguayan mother. He played in the lower division in Germany before moving to Olympiakos in Greece. He also played for Roma and Watford.  He was capped 38 times for Greece.  He played at the European Championship in  2012 and the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil.

LB: Sead Kolašinac (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Born in Germany, Sead Kolašinac had represented Germany at the youth level, but he chose to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2013.  He represented his country at the 2014 World Cup Finals.  From 2012 to 2017, he played for Schalke 04.  He was named the Bundesliga Team of the Year twice.  In 2018, he moved to play for Arsenal.

CB/DM: Niko Kovac (Croatia)
Born in Germany of Croatian background, Niko Kovac spent most of his career playing in the Bundesliga.  He had spells with Hertha BSC, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich.  He earned 83 caps for Croatia and was their captain from 2004 onward.  He went to all major tournaments from 2002.  He is Robert Kovac's older brother.

DM: Bernd Krauss (Austria)
Krauss started his professional career at Borussia Dortmund, Between 1977 and 1982, he played Austrian side Rapid Wien, winning the league title twice and the domestic cup. He returned to Germany in 1983 to join Borussia Mönchengladbach. In 1981, he became an Austria and represented Austria 22 times.  He never scored a goal for Austria, but scored an own goal ironically against West Germany.  He played in the 1982 WC Finals.

DM/CM/RM/RB: Hamit Altıntop (Turkey)
Hamit Altıntop is a versatile player who can play in various position.  He played for Schalke 04, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and now Galatasaray.   He helped Turkey to reach the semifinal at the European Champions in 2008, where he was voted into the all-tournament team. Between 2004 and 2014, he played 82 times for Turkey.  His twin brother is Halil Altıntop, who also played for Turkey.
Hamit Altıntop
CM: Nuri Sahin (Turkey)
Born in Germany of Turkish ancestry. On 6 August 2005, at the age of 16 years and 334 days, Şahin set a record by becoming the youngest player to have played in the Bundesliga, and on 25 November of the same year became the youngest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga, scoring for Borussia Dortmund against 1. FC Nuremberg.  In 2011, he made a big time to Real Madrid.  He returned to Borussia Dortmund in 2013 after a loan deal with Liverpool.  He earned his first cap in 2005 and scored his first goal ironically against Germany.
Nuri Sahin 
CM: Yıldıray Baştürk (Turkey)
Yıldıray Baştürk was born in Germany of Turkish ancestry.   He is best remembered for his most successful years at Leverkusen. He was the playmaker of a great Leverkusen that finished second in the German league, the German Cup and the 2002 Champions League Final.  That same year, he led Turkey to the semi-final of the World Cup Finals in Japan/Korea.

AM: Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana)
Born in Germany, his father is from Ghana.  His half brother is Jerome Boateng, who played for Germany.  He represented Germany at the youth level, but switched to Ghana as a senior.  He played in two World Cup Finals.  In 2010, the Boateng brothers became the first brother to play against each other in a World Cup Final.  They again played against each other in 2014.  For club football, he played in Germany, England, Italy and Spain.
Kevin Prince Boateng
AM: Robert Prosinecki (Croatia)
Robert Prosinecki was considered one of the most talented players from Yugoslavia in the 1990's.  In 1987, Prosinečki was named the tournament's best player as Yugoslavia won the World Youth Championship.  He then played for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup and for Croatia at Euro 96 and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.  For his club career, he played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, but he failed to establish himself at neither club.
Robert Prosinecki 
LW: Willi Lippens (Holland)
Born to a Dutch father and a German mother, Lippens played for Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Dortmund in the 1970's before leaving to play one season for the Dallas Tornado in the NASL in 1979.  Lippens, who spoke only very basic Dutch, is the only native German-speaker ever to have played for Holland. Lippens had declined to play for Germany as his Dutch father had forbidden him to play for Germany. 

RW/FW: Martin Harnik (Austria)
Born in Germany, his father was from Austria while his mother is German.  For his club career, Martin Harnik played for Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Hanover 96 in Germany.  His longest career is with Stuttgart, where he played from 2010 and 2016. He never lived in Austria, but chose to represent them in international football. Between 2007 and 2017, he played 61 times for Austria.  He played for Austria at the European Championship in 2008 when Austria co-hosted the tournament.  
Martin Harnik
AM: Otto Addo (Ghana)
Born in Germany, Otto Addo made his name with Hanover 96.  He moved to Borussia Dortmund in 1999.  His injury problems limited his career.  He later played for Mainz and Hamburger.  Between 1999 and 2006, he played 15 times for Ghana.  He represented Ghana at the World Cup Finals in 2006, where it was hosted in the country of his birth.

AM: Zvjezdan Misimovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Zvjezdan Misimovic played for Bayern Munich, VfL Wolfsburg, Galatasaray and Dynamo Moscow as an attacking midfielder.  Misimović played for Yugoslavai at the youth level. He is the second most capped player in the history of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, capped 84 times. Furthermore, his 25 international goals makes him his country's second top-goalscorer.  He played at the WC Finals in 2014.

ST: Ivan Klasnic  (Croatia)
He began his career with St. Pauli, and moved to Werder Bremen in 2001.  He won a league and cup double in 2004. He also played  in France with Nantes, in England with Bolton Wanderers. In 2012, he spent a season back in Germany with Mainz.  In 2007, Klasnić underwent a kidney transplant, and became the first player to participate in a major tournament (Euro 2008) after a transplant. He also represented Croatia at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.

ST: Alfred Bickel (Switzerland)
Alfred Bickel played as a forward for local club Grasshopper Club Zürich and the Switzerland national team, participating with the latter in the World Cup finals of 1938 and 1950.  Bickel is one of only two footballers ever to participate in World Cups before and after World War II, the other being Sweden's Erik Nilsson. At the 1938 World Cup Finals, he played against Germany, the country where he was born.
Alfred Bickel


Honorable Mention
Serkan Calik (Turkey), Berkant Goektan (Turkey), Ilhan Mansiz (Turkey),  John Brooks (USA), Timothy Chandler (USA), Julian Green (USA), Jermaine Jones (USA), Joël Matip (Cameroon), Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (Cameroon), Ivica Grilic ( Bosnia and Herzegovina), Zlatan Bajramovic(Bosnia-Herzegovina)Muhamed Bešić (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Ermin Bičakčić (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Sead Kolašinac (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Sead Kolašinac (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Ashkan Dejagah (Iran), Anthony Baffoe (Ghana), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Hans Sarpei (Ghana), Mikael Forssell (Finland), Ignace Kowalczyk (France),  Stephan Loboue(Ivory Coast), Sead Ramovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina),  Sead Kolašinac (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Ignace Kowalczyk (France), Henri Skiba (France), Steve Lomas (N.Ireland), Minas Hantzidis (Greece), Giorgos Donis (Greece), Mërgim Mavraj (Albania), Cédric Soares (Portugal), Karim Benyamina (Algeria), Louis Schaub (Austria), Thomas Hickersberger (Austria), Curro Torres (Spain), Stephan Loboué (Ivory Coast), Shane Smeltz (New Zealand), Rainer Rauffmann (Cyprus), Vincenzo Grifo (Italy), Nicola Sansone (Italy), Roberto Soriano (Italy), Joselu (Spain).

Squad Explanation
-- I avoided the sensitivity of territorial issues left behind by the two World Wars.  This is just a simple blog.  I do not intend to be political about that.  I avoided selecting some players because the sensitivity.  
-- Alfred Bickel is the only player from the World War's eras that I selected.  He played for Switzerland.
-- Eugen Polanski, Adam Matuszczyk and Sebastian Boenisch were not born in Germany.
-- Ewald Dytko, Wilhelm Góra, Erwin Nyc, Friedrich Scherfke and Ernst Wilimowski were a part of the Polish national team at the World Cup Finals in 1938.  They were born in Silesia when it was still a part of Germany.  Again, I kept them away from this team due the sensitivity of issue.
-- Dragan Holcer of Yugoslavia was born in a Nazi prison camp to Slovenian father Franc Holcer and Italian-Austrian mother Ida Orelli in Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel.  Again, I stayed away from the controversial issue of the War,  
-- France brought Ignace Kowalczyk and Oscar Heisserer to the World Cup Finals in 1938.  Heisserer was born in an area when it was still under Germany, but today, it is now as a part of France. I decided not to select Heisserer. However, Ignace Kowalczyk was born in North Rhine-Westphalia.  So he is eligible.
-- Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana) is the brother of Jerome Boateng who played for Germamy. They played against each other in the World Cup Finals.
-- Oleg Kuznetsov was born in East Germany, which is now Germany.  Karim Benyamina was also born in East Germany.
-- Cha Du-Ri was born in Germany while his father Cha Bum-Kun played in the Bundesliga. 
-- Maik Taylor (North Ireland) and most of the American players were sons of soldiers stationed in Germany.
-- Robert Prosinecki lived more than 10 years in Germany, where his parents were guest workers.
-- Fabien Johnson helped Germany to win the 2009 European U21 Championship.  He played along side with Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, etc.  In 2020, I replaced hi  with Sead Kolašinac.  He was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season twice.
-- Bernd Krauss is the only German-born player who was naturalized to play for another country.  Every other player except Alfred Bickel were sons of at least one parent from the country where he played internationally. I do not know Bickel's story.  However, Bickel scored a goal in the 1938 World Cup Finals in the replay match against Germany.  Germany was one of the favorites because of the addition of some Austrian players after the Anschluss.  
-- Cha Du-Ri was born in Germany while his father Cha Bum-Kun played in the Bundesliga. 
-- Several German-born players played against Germany in a World Cup match.  Thomas Dooley played against Germany in the firsr round of the 1998 World Cup Finals. Robert Prosinecki was on that historical Croatian team that beat Germany in 1998.  Cha Du-Ri (South Korea) played against Germany in the 2002 semifinal. Of course, Kevin Prince Boetang took on his brother Jerome in 2014.
-- Both Germany and Turkey were the semifinal the 2002 World Cup Finals, but only Germany reached the Final.  Both Ümit Davala and Yıldıray Baştürk are on Turkey's World Cup team. I created this alternative German World Cup team in 2002.  The team included a few German-born players who chose to play for another country.

Formation



Thursday, November 24, 2016

German Turks Greatest All-Time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Germany vs Turkey,  Mesut Özil vs
Nuri Sahin
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Germany
Turkey
German Americans/American Germans
East German Players After 1990 
North Rhine-Westphalia
Bavaria, 
Baden-Württemberg
Western German regional 
Galatasaray All-Time Team for foreigners

This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for the German Turk players.  The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.

In the 1960's, West Germany went through a period of rapid economic growth that was later known as "Wirtschaftswunder"(economic miracle).  As a result, West Germany suffered a shortage of labour.  The government of West Germany solved the problem by signing treaties with Italy, Greece and Spain to recruit their citizens as "Gastarbeiter" (Guest workers) in Germany. Germany was not interested in bringing Turkish workers to Germany.  


Turkey was an important ally to the United States during the Cold War.  Nicholas Spykman's "Rimland" theory clearly illustrates the importance of Turkey in the geo-political area.  The Turkish Straits has always been an issue to both the Czarist Russia and the Soviet Union because its location with the Black Sea.  And since 1958, the Americans have deployed nuclear missile inside Turkey.  On May, 1960, General Cemal Gürsel led a military coup d'état in Turkey which led to a period of uncertainty in the country.  Suddenly, the political atmosphere changed.  The United States believed that Turkey could benefit economically and create stability if Germany's policy on guest workers extended to them.   So Washington applied pressure to Bonn. 

In 1961, West Germany signed an agreement with Turkey to bring Turkish workers into Germany.  At the beginning, both governments thought those "Gastarbeiter" would only stay for a short time.  A few years later, they were permitted to bring their family to Germany.  This led to dramatic of Turkish population in Germany.  By the 1970's, the largest number of  "Gastarbeiter" was from Turkey.  Today, there are about 3 million Germans of Turkish descents living in Germany. 

As a result of the Cold War and its impact on"Gastarbeiter" policy, the football world also changed because of it.  Many descendants of the Turkish workers in Germany became footballers.  Turkey who had not qualified for World Cup Finals since the 1954 reached the semi-final of the World Cup in 2002.  Their squad included 4 German-born players. For the German national team, German-born Turks also made an impact. Mehmet Scholl is the record-holder of the number Bundesliga title won with 8.  Nuri Sahin was the youngest ever player to play a game and scored a goal in the Bundesliga.  Mesut Ozil was a key player in the German team that the won the WC in Brazil. 
Mehmet Scholl wearing a Turkey jersey.

Team
GK: Aykut Erçetin (Uncapped)
Born in Germany, Aykut Erçetin graduated from the youth academy with Stuttgart.  He spent a season with their first team before moving to play in Turkey.  Then, he spent 11 seasons as the backup goalkeeper with Galatasaray between 2003 and 2014.  He played one more season with Çaykur Rizespor before retiring.

GK: Volkan Ünlü  (Uncapped)
Born 8 July 1983 in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany, Volkan Ünlü  was a youth product of Schalke 04.  He has some experience with their first team as backup.  He played for many clubs in Germany and Turkey.  The bigger clubs included Beşiktaş J.K. and Trabzonspor.

GK: Gunay Guvenc (Turkey)
Born in Neu-Ulm, Germany, Gunay Guvenc started his career with Stuttgart Kickers in 2010.  Then, he spent 3 seasons with Beşiktaş J.K. between 2013 and 2016 as a backup keeper.  He was capped by Turkey A1(Turkey B International Team).  At the time of writing, he plays with Göztepe S.K..
 

RB: Ümit Davala  (Turkey)
Born in Germany, Ümit Davala played mainly in Turkey before joining Galatasaray in 1996. He was a part of their UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup winning team in 2000.  He also had stints with both AC Milan and Inter Milan, but never played a single game for Inter Milan.  He was capped 41 times for Turkey between 1996 and 2004. He was on the squad of Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.
Ümit Davala 

CB: Ömer Toprak (Turkey)
Toprak began his career with TSB Ravensburg in 1994. In 2001 he moved to FV Ravensburg. He was signed by SC Freiburg in 2005. He signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2008. In his first professional season, he featured in 26 league games and scored 4 goals as Freiburg won the 2. Bundesliga title. He was capped by Germany for Under-19.  In 2011, he was capped by Turkey.

CB: Mustafa Dogan (Germany)
Born in Turkey, Mustafa Dogan started with KFC Uerdingen 05 in 1994. In 1996, Doğan transferred to Fenerbahçe SK. He stayed there for seven years, the first five as a starter, then switched back to Germany, signing with FC Köln. On 18 October 2003. In 2005, he joined Beşiktaş J.K.  Dogan was capped twice for Germany.

CB: Ogun Temizkanoglu (Turkey)
Ogun Temizkanoglu played mostly for Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe as a central defender. He also played for Konyaspor and Akçaabat Sebatspor. He retired after terminating his contract with Akçaabat Sebatspor on 12 August 2005.  He played for Turkey national football team and was a participant at the 1996 and 2000 UEFA European Championship.  He was capped 76 times by Turkey.
Ogun Temizkanoglu 
CB: Serdar Tasci (Germany) 
Tasci started his career with VfB Stuttgart in 2006 and played with the club until 2013, captaining the side from 2011. He played for the club nearly 250 times and helped them win the 2006–07 Bundesliga.  He represented the German national team from 2008 and 2010, gaining 14 caps, including the 2010 World Cup, in which Germany came third.

CB/LB: Hakan Balta (Turkey) 
Hakan Balta formerly played for Hertha Berlin II and Manisaspor before moving to Galatasaray in September 2007.  Since 2006, he was apart of Turkey's players' pool.  He has over 50 caps for Turkey.  He went to European Championship in both 2008 and 2016.  He was starter as Turkey reached the semifinal at Euuro 2008.

LB: Hasan Ali Kaldırım (Turkey)
Hasan Ali Kaldırım came through the youth ranks of TuS Koblenz before moving to Kaiserslautern in 2006 and then, Mainz 05, but started his professional career in Turkey.  Hasan Ali Kaldırım joined Fenerbahçe from Kayserispor in 2012. Born in Germany, he represented Turkey at both junior and senior level. 

DM: Tayfur Havutçu (Turkey)
Born in West Germany, Tayfur Havutçu started with the German club SV Darmstadt.  In 1993–94 season, he was transferred to the Turkish club Fenerbahçe S.K. again spending two years there, he was then transferred to Kocaelispor. In 1997, Tayfur was transferred to Beşiktaş J.K. Between 1994 and 2004, he had 44 caps.

CM: Nuri Sahin (Turkey) 
In 2005, at the age of 16 years and 334 days, Şahin set a record by becoming the youngest player to have played in the Bundesliga, and on 25 November of the same year became the youngest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga, scoring for Borussia Dortmund against 1. FC Nuremberg.  In 2011, he made a big time to Real Madrid.  He returned to Borussia Dortmund in 2013 after a loan deal with Liverpool. He earned his first cap in 2005 and scored his first goal ironically against Germany.
Nuri Sahin 
DM: Emre Can (Germany)
Emre Can started with Bayern Munich and then, played for Leverkusen.  From 2014 to 2018, he played for Liverpool.  He was on Europa Cup Team of the Season in 2015-2016 season. Then, he spent two seasons with Juventus.  In 2020, he moved to Borussia Dortmund.  He was capped over 33 times for Germany. He was on their Euro 2016 and 2020 team.

CM: İlkay Gündoğan (Germany)
İlkay Gündoğan began his career at VfL Bochum II before joining 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. Two years later he was signed by Borussia Dortmund, helping them finish runners-up the Champions League, scoring in the final. In 2016, he signed for Manchester City for an estimated fee of £21 million. Gündoğan made his senior international debut for Germany in 2011, and was part of their squad which reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2012.
İlkay Gündoğan 
 
DM/CM/RM/RB: Hamit Altıntop
Hamit Altıntop is a versatile player who can play in various position.  He played for Schalke 04, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Galatasaray and Darmstadt 98.   He helped Turkey to reach the semifinal at the European Champions in 2008, where he was voted into the all-tournament team. Between 2004 and 2014, he played 82 times for Turkey.  His twin brother is Halil Altıntop, who also played for Turkey.
Hamit Altıntop


CM: Yıldıray Baştürk (Turkey)
Born in Germany of Turkish ancestry, Yıldıray Baştürk is best remembered for his most successful years at Bayer Leverkusen. In 2002, he was the playmaker of a great Leverkusen that finished second in the German league, the German Cup and the Champions League Final.  That same year, he led Turkey to the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup in Japan/Korea. He had 49 caps in total. He also played for Wattenscheid 09, VfL Bochum, Hertha BSC, VfB Stuttgart and English club Blackburn Rovers.

AM: Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey)
He began his career at Karlsruher SC in 2010 and moved to top-flight side Hamburger SV two years later, spending another season back at his first club on loan. His performance in his first Bundesliga season earned him a €14.5 million transfer to Leverkusen in 2014. Since 2017, he played for AC Milan. Born in Germany, Çalhanoğlu opted to represent his ancestral Turkey at international level, making his senior debut in 2013.

AM: Mehmet Scholl (Germany) 
Mehmet Scholl was born in Germany of Turkish hertiage.  He started with Karlsruher, but spent almost hs entire career with Bayern Munich.  He won the Bundesliga title 8 times and the Champions' league in 2001.  He was the hero of the 1996 UEFA Cup win, scoring a goal each of the legs. Injuries has limited his career with the national team.  He never played in any of the World Cup Finals.
Mehmet Scholl
AM: Halil Altıntop (Turkey)
He is the identical twin brother of  Hamit Altıntop. He  started his professional career in the local German club Wattenscheid 09 along with his brother. Altıntop was transferred to Kaiserslautern, and his brother to Schalke. In 2006,  he joined his brother at Schalke on a free transfer. However, after only one season, his brother Hamit Altıntop joined Bayern Munich on another free deal. He also played for Eintracht Frankfurt and Trabzonspor.  Capped 38 times.

AM: Mesut Özil (Germany)
Mesut Özil is a third generation German of Turkish decent.  He played for Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen before making a dream move to Real Madrid after South Africa 2010.  He moved to Arsenal in 2013, which was then a transfer record for German players.  For the national team., he was a part of Germany's World Cup winning team in 2014. At the time of writing, he has over 90 caps.
Mesut Özil
ST: Erdal Keser (Turkey)
Born in Turkey, his family moved to West Germany, where he grew up. Borussia Dortmund signed him when he was 17 years old. He transferred to Galatasaray in 1984–85 season and played there for two seasons. He returned to Borussia Dortmund for the 1986–87 season. He then signed for Sarıyer and became their team captain. In 1989, he returned for a second spell at Galatasaray where he played until retirement in 1994. Keser played 25 times for Turkey from 1982 to 1991.

STL Cenk Tosun (Turkey)
Tosun began his career with Eintracht Frankfurt, but made his name with Gaziantepspor.  From 2014 and 2018, he played for Beşiktaş.  He was Super Lig Player of the Year on 2017.  In 2018, he moved to Everton, but failed to settle down.  At the time of writing, he plays for Crystal Palace.  Since 2013, he was capped 42 times for Turkey.  He has played for Germany at the youth level.

ST: Ilhan Mansiz (Turkey)
Ilhan Mansiz started with Koln in Germany.  He gained international recognition at Istanbul's Beşiktaş J.K., and was later acquired by the Vissel Kobe football club in Japan. Between 2001 and 2003, he was capped 21 times for Turkey.  He made a name during the World Cup Finals in 2002, where he scored the Golden Goal against Senegal that sent Turkey to the semifinal.
Ilhan Mansiz

Honorable Mention
Volkan Arslan (Turkey), Volkan Yamen (Turkey),  Malik Fathi (Germany), Yasin Öztekin (Turkey), Ömer Erdoğan (Turkey)
Yunus Mallı (Turkey), Ceyhun Gülselam (Turkey), Mehmet Ekici (Turkey), Serhat Akın (Turkey) Cenk Tosun (Turkey), Gökhan Töre (Turkey), Emre Can (Germany), Sefa Yılmaz(Turkey), Mehmet Yozgatlı(Turkey), Turgay Tapu (Uncapped), Suat Serdar (Germany), Kenan Karaman (Turkey), Ahmed Kutucu (Turkey), Suat Serdar (Germany), Cenk Tosun (Turkey), Kenan Karaman (Turkey), Olcay Şahan (Turkey), Suat Serdar (Germany), Kaan Ayhan (Turkey).

Squad Explanation
-- Sixteen of the players selected played for Turkey.  Two were uncapped. Mehmet Scholl, Mesut Ozil, İlkay Gündoğan, Serdar Tasci and Mustafa Dogan played for Germany.
-- Several members of Turkey's World Cup team in 2002 were born in Germany.  Umit Davala, Ilhan Mansiz, Yildiray Basturk and Tayfur Havutçu were all born in Germany. They made an impact as Turkey finished third. I created an alternative German team for the 2002 World Cup Finals that included some of German Turks on it.
-- I have four goalkeeper: Aykut Erçetin, Volkan Ünlü, Turgay Tapu and Gunay Guvenc, but I know very little about them. I dropped Turgay Tapu because he was the only one without any experience at the top division in either Germany or Turkey.
-- Austrian-born Ramazan Özcan played 10 times for Austria.  He is the only goalkeeper of note that I could find. He is not eligible.
-- There are many selections for the leftback position. Hakan Balta can also play there as well. I selected Hasan Ali Kaldırım over Volkan Yamen and  Malik Fathi.
-- At the age of 16 years and 334 days, Nuri Şahin set a record by becoming the youngest player to have played in the Bundesliga.  However, his career was fulfilled his early achievements.  He had a unsuccessful stint with Real Madrid.
-- Halil and Hamit Altıntop are identical twins.  is a versatile player who can play in various position.  Hamit Altıntop was a member of the team that reached the semifinal of Euro 2008, where Turkey lost to Germany 3-2.  It was one of the best matches of Euro 2008.
-- When I created the blog in 2016, İlkay Gündoğan was only an emerging talent.  He has now established himself.
-- Mesut Ozil quitted playing for the German national team in 2018.  He accused the German Football Federation (DFB) of bigotry and discrimination because of his Turkish ancestry.  He is a third generation German citizen.
-- Mehmet Scholl could have became the greatest German player of his generation.  Unfortunately, he was injury prone throughout his career.
-- I need a left winger/midfielder. Olcay Şahan was selected.
-- Hakan Şükür was ineffective at the 2002 World Cup Finals which gave Ilhan Mansiz a chance.  He was known for his Golden Goal agains Senegal at the 2002 World Cup Finals.  He ended the tournament with 3 goals.
-- Erdal Keser was born in Turkey, but moved to West Germany as a child.  He is the only member of this team not born in Germany.
-- Emre Can is still too young to make an all-time team.  A year or two, he would be one of the more famous German Turks in the world.  Suat Serdar is another player emerged after I finished this blog. 
-- Niklas Süle is a current member of the German national team.  He was approached by Turkey to play for them as his surname seemed Turkish.  He is actually Hungarian.
-- In October, 2020, I did a review of the team.  I put Cenk Tosun in the place of Ümit Karan (Turkey).  Then, I also dropped
Olcay Şahan (Turkey) for Emre Can.

Formation