Yıldıray Baştürk

Yıldıray Baştürk (Turkish pronunciation: [jɯɫˈdɯˈɾaj baʃˈtyɾk], born 24 December 1978) is a retired Turkish footballer.

Yıldıray Baştürk
Personal information
Full name Yıldıray Baştürk
Date of birth (1978-12-24) 24 December 1978
Place of birth Herne, West Germany
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1986–1987 DSC Wanne-Eickel
1987–1996 Wattenscheid 09
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Wattenscheid 09 20 (6)
1997–2001 VfL Bochum 104 (13)
2001–2004 Bayer Leverkusen 73 (8)
2004–2007 Hertha BSC 71 (14)
2007–2010 VfB Stuttgart 31 (4)
2010 Blackburn Rovers 1 (0)
Total 300 (45)
National team
1998–2008[1] Turkey 49 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was capped 49 times for the Turkey national football team, representing the team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup where it finished in third place. In the same year he also appeared for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. Baştürk also played for Wattenscheid 09, VfL Bochum, Hertha BSC, VfB Stuttgart and English club Blackburn Rovers.

Club career

Early years, Bochum and Bayer

The son of a miner, Baştürk began his football career at Sportfreunde Wanne-Eickel. As a teenager Baştürk played for SG Wattenscheid 09, and his breakthrough in the Bundesliga came with city rivals VfL Bochum, for whom he even played in the UEFA Cup. After the 2001 transfer to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Baştürk was part of a team that finished second in the league, the DFB-Pokal and the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final in the 2001–02 season. Due to his role in Bayer's success and Turkey's third-place finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Baştürk finished ninth in the voting for the 2002 Ballon d'Or.[2]

Hertha and Stuttgart

In July 2004 he was transferred to Hertha BSC, where he remained until 2007 when his contract expired. Baştürk agreed to join German champions VfB Stuttgart on a Bosman transfer on 28 May 2007 for the start of the 2007–08 season.[3]

Blackburn Rovers

On 27 January 2010, it was announced that Baştürk had agreed to join Blackburn Rovers from Stuttgart until the end of the season on a free transfer,[4] after his contract with Stuttgart was terminated.[5] Baştürk was handed his first start for Blackburn in the Premier League when he started against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 24 April 2010 at Molineux, however he was substituted at half-time. Baştürk was not offered a contract extension by Rovers.

International career

In 2002, he also played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where the Turkish team came third. Baştürk currently has 49 caps and two goals for Turkey. However, after he was left out of Turkey's 23-man squad for Euro 2008, he said he would never play for the national team as long as Fatih Terim remains as the coach.[6]

Career statistics

International
National teamSeasonAppsGoals
Turkey 199810
199900
200000
200191
2002140
200370
200441
200570
200630
200720
200820
Total492

International goals
Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 November 2001Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey Austria1–05–02002 World Cup qualifiers
2.28 April 2004King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Belgium1–13–2Friendly

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen

Turkey

References
  1. Mamrud, Roberto (22 January 2009). "Yildiray Bastürk – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  2. "What would the Ballon d'Or look like without Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich?". The Sun. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. "VfB sign Bastürk". www.vfb.de. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  4. "Rovers complete Basturk deal". www.Rovers.co.uk. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  5. "Bastürk to Blackburn". www.vfb.de. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  6. "Basturk vows never to play against under Terim". ESPNsoccernet. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Mirko Dickhaut		 VfL Bochum captain
February 2001 – June 2001		 Succeeded by
Rein van Duijnhoven
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