Mehmet Ekici

Mehmet Ekici

Personal information
Date of birth	25 March 1990 (1990-03-25)
Place of birth	Munich, Germany
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Werder Bremen
Number	20
Youth career
0000–1997	SpVgg Unterhaching
1997–2007	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2010	Bayern Munich II	70	(18)
2008–2011	Bayern Munich	0	(0)
2010–2011	→ 1. FC Nuremberg (loan)	32	(3)
2011–	Werder Bremen	16	(1)
National team‡
2007	Germany U-17	3	(0)
2007	Germany U-18	1	(2)
2008	Germany U-19	1	(0)
2009	Germany U-20	4	(1)
2010	Germany U-21	3	(0)
2010–	Turkey	6	(0)
Honours Bayern Munich Winner Bundesliga 2010 Winner DFB-Pokal 2010 Runner-up UEFA Champions League 2010 Germany U-17 Third FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2007
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2011

Mehmet Ekici (born 25 March 1990 in Munich) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Werder Bremen, having previously played for 1. FC Nuremberg and Bayern Munich.

Born in Germany, Ekici played for the Germany national football team at Under-17 to Under-21 level before switching to represent Turkey in senior competition.

Career

Bayern Munich

Ekici has appeared for Bayern Munich's first team, making his debut in the 2008 T-Home Super Cup. He has been named in Bayern Munich's squad for the both the 2008–09 and 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. In January 2010, it was announced that Ekici would train with the first-team for the rest of the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mates David Alaba and Diego Contento, and on 1 February, he followed Contento in signing a contract with the senior team. He was an unused substitute for a few matches before injury ruled him out of the end of the season. In July 2010, he joined 1. FC Nuremberg on a season-long loan.

Werder Bremen

On 18 May 2011, he transferred to Werder Bremen for a fee believed to be around €5 million. He scored his first goal for Bremen on 17 September, against his former club 1. FC Nuremberg in match that ended in a 1-1 draw.

International career

Although he has represented Germany, the nation of his birth, at youth and U21 levels, he has elected to play for Turkey at the senior level.

He was called up to Turkish side by Guus Hiddink for the friendly match against the Netherlands. On 29 March 2011 Ekici represented Turkey in his first major international match against Austria where he played right-wing with Turkish play-maker Arda Turan on the left-wing. The two combined extremely well^{[citation needed]} which resulted in Turkey winning the match 2–0 and getting their UEFA Euro 2012 qualification back on-track. Ekici is considered a future star for Turkey^{[citation needed]} and has gone with Turkish manager Guus Hiddink to 1. FC Nuremberg to try to persuade his close friend İlkay Gündoğan to follow in his paths in playing for Turkey.

Career statistics

As of 3 February 2012 (2012 -02-03)

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Europe		Total
2007–08	Bayern Munich II	Regionalliga Süd	9	0	—		—		9	0
2008–09		3rd Liga	32	6	—				32	6
2009–10			29	12					29	12
2010–11	1. FC Nuremberg	Bundesliga	32	3	4	1	—		36	4
2011–12	Werder Bremen		16	1	1	0	—		17	1
Career total			118	22	5	1	0	0	123	23

Honours

• Bundesliga (1): 2009–10
• DFB-Pokal (1): 2009–10

External links

• Mehmet Ekici at transfermarkt.de (German)
• Mehmet Ekici at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Interview with Cezasahasi.net (Turkish)