Yıldıray Baştürk

Yıldıray Baştürk

Personal information
Full name	Yıldıray Baştürk
Date of birth	24 December 1978 (1978-12-24)
Place of birth	Herne, West Germany
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	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)
National team‡
1998–2008	Turkey	49	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:10, 24 April 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:00, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Yıldıray Baştürk (pronounced [jɯɫˈdɯˈɾaj baʃˈtyrk]; born 24 December 1978) is a retired German-born Turkish footballer who most recently played for English Premier League 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 more success was coming his way. Baştürk and Leverkusen finished second in the German league, the German Cup and the 2002 Champions League Final.

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.

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, after his contract with Stuttgart was terminated. 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.

Name

• Although it is customary for Turkish footballers to be known by their first name, Baştürk is usually known by his surname due to his German upbringing and his rise to prominence coming in German football.
• "Baştürk" means "Head of the Turks" in Turkish.

Honours

• Turkey
  • FIFA World Cup: 3rd place 2002
  • FIFA Confederations Cup: 3rd place 2003

• Bayer Leverkusen
  • UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 2001–02

External links

• Leverkusen who's who (German)
• Yıldıray Baştürk at transfermarkt.de (German)
• Yıldıray Baştürk at worldfootball.net
• Yıldıray Baştürk at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Yıldıray Baştürk at ESPN

Sporting positions
Preceded by Mirko Dickhaut	VfL Bochum captain February 2001 – June 2001	Succeeded by Rein van Duijnhoven