Hamit Altıntop
File:Hamit Altintop.JPG | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Hamit Altıntop | ||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Bayern Munich | ||
Number | 8 |
Hamit Altıntop (born 8 December 1982 in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany) is a German-born Turkish national footballer. He is a versatile midfielder and can play either in a defending or attacking role. He is well known for his flair of long-shot ability, as shown when he played for Schalke 04 and so far with Bayern Munich.
He is the identical twin brother of footballer Halil Altıntop, who was born 10 minutes after Hamit.[1]
Schalke
Altıntop started his professional career in local German club Wattenscheid in 2000 along with his brother. As successful performances grabbed the attention of bigger clubs, he was transferred to Schalke 04 in 2003, where he played in a primarily defensive midfield role. In the 2006–07 summer transfer window, Schalke signed his brother Halil from FC Kaiserslautern. Schalke came second in the Bundesliga, only pipped by VfB Stuttgart by two points.
Bayern Munich
Hamit joined Bayern Munich for the 2007–2008 season on a free transfer from Schalke 04. He scored his first goal in his first game for Bayern when they faced the Brazilian champions São Paulo. Munich went on winning the game 2-1 after his spectacular free-kick. Remaining as one of Munich's starters, he scored another left-foot goal out of 30 meters distance against Werder Bremen in the Liga-Pokal. Munich completed the match with a 4-1 victory.
Altıntop also scored against Aberdeen F.C. in the first leg of their tie in the UEFA Cup competition on 14 February 2008. The initial penalty kick was saved by Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield, however Altintop was quick to score the rebound. The match finished 2-2.
Honours
- Schalke 04
- German League-Cup: 2006
- Bundesliga Runner-up: 2007
- FC Bayern Munich
- German League-Cup: 2007
- Bundesliga Champions: 2008
- German Cup: 2008
- Turkey
- Carlsberg UEFA EURO 2008 Man of the Match Award (vs Croatia)
- UEFA EURO 2008 Team of the tournament[2]
International career
Goals for Turkey
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 28 March 2007 | Frankfurt, Germany | ![]() |
1-2 | 2-2 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
2. | 28 March 2007 | Frankfurt, Germany | ![]() |
2-2 | 2-2 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
Euro 2008
Hamit played in all five of Turkey's matches. He assisted all three goals in the comeback against the Czech Republic and in the quarter finals against Croatia he had another solid game and scored the third penalty to make it 3:1 in the shoot out. After goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber saved the next Croatian penalty, Turkey advanced to the semi-finals against Germany. Turkish coach Fatih Terim used him as a right defender in the first two games of the tournament, a move that was heavily criticised by the media, since Hamit is a midfielder for his club Bayern Munich. After the match against Switzerland, Terim switched him to midfield for the remainder of the tournament, which boosted both Turkey's and his own performance. His bold playing style and decisive passes made him a dominant player in the Turkish midfield. He was awarded with the Carlsberg Man of the Match award following the quarter final match against Croatia.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Altıntop was universally acknowledged to be one of the tournament's stars, and was included in UEFA's official 23-man "Team of the Tournament". He is the first (and only) Turkish player to appear in the list.[2]
References
- ^ "Hamit: Halil sorumluluğu bana kıraktı". ntvspor.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 24 December 2007.
- ^ a b "Spain dominate Team of the Tournament". euro2008.uefa.com. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
External links
- 1982 births
- Living people
- Twin people
- People from Gelsenkirchen
- Germans of Turkish descent
- Turkish footballers
- German footballers
- Turkey international footballers
- SG Wattenscheid 09 players
- UEFA Euro 2008 players
- Schalke 04 players
- FC Bayern Munich players
- First Bundesliga footballers
- Football (soccer) utility players
- Football (soccer) midfielders