Over 60 Players and Counting
The wave of migration that began with the labor agreement signed between Turkey and Germany in 1961 extended beyond factory workers. Today, their children and grandchildren, despite being born in Germany, proudly don the Turkish national team jersey. We have compiled a list of footballers who were born in Germany but chose to represent the Turkish national team. So far, more than 60 players have graced the field for Turkey, coming from various cities across Germany. Hakan Çalhanoğlu, born in Mannheim, holds the record for the most appearances in the iconic red jersey, followed by Hamit Altıntop from Gelsenkirchen and the unforgettable defender Ogün Temizkanoğlu from the 1990s.
Çalhanoğlu, despite his upbringing in Germany, has emerged as one of Turkey’s most passionate players. With 99 international caps, he is now stepping up as the captain of the team. Altıntop, who made 82 appearances for Turkey, is among the few Turkish players to have played for top European clubs, including Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. His brother Halil Altıntop also represented Turkey 38 times. Meanwhile, Temizkanoğlu made 76 appearances, leaving a lasting mark with his impressive performances.
The contribution of German-born footballers to the national team began in the 1990s. During this time, Yıldıray Baştürk, Tayfur Havutçu, Tayfun Korkut, and Ümit Davala, all raised in Germany, played key roles in top Turkish clubs. Havutçu was part of the legendary squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, alongside Davala and Baştürk. This generation is often regarded as the first significant wave of players born in Germany who chose to represent Turkey.
From the mid-2000s onward, Hakan Balta, who was born in Berlin, had a successful tenure at Galatasaray, earning 50 caps for Turkey. Nuri Şahin, born in Lüdencheid and a product of Borussia Dortmund’s youth academy, also collected 52 caps. Cenk Tosun, born in Wetzlar, made 53 appearances for Turkey after starting his career at Eintracht Frankfurt and later moving to Beşiktaş and then Everton in the Premier League. Kaan Ayhan from Gelsenkirchen initially represented Germany’s youth national teams but chose to play for Turkey, earning 71 caps for the senior side.
During this period, several other players born in Germany, such as Gökhan Töre, Ömer Toprak, Olcay Şahan, Yunus Mallı, Serdar Dursun, and Tolga Ciğerci, also made significant contributions to the Turkish national team. In later years, Cologne-born Salih Özcan advanced through Borussia Dortmund and joined the Turkish squad. His Stuttgart-born counterpart Kenan Karaman also contributed to Turkey’s attack. Among the notable talents of this generation is young star Kenan Yıldız, a Juventus player valued at €75 million, who rapidly established himself as one of Turkey’s principal attacking assets. Similarly, Can Uzun, a promising attacking midfielder from Frankfurt, has also chosen to represent Turkey.
