Nuri Şahin

Şahin with Liverpool
Personal information
Full name	Nuri Kazım Şahin
Date of birth	(1988-09-05) 5 September 1988 (age 24)
Place of birth	Lüdenscheid, West Germany
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Borussia Dortmund (on loan from Real Madrid)
Number	18
Youth career
1994–2000	RSV Meinerzhagen
2000–2005	Borussia Dortmund
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2008	Borussia Dortmund II	7	(1)
2005–2011	Borussia Dortmund	135	(13)
2007–2008	→ Feyenoord (loan)	29	(6)
2011–	Real Madrid	4	(0)
2012–2013	→ Liverpool (loan)	7	(1)
2013–	→ Borussia Dortmund (loan)	15	(3)
National team‡
2003	Turkey U16	2	(0)
2004–2005	Turkey U17	21	(5)
2004–2005	Turkey U19	6	(0)
2007–2008	Turkey U21	11	(4)
2005–	Turkey	40	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:04, 15 May 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:38, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

Nuri Kazım Şahin (Turkish pronunciation: [nuːˈɾɪ cäːˈzɯm ˈʃäːhin], born 5 September 1988) is a Turkish footballer who plays as a midfielder for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund (on loan from Real Madrid) and the Turkish national team. He began his career at Borussia Dortmund, spending six years there – including a year-long loan at Feyenoord – before signing for Real Madrid in 2011 for €10 million.^[2] In August 2012 he agreed to a one year loan deal with Liverpool, which was terminated in January 2013 to allow him to return to Dortmund on an 18-month loan.

Club career [edit]

Şahin with Feyenoord

Borussia Dortmund [edit]

On 6 August 2005, at the age of 16 years and 334 days, Şahin set a record by becoming the youngest player to have played in the Bundesliga, and on 25 November of the same year became the youngest player to score a goal in the Bundesliga, scoring for Borussia Dortmund against 1. FC Nuremberg.^[3]

On 5 July 2007, Şahin was transferred to Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie on a one-year loan agreement, where he was reunited with Bert van Marwijk, his former coach at Borussia Dortmund.^[4]

Şahin returned to Dortmund, where he played an important role in the 2009–10 season, starting 33 out of 34 matches. He ended the season with four goals and eight assists.^[5] Şahin won the Bundesliga title with Dortmund in the 2010–11 season.^[6] After a strong season, in which he scored seven goals and made eight assists, Şahin was voted best player of the season in the Bundesliga for 2011.^[7]

Real Madrid [edit]

On 9 May 2011, after weeks of speculation, Şahin announced his departure from Dortmund in a press room at Signal Iduna Park. He signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid of La Liga.^[8] He stated the main reason to join Real Madrid was because of José Mourinho and the chance of playing for a club as prestigious as Real Madrid.^[9] He made his official debut as a substitute in a 7–1 thrashing of CA Osasuna^[10] at the Santiago Bernabéu on 6 November 2011,^[11] as he had been sidelined by injury problems since August earlier that year. On 20 December 2011, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid as they thrashed SD Ponferradina 5–1 in the Copa del Rey. On 27 March 2012, he was named in the starting XI to face APOEL in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, where his performance was praised by Mourinho and various newspapers.

Liverpool (loan) [edit]

Şahin playing for Turkey in 2010

On 25 August 2012, Real Madrid agreed to loan Şahin to Liverpool on a season-long deal, where he was given the number 4 shirt.^[12] On 2 September 2012, Şahin made his Liverpool debut in the 2–0 home defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League. On 26 September, Şahin scored his first and second goal for Liverpool in the third round of the League Cup against West Bromwich Albion as the game ended in a 2–1 win.^[13] He scored his first Premier League goal and setting two goals, three days later in a 5–2 win against Norwich City.^[14] In his five month loan spell at Liverpool, Şahin managed to get three goals and three assists in 12 matches. After leaving Liverpool, Şahin said he was never happy at both Real Madrid and Liverpool,^[15] though he was happy to get a chance to play with captain Steven Gerrard.^[16] On 14 March 2013, Şahin expressed his tenure at Liverpool FC as difficult and said: 'Thank god I have left Brendan Rodgers'.^[17]

Return to Borussia Dortmund (loan) [edit]

On 14 January 2013, Liverpool announced that they had in agreement with all parties terminated the loan agreement with Real Madrid and Şahin, and that this would now allow Şahin to join Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season.^[18] Şahin spoke about the deal saying, "I realised that as a footballer and a human being, I belong here 100 per cent." Şahin also said "I noticed quickly that I only want to play for Dortmund."^[19] His return move delighted manager Jürgen Klopp.^[20] Prior his debut in the friendly match against Mainz, in which Dortmund won on penalties, Şahin said he was quite nervous for his return.^[21] Eight days later, he made his first league appearance, since leaving Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in a later minute, as Dortmund defeated Werder Bremen 5–0. On 16 March 2013, Şahin scored two goals in a 5–1 Dortmund victory over SC Freiburg.^[22]

International career [edit]

Şahin won the bronze ball prize at the 2005 Under-17 World Cup in Peru after a successful tournament with Turkey, finishing in fourth place. Şahin is the youngest player to have played and scored for Turkey. Notably, he scored during his debut which was a match against Germany, the country of his birth.

Playing style [edit]

Left-footed, armed with good technique and vision, Şahin is both powerful long-passer with excelling accuracy and mid-ranged shooter. He is currently considered a prominent Turkey player, and also compared with Cesc Fàbregas.^[23]

Personal life [edit]

Şahin was born in Lüdenscheid and grew up in Meinerzhagen.^[24] He is married to Tuğba Şahin. In September 2011, she gave birth to a son, Ömer, in Madrid.^[25] Şahin is fluent in five languages, and they are Turkish, German, English, Dutch and Spanish.^[26]

Career statistics [edit]

Club [edit]

As of 15 May 2013^[27][28]

International [edit]

As of 27 March 2013^[30]

International goals [edit]

Scores and results table. Turkey's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 October 2005	Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Germany	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2.	24 May 2012	Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria	Georgia	2–0	3–1	Friendly

Honours [edit]

Club [edit]

Feyenoord

• KNVB Cup (1): 2007–08

Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga (1): 2010–11

Real Madrid

• La Liga (1): 2011–12

International [edit]

Turkey

• UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship (1): 2005

Individual [edit]

• FIFA U-17 World Championship Bronze Ball (1): 2005
• FIFA U-17 World Championship Silver Shoe (1): 2005
• Bundesliga Player of the Season (1): 2010–11
• ESM Team of the Year (1): 2010–11

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nuri Şahin

• Official website (German) (Turkish)
• Nuri Şahin at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Nuri Şahin at transfermarkt.de (German)
• Nuri Şahin – FIFA competition record
• Nuri Şahin – UEFA competition record

v t e Turkey squad – 2005 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Winners (2nd title) 1 Volkan 2 Serdar 3 Ferhat 4 Erkan 5 Mehmet 6 Harun 7 Özgürcan 8 Caner 9 Tevfik 10 Nuri 11 Deniz 12 Onur 13 Anıl 14 Aydın 15 Emre 16 Umut 17 Murat 18 Muhammed Ali Coach: Abdullah Avcı

v t e Turkey squad – 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship Fourth Place 1 Volkan 2 Mehmet 3 Ferhat 4 Erkan 5 Serdar 6 Harun 7 Deniz 8 Caner 9 Tevfik 10 Nuri 11 Özgürcan 12 Onur 13 Emre 14 Aydın 15 Anıl 16 Ergün 17 Cengiz 18 Murat 19 Aykut 20 Eray Coach: Abdullah Avcı