Nuri Şahin is a Turkish footballer who plays as a midfielder for the German Bundesliga
club Borussia Dortmund and the Turkey national football team.
Şahin began his career at Borussia Dortmund, spending six years there and winning the Bundesliga
in 2011 – including a year-long loan at Feyenoord – before signing for Real Madrid
in 2011 for €10 million.
In August 2012, Şahin 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 Borussia Dortmund
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.
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.
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.
Şahin won the Bundesliga title with Dortmund in the 2010–11 season.
After a strong season, in which he scored six goals and had eight assists, he was voted
the Bundesliga player of the season.
Real Madrid 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.
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.
He made his official debut as a substitute in a 7–1 thrashing of CA Osasuna at the
Santiago Bernabéu on 6 November 2011, 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
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.
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.
He scored his first Premier League goal and setting two goals, three days later in a 5–2
win against Norwich City.
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,
though he was happy to get a chance to play with captain Steven Gerrard.
Return to Borussia Dortmund 2012–13 season
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.
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."
His return move delighted manager Jürgen Klopp.
Prior his debut in the friendly match against Mainz, in which Dortmund won on penalties,
Şahin said he was quite nervous for his return.
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.
2013–14 season On 27 July 2013, Şahin won the 2013 DFL-Supercup
with Dortmund 4–2 against rivals Bayern Munich.
On 26 October 2013, Şahin scored a goal for Dortmund in the Revierderby against rivals
Schalke in a 3–1 win for Dortmund.
On 10 April 2014, Borussia Dortmund activated a clause in Sahin's contract that allowed
him to return permanently for a fee reported to be in the region of 7 million euros.
International career
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 Left-footed, armed with good technique and
vision, Şahin is both an excellent long range passer and mid-ranged shooter which sees his
primary position as a deep-lying playmaker.
Personal life Şahin was born to Turkish parents in Lüdenscheid
and grew up in Meinerzhagen.
He is married to his cousin Tuğba Şahin since November 2007.
In September 2011, she gave birth to a son, Ömer, in Madrid.
Şahin is fluent in five languages, they are Turkish, German, English, Dutch and Spanish.
Career statistics Club
As of 25 August 2014 1.^ Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA
Europa League, and UEFA Intertoto Cup.
2.^ Includes League Cup and DFL-Supercup. 3.^ Does not include reserve team statistics.
International As of 1 June 2014
International goals Scores and results table.
Turkey's goal tally first: Honours
Club
Feyenoord KNVB Cup: 2007–08
Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga: 2010–11
DFL-Supercup: 2013, 2014 UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2012–13
Real Madrid La Liga: 2011–12
International Turkey
UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2005 Individual
UEFA European Under-17 Championship Golden Player: 2005
FIFA U-17 World Cup Bronze Ball: 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup Silver Shoe: 2005
Bundesliga Player of the Season: 2010–11 ESM Team of the Year: 2010–11
References
External links Nuri Şahin at fussballdaten.de
Nuri Şahin – FIFA competition record Nuri Şahin – UEFA competition record
Bundesliga profile Kicker profile