ISTANBUL
Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final is approaching as 2023 final will see the first Turkish descent player win the top-tier club trophy.
England’s Manchester City will face Italy’s Inter Milan at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul this weekend.
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan, a German midfielder of Turkish descent, and Inter’s Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu will vie for this season’s Champions League title.
This season, Gundogan played 12 Champions League matches to score one goal.
Meanwhile, Calhanoglu had one goal in 11 matches in the Champions League.
Either Manchester City’s Gundogan or Inter’s Calhanoglu will win the 2023 title in Istanbul.
Other Turkish descent players in previous UCL finals
Four players of Turkish descent had an opportunity to be in the previous Champions League finals.
Arda Turan (Atletico Madrid – 2014), Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund – 2013), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich – 2010), and Yildiray Basturk (Bayer Leverkusen – 2002) were unable to win the Champions League title with their teams.
Gundogan was a Dortmund midfielder, alongside Sahin, in the 2013 final that Bayern Munich won 2-1 in London.
Turan was injured to be sidelined for the 2014 final but his former team Atletico Madrid lost to Real Madrid 4-1 in Lisbon.
Altintop was a Bayern Munich midfielder in the 2009-2010 season but the Bavarian club were beaten 2-0 by Inter in the final in Madrid.
Bayer Leverkusen’s attacking midfielder Basturk played in the 2002 final. However, Real Madrid toppled the German club 2-1 in Glasgow to be the winners.
