Hamit Altıntop Explained

Hamit Altıntop
Fullname:Hamit Altıntop[1]
Birth Date:8 December 1982
Birth Place:Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Height:1.83 m
Position:Midfielder
Youthyears1:1991–1992
Youthclubs1:Schwarz-Weiß Gelsenkirchen-Süd
Youthyears2:1992–1997
Youthclubs2:TuS Rotthausen
Youthyears3:1997–2000
Youthclubs3:Wattenscheid 09
Years1:2000–2003
Clubs1:Wattenscheid 09
Caps1:75
Goals1:12
Years3:2003–2007
Clubs3:Schalke 04
Caps3:113
Goals3:8
Years4:2007–2011
Clubs4:Bayern Munich
Caps4:63
Goals4:7
Years6:2011–2012
Clubs6:Real Madrid
Caps6:5
Goals6:1
Years7:2012–2017
Clubs7:Galatasaray
Caps7:61
Goals7:1
Years8:2017–2018
Clubs8:Darmstadt 98
Caps8:33
Goals8:1
Totalcaps:350
Totalgoals:30
Nationalyears1:2000
Nationalteam1:Turkey U18
Nationalcaps1:5
Nationalgoals1:3
Nationalyears2:2001
Nationalteam2:Turkey U20
Nationalcaps2:6
Nationalgoals2:1
Nationalyears3:2003
Nationalteam3:Turkey U21
Nationalcaps3:9
Nationalgoals3:2
Nationalyears4:2004–2014
Nationalteam4:Turkey
Nationalcaps4:82
Nationalgoals4:7

Hamit Altıntop (in Turkish pronounced as /haˈmit aɫˈtɯntop/; born 8 December 1982) is a Turkish former professional footballer and current board member of the Turkish Football Federation. He was a versatile midfielder who could play either in a defending or attacking role and on both flanks, known for his creative flair and long-range shooting ability. He is the identical twin brother of footballer Halil Altıntop.

Altıntop was part of the Turkey squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008. After the tournament he was voted as part of the 23-man Team of the tournament awards. He won the 2010 FIFA Puskás Award for scoring the best goal of the season in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match against Kazakhstan in a 3–0 win for his country.[2]

Club career

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 Kaiserslautern. Schalke came second in the Bundesliga, only pipped by VfB Stuttgart by two points.

Bayern Munich

Altıntop joined Bayern Munich for the 2007–08 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 DFL-Ligapokal. Munich completed the match with a 4–1 victory.

Altıntop also scored a controversial penalty against Aberdeen in the first leg of their tie in the UEFA Cup competition on 14 February 2008 at Pittodrie. The initial penalty kick was saved by Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield; however, Altıntop scored with the rebound. The match finished 2–2.[3]

In 2009–10 season, Bayern Munich competed in Champions League and they eventually went to 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, which was played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid on Saturday, 22 May 2010. He started the match in the first 11, but he was substituted for Miroslav Klose, on 63rd minute.

On 2 June 2010, Altıntop signed a new one-year contract with Bayern Munich.[4] He was eventually released by Bayern during the end of the 2010–11 season, after failing to negotiate an extension to his contract. Thus, he became a free agent.

Real Madrid

On 19 May 2011, it was announced Altıntop would move on a free transfer to Real Madrid. He signed a four-year contract with the Spanish club.[5] He made his debut for the club on 27 September at the Santiago Bernabéu in a Champions League match against AFC Ajax, coming on in the 84th minute as a replacement for Mesut Özil. He made his La Liga debut for the club on 15 October at the Santiago Bernabéu in a match against Real Betis, coming on in the 78th minute as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 December at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez in a match against Sevilla FC on the 89th minute from an assist from Xabi Alonso, coming on in the 86th minute as a replacement for Karim Benzema. He made his first starting debut for the club on 28 January 2012 at the Santiago Bernabéu in a victory over Zaragoza, playing a full match. He made his first Champions League starting debut for the club on 4 April 2012 at the Santiago Bernabéu in a 2011–12 Champions League quarter-finals match against APOEL F.C., playing a full match.

Galatasaray

On 13 July 2012, he signed a four-year contract with the Galatasaray SK for €3.5 million from Real Madrid.[6] [7] Altıntop would earn €2.4 million per-season in 2012–13 and 2013–14 in addition to a €20,000 per-match bonus.[8] He made his Galatasaray debut on 12 August 2012 in the 2012 Turkish Super Cup final against the Turkish Cup Champions Fenerbahçe. Galatasaray won 3–2, winning the title for the 12th time. He made his Süper Lig debut the following week against Kasımpaşa. Altıntop's first goal for Galatasaray was a 30-meter free kick in the 37th minute of a Champions League defeat of former club Schalke 04 on 12 March 2013.[9] Altintop failed to appear in Galatasaray's first 18 squad due to injuries during most of 2015 and 2016. He started reappearing in cup games. However, due to a disastrous performance against a second division club Tuzlaspor and the criticism of the supporters, the club decided to terminate his contract.[10]

Darmstadt 98

On 31 January 2017, Altıntop signed a season long contract with Darmstadt 98.[11] He was named the best player of the 20th matchday by the Bundesliga after contributing in major fashion to a surprise win against Borussia Dortmund.[12] He parted ways with the club on 4 January 2018 for personal reasons and moved to Turkey with his family.[13]

International career

Altıntop played in all five of Turkey's matches at UEFA Euro 2008. He assisted all three goals in the comeback against the Czech Republic and in the quarter-finals against Croatia he 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 criticized by the media, since Altıntop was a midfielder for his then-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 widely acknowledged to be one of the tournament's stars, and was included in UEFA's official 23-man "Team of the Tournament".

In January 2011, Altıntop won the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year of 2010 for his volley against Kazakhstan in September 2010 in a Euro 2012 qualifier.[14]

He was captain of the national team for the first time on 30 March 2011 in a 2–0 victory against Austria.

Managerial career

In 2018, one year after his retirement from professional, he was elected as a board of directors member of the Turkish Football Federation.

Personal life

In 2014, Altıntop married Feyza Veli in a wedding ceremony in Istanbul's renowned Çırağan Palace.[15]

Altintop was nominated as the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final ambassador, since the final was held at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

Career statistics

Club

Source:[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wattenscheid 092000–01Regionalliga Nord111111
2001–02314314
2002–03337337
Total75127512
Schalke 042003–04Bundesliga3050021335
2004–053006180441
2005–06221209120352
2006–07312202020372
Total11381012124014810
Bayern Munich2007–08Bundesliga233519331408
2008–091123040182
2009–101505160261
2010–11142307010252
Total6371622634110913
Real Madrid2011–12La Liga51304000121
Galatasaray2012–13Süper Lig2901091110401
2013–145020001080
2014–15231415000322
2015–160000000000
2016–1740510091
Total61112214120894
Darmstadt 982016–17Bundesliga160160
2017–182. Bundesliga17110181
Total33110341
Career total3503042566610146842

International

Source:

Turkey
YearAppsGoals
200460
2005100
2006110
2007112
200890
200961
201093
201160
201291
201330
201420
Total827

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

International goals! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1 28 March 2007 Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany 1–2 2–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2 2–2
3 12 August 2009 Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine 3–0 3–0 Friendly
4 3 March 2010 BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 2–0 2–0 Friendly
5 3 September 2010 Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
6 7 September 2010 Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 1–1 3–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
7 24 May 2012 Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria 1–0 3–1 Friendly

Honours

Club

Schalke 04[17]

2005

2003, 2004

Bayern Munich

2007–08, 2009–10

2007–08, 2009–10

2010

Real Madrid

2011–12

Galatasaray

2012–13, 2014–15

2013–14, 2014–15

2012, 2013, 2016

International

Turkey

Individual

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hami̇t Altintop . Turkish Football Federation . 3 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Altintop claims the FIFA Puskás Award 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101029233418/http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/index.html . dead . 29 October 2010 . FIFA.com . 19 February 2011.
  3. News: Aberdeen 2–2 Bayern Munich. BBC Sport. 14 February 2008. 12 May 2009.
  4. Web site: Altintop signs new Bayern Munich deal. Ontheminute.com. 2 June 2010. 2 June 2010. 3 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120303043418/http://www.ontheminute.com/news/news.php?news=23183. dead.
  5. News: Madrid swoop for free agent Hamit Altıntop. 19 May 2011. 19 May 2011. UEFA.com.
  6. Web site: Hamit Altıntop Galatasaray'da . tr . Galatasaray . 13 July 2012 . 13 July 2012.
  7. Web site: Altıntop leaves Madrid to join Galatasaray. UEFA. 13 July 2012. 13 July 2012.
  8. Web site: Galatasaray disclose financial details of Altintop transfer from Real Madrid . turkish-football.com . 13 July 2012 . 19 July 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121216134945/http://turkish-football.com/news_read.php?id=3197 . 16 December 2012 . dmy-all .
  9. News: Homewood . Brian . 12 March 2013 . Galatasaray oust Schalke in pulsating five-goal clash . Chicago Tribune . Chicago, Illinois . Reuters . 12 May 2014.
  10. News: Hamit Altintop'un sozlesmesi Fesh Ediliyor . Milliyet . tr . 29 December 2016 . 30 December 2016.
  11. Web site: Jungwirths versöhnlicher Abschied - Altintop unterschreibt! . de . kicker.de . 31 January 2017. 31 January 2017.
  12. Web site: Altintop von Darmstadt 98 ist der Spieler des 20. Spieltags . de . bundesliga.de . 13 February 2017 . 25 February 2017 . 25 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170225133605/http://www.bundesliga.de/de/liga/news/hamit-altintop-von-sv-darmstadt-98-ist-der-spieler-des-20-spieltags-blmvp-blmd20n.jsp . dead .
  13. News: Altintop verlässt Darmstadt mit sofortiger Wirkung. Germany. kicker online, Nürnberg. kicker online. 4 January 2018. de-DE.
  14. News: Argentina's Lionel Messi wins Fifa Ballon d'Or award. 10 January 2011 . BBC Sport. 10 January 2011.
  15. Web site: Galatasaraylı futbolcu Hamit Altıntop evlendi. CNNTürk. 12 August 2014.
  16. Web site: Hamit Altıntop. 27 June 2012. Mackolik.com. 27 June 2012.
  17. Web site: Hamit Altıntop . Soccerway . 12 August 2014.
  18. Web site: Regulations of theUEFA European Football Championship . UEFA.com . 4 December 2020.
  19. Web site: Germany-Turkey Line-ups UEFA EURO . UEFA.com . 4 December 2020.
  20. Web site: UEFA EURO 2008™ squad lists announced . UEFA.com . 28 May 2008 . 4 December 2020.
  21. Web site: Bundesliga Historie 2005/06. de. kicker.
  22. Web site: Spain dominate Team of the Tournament . 30 June 2008 . 30 June 2008 . euro2008.uefa.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080902032257/http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind%3D1/newsid%3D729372.html . 2 September 2008 . dmy-all .
  23. https://ru.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/025e-0fa1e66c32e9-be5610181259-1000--%D0%BB%D1%83%D1%87%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%B0/ Лучшие ассистенты ЕВРО. Статистика и рекорды