Levin Öztunalı

Levin Öztunalı
Personal information
Full name Levin Mete Öztunalı
Date of birth (1996-03-15) 15 March 1996
Place of birth Hamburg, Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
Mainz 05
Number 8
Youth career
TuRa Harksheide
2004–2006 Eintracht Norderstedt
2006–2013 Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Bayer Leverkusen 15 (0)
2015–2016Werder Bremen (loan) 41 (2)
2016– Mainz 05 9 (2)
National team
2010–2011 Germany U15 4 (1)
2011–2012 Germany U16 5 (0)
2012–2013 Germany U17 14 (0)
2013–2014 Germany U19 11 (3)
2014– Germany U20 11 (1)
2015– Germany U21 10 (3)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2016

Levin Mete Öztunalı (born 15 March 1996) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mainz 05 and the Germany U21 national team.

Club career

Bayer Leverkusen

On 2 February 2013 Bayer Leverkusen announced the signing of Öztunalı from Bundesliga rivals HSV on a 5-year deal, with the transfer to be completed at the end of the season.[1] He made his debut on 10 August, coming on as a late substitute for Gonzalo Castro in a 3-1 win over Freiburg.[2] At 17 years and 146 days Öztunalı became the youngest player to ever play for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, and the 11th youngest player in the history of the competition.[3] On 26 August 2014 Öztunalı was voted the second best u-18 player in Germany behind teammate Julian Brandt, in doing so he was awarded the silver Fritz Walter Medal.[4]

Loan spells at Werder Bremen

On 21 December 2014 Öztunalı joined Werder Bremen on an 18-month loan deal, running until the end of the 2015-16 campaign.[5] Upon his arrival in Bremen, Chief Executive Thomas Eichin described Öztunalı as "one of the most sought-after talents in the Bundesliga."[6] His first goal for Die Grün-Weißen came on the final day of the 2014–15 season when he netted in a 3–2 loss to Borussia Dortmund.[7] Öztunalı had to wait until May the following the season to score his next goal for the club, netting one and assisting another in a 6-2 drubbing of Stuttgart. The result saw Bremen climb out of the relegation zone at the expense of their opponents.[8] He made his final appearance for the club on 14 May, playing for 77 minutes as Bremen beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 to avoid relegation.[9]

On 2 June 2016, amid speculation that Öztunalı would remain at Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen director of football Rudi Völler confirmed that he would be returning to Leverkusen and would be part of the squad for the following season.[10] Öztunalı amassed a total of 46 appearances across all competitions during his 18-month spell with Werder Bremen.

Mainz 05

On 25 August 2016, Leverkusen's Bundesliga rivals Mainz 05 announced the signing of Öztunalı on a five-year deal.[11] He made his debut against Borussia Dortmund on 27 August, coming on as a second half-substitute for Suat Serdar, and scored his first goal for the club in the following match-week in a 4-4 draw with Hoffenheim.[12] He scored his first ever European goal on 29 September, netting the winner in a 3-2 UEFA Europa League victory over Azerbaijani side, Qabala.[13]

Club statistics

As of 29 October 2016

Club[14] Season[14] League Cup Continental Total Ref.
League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bayer Leverkusen 2013–14 Bundesliga 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 [14]
2014–15 6 0 1 0 1 0 8 0 [14]
Totals 15 0 1 0 1 0 17 0
Werder Bremen (loan) 2014–15 Bundesliga 16 1 1 0 0 0 17 1 [14]
2015–16 25 1 4 000 29 1 [14]
Totals 41 2 5 000 46 2
Mainz 2016–17 Bundesliga 9 2 1 0 3 1 13 3 [14]
Totals 9 2 1 0 3 1 13 3
Career totals 63 3 6 0 3 1 76 5

Honours

International

Germany U19

Personal life

Öztunali is the grandson of former German international football legend and World Cup finalist Uwe Seeler.[15] His father is Turkish and previously served as a scout for Hamburg.[16]

References

  1. Leverkusen, Bayer (2 February 2013). "Bayer 04 sign Levin Öztunali". Bayer Leverkusen. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. McCauley, Kevin (10 August 2013). "Bayer 04 sign Levin Öztunali". SB Nation. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. "Seeler grandson writes history". Bild (in German). 12 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. Leverkusen, Bayer (26 August 2014). "Brandt awarded gold Fritz Walter medal". Bayer Leverkusen. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  5. Bremen, Werder (21 December 2014). "Levin Öztunalı amplifies the SV Werder" (in German). Werder Bremen. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  6. Killen, Stephen (21 December 2014). "German U-20 Levin Öztunali joins Werder Bremen on loan 'til 2016". Vavel. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  7. Thompson, Peter (23 May 2015). "Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Werder Bremen: Dortmund seals European spot as Klopp says farewell". Goal. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  8. "Werder Bremen go clear of relegation zone with rout of Stuttgart". ESPN. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  9. "Bundesliga results: Werder Bremen avoid relegation thanks to Djilobodji goal and amazing support". talkSPORT. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  10. Lußem, Frank (2 June 2016). "Öztunali: Völler schiebt den Riegel vor". kicker. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  11. "Öztunali is a Zerofiver". Mainz 05. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  12. "Augsburg keep down Werder Bremen; Hoffenheim storm back in Mainz draw". ESPN. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  13. "Zlatan Ibrahimovic lifts Man United as Inter lose again in Europa League". ESPN. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Levin Öztunali Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  15. Bogena, Kai Niels (7 November 2015). "Die Karriere-Knick des Uwe-Seeler-Enkels" (in German). Die Welt. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  16. "Seeler wütet nach Wechsel seines Enkels zu Bayer 04". RD Online (in German). 4 February 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
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