Atakan Karazor
Karazor with VfB Stuttgart in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-10-13) 13 October 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth Essen, Germany
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 VfB Stuttgart
Number 16
Youth career
0000–2012 Schwarz-Weiß Essen
2012–2015 VfL Bochum
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Borussia Dortmund II 59 (1)
2017–2018 Holstein Kiel II 7 (1)
2017–2019 Holstein Kiel 26 (2)
2019– VfB Stuttgart 120 (2)
2020 VfB Stuttgart II 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Atakan Karazor (born 13 October 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart.[2]

He began his senior career at Borussia Dortmund II in the Regionalliga West before playing for Holstein Kiel for two seasons in the 2. Bundesliga. In 2019, he joined Stuttgart, where he won promotion to the Bundesliga in his first season.

Career

Early years

Born in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Karazor played as a youth for local Schwarz-Weiß Essen and VfL Bochum. In 2015, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he made his senior debut with the reserve team in the Regionalliga West, playing 59 games over two seasons and scoring on 4 October 2015 in a 2–0 win at 1. FC Köln II.[3]

Holstein Kiel

In June 2017, Karazor left his native region and signed for Holstein Kiel in the 2. Bundesliga on a three-year deal.[4] He injured his ankle ligaments in pre-season, recovering to make the squad in November,[5] before making his professional debut on 23 January by starting in a 2–2 home draw with 1. FC Union Berlin.[6] He scored his first professional goals in 2018–19, equalising in a draw of the same score against SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the Holstein-Stadion on 17 February,[7] and in a 1–1 draw away to FC Ingolstadt 04 on 14 April.[8]

VfB Stuttgart

In May 2019, it was announced Karazor would move to VfB Stuttgart on a contract until 2023. The transfer fee paid to Kiel was reported as about €1 million[9] or €800,000.[10] He played 23 games in his first season as the team won promotion to the Bundesliga as runners-up, and he scored twice on 21 June 2020 in a 6–0 win at 1. FC Nürnberg.[11]

Karazor made his top-flight debut on 3 October 2020 in a 1–1 draw at home to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, as an 84th-minute substitute for Daniel Didavi.[citation needed] On 24 October the following year, he was sent off for the first time in his career in a game of the same score against Union Berlin at the Mercedes-Benz Arena for two yellow cards in the space of 35 seconds.[12]

On 19 May 2022, Karazor extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2026.[13] He returned to training and playing after his arrest and bail in Spain over the summer; the decision for the club to play him was endorsed by sporting director Sven Mislintat who cited the presumption of innocence.[14]

Personal life

Born in Germany, Karazor is of Turkish descent.[15]

On 11 June 2022, VfB Stuttgart confirmed via the club's website that Karazor had been arrested while on holiday in Ibiza.[16] He was remanded in custody while investigations continue; Spanish law permits a maximum of two years' pre-trial detention.[17] On 21 July, he was released after paying €50,000 in bail and permitted to leave Spain, due to Germany's law enforcement cooperation with Spain and his professional career presenting a low risk of absconding to a third country.[18][19][20]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 March 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total Ref.
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Borussia Dortmund II 2015–16 Regionalliga West 30 1 — — — 30 1 [21]
2016–17 Regionalliga West 29 0 — — — 29 0 [21]
Total 59 1 — — — 59 1 —
Holstein Kiel 2017–18 2. Bundesliga 4 0 0 0 — — 4 0 [21]
2018–19 2. Bundesliga 22 2 2 0 — — 24 2 [21]
Total 26 2 2 0 — — 28 2 —
Holstein Kiel II 2017–18 Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein 5 0 — — — 5 0 [21]
2018–19 Regionalliga Nord 2 1 — — — 2 1 [21]
Total 7 1 — — — 7 1 —
VfB Stuttgart 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 23 2 2 0 — — 25 2 [21]
2020–21 Bundesliga 19 0 0 0 — — 19 0 [21]
2021–22 Bundesliga 24 0 1 0 — — 25 0 [21]
2022–23 Bundesliga 29 0 4 0 — 2[a] 0 35 0 [21]
2023–24 Bundesliga 25 0 4 0 — — 29 0 [21]
Total 120 2 11 0 — 2 0 133 2 —
VfB Stuttgart II 2020–21 Regionalliga Südwest 2 0 — — — 2 0 [21]
Career total 213 6 13 0 0 0 2 0 228 6 —
  1. ^ Appearances in Relegation play-offs

References

  1. ^ "Atakan Karazor". VfB Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Atakan Karazor". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  3. ^ "RL West: Leitner schießt Dortmund zum Sieg" (in German). MSPW. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ^ "U23s: Atakan Karazor set for move to the second tier". Borussia Dortmund. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ^ Geidel, Andreas (15 November 2017). "Holstein Kiel: Atakan Karazor schaltet in den Angriffs-Modus". Sport Buzzer. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Der Familienmensch" (in German). Holstein Kiel. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Wahl rettet Kiel mit Last-Minute-Tor einen Punkt". Rheinische Post (in German). 17 February 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Remis hilft weder Ingolstadt noch Kiel weiter". Rheinische Post (in German). 14 April 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  9. ^ Preiß, Dirk (15 May 2019). "VfB holt Atakan Karazor von Holstein Kiel". Stuttgarter Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  10. ^ "VfB verpflichtet Kiels Karazor". kicker (in German). 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Doppelpacker Gonzalez und Karazor: Stuttgart fertigt Nürnberg ab". kicker (in German). 21 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Union Berlin gibt sicher geglaubten Sieg in Stuttgart aus der Hand" (in German). Sport Buzzer. 24 October 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Atakan Karazor signs extension; permanent deal for Dinos Mavropanos". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  14. ^ Preiss, Gregor (14 August 2022). "Der schwierige Umgang des VfB Stuttgart mit Atakan Karazor". Stuttgarter Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  15. ^ "International Turkish Footballers – Dortmund altyapısından yeni Türk yetenek". www.internationalturkishfootballers.com (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Ermittlungen gegen Atakan Karazor" [Investigations against Atakan Karazor] (in German). 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  17. ^ Bollenbacher, Michael; Köstler, Andreas; Seemüller, Johannes (16 July 2022). "Der VfB Stuttgart ohne inhaftierten Karazor: "Wir denken täglich an ihn"" [VfB Stuttgart without imprisoned Karazor: "We think of him every day"] (in German). Südwestrundfunk. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  18. ^ "El futbolista Atakan Karazor, acusado de agresión sexual en Ibiza, paga 50.000 euros para salir de la cárcel" [Footballer Atakan Karazor, accused of sexual assault in Ibiza, pays 50,000 euros to leave prison]. Sport (in Spanish). 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Vergewaltigungsvorwurf auf Ibiza: Stuttgarter Fußballprofi Atakan Karazor kommt auf Kaution frei" [Rape accusation in Ibiza: Stuttgart professional footballer Atakan Karazor released on bail]. Mallorca Zeitung (in German). 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Stuttgarts Atakan Karazor in Spanien aus U-Haft entlassen" [Stuttgart's Atakan Karazor released from custody in Spain]. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (in German). 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Atakan Karazor » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 8 February 2020.

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