Salih Özcan
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Özcan with Borussia Dortmund in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 January 1998[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cologne, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Borussia Dortmund | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2007 | SC West Köln | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2016 | 1. FC Köln | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | 1. FC Köln II | 22 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2022 | 1. FC Köln | 110 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | → Holstein Kiel (loan) | 28 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Borussia Dortmund | 62 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | → VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Germany U15 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Germany U16 | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Germany U17 | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Germany U18 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Germany U19 | 8 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Germany U20 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Germany U21 | 15 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Turkey | 27 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:20, 17 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Salih Özcan (born 11 January 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Born in Germany, he plays for the Turkey national team.[2]
Club career
Köln
Born in Germany, Özcan is of Turkish descent as he was born into a Turkish family. Özcan spent the majority of his youth career in 1. FC Köln's youth system. He first featured in 1. FC Köln's first team in September 2016 in a Bundesliga match against Schalke 04.[3] During the 2017–18 season he consistently started in central midfield. He scored his first league goal on 2 September 2018 in a 2. Bundesliga match against FC St. Pauli.[4]
In 2017, Özcan was awarded the golden Fritz Walter Medal for the best U19 player in Germany.[5]
On 29 June 2021, in spite of speculations about a possible transfer, the club announced that Özcan had signed a new two-year contract with Köln.[6]
Loan to Holstein Kiel
On 23 August 2019, Özcan joined Holstein Kiel on loan until the end of 2019–20 season.[7] On 26 August 2025, he made his debut with the team as a starter in a 2. Bundesliga match against FC St. Pauli, they lost 2-1.
Borussia Dortmund
On 23 May 2022, it was reported that Özcan would join Borussia Dortmund for the 2022–23 season and that he would sign a contract with the club until 2026. The German sports magazine kicker estimated the transfer fee to be €5 million.[8]
On 27 August 2022, he made his debut with the team as a starter in a Bundesliga match against Hertha Berlin. On 6 September 2022, he made his continental debut with the team in a UEFA Champions League match against København.
Loan to Wolfsburg
On 28 August 2024, Özcan moved on loan to VfL Wolfsburg.[9]
On 31 August 2024, he made his debut with Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga away match against Holstein Kiel, they won 2-0.
International career
Özcan was eligible for both the Turkish and German national teams,[10] and played for Germany's youth teams.[11] He played his last game for Germany U21 on 6 June 2021, starting in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final.[12]
On 25 March 2022, Özcan was called up to the Turkey national team by head coach Stefan Kuntz.[13] He debuted in a friendly 3–2 loss to Italy on 29 March 2022.[14]
On 7 June 2024, he was named in the final squad of 26 players selected by Vincenzo Montella to take part in UEFA Euro 2024.[15]
On 18 November 2025, he scored his first national goal against Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 21 September 2025[17]
| Club | Season | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1. FC Köln II | 2015–16 | Regionalliga West | 16 | 3 | — | — | — | 16 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17 | Regionalliga West | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Regionalliga West | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Regionalliga West | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 4 | — | — | — | 22 | 4 | |||||
| 1. FC Köln | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 2. Bundesliga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 28 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | |||
| Total | 110 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 128 | 4 | ||
| Holstein Kiel (loan) | 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 5 | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9[c] | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 62 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 0 | — | 88 | 0 | |||
| VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 234 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 279 | 13 | ||
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Bundesliga relegation play-offs
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
- As of match played 18 November 2025[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 2022 | 7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 27 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2025 | La Cartuja, Seville, Spain | 27 | Spain | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [16] |
Honours
Borussia Dortmund
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2023–24[19]
1. FC Köln
Germany U21
Individual
References
- ^ a b "Salih Özcan | Playerprofile | Bundesliga". bundesliga.com. DFL. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Salih Özcan at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Drei Punkte auf Schalke". 1.FC Köln (in German). Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "St. Pauli verliert Torspektakel gegen Köln". NDR.de (in German). Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Auszeichnung vor Länderspiel FC-Talent: Öczan mit Fritz-Walter-Medaille ausgezeichnet". Kölner Stadtanzeiger (in German). 5 September 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "FC verlängert mit Salih Özcan". 1. FC Köln (in German). Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Die KSV verpflichtet Özcan vom 1. FC Köln" (in German). Holstein Kiel. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Vierter BVB-Neuzugang perfekt: Özcan kommt vom 1. FC Köln". kicker (in German).
- ^ "Leihe vom BVB" [Loan from BVB] (in German). VfL Wolfsburg. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "1. FC Köln: Mergim Mavraj und Salih Özcan sprechen über ihre Freundschaft | Express.de". Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ^ "Salih Özcan – Spielerprofil". DFB Datencenter.
- ^ "Germany U21 1-0 Portugal U21 (Jun 6, 2021) Game Analysis". ESPN. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Salih Özcan aday kadroya dâhil edildi". Turkish Football Federation (in Turkish).
- ^ "Turkey vs. Italy – 29 March 2022 – Soccerway".
- ^ "A Millî Takımımızın EURO 2024 Kadrosu Açıklandı - A Milli Takım Haber Detayları TFF". www.tff.org. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Bileti Mart'ta Alacağız, Teşekkürler Bizim Çocuklar! İSPANYA 2-2 TÜRKİYE". TFF.org (in Turkish). 18 November 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
- ^ Salih Özcan at Soccerway
- ^ Salih Özcan at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ McNulty, Phil (1 June 2024). "Real Madrid 2–0 Borussia Dortmund". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Sechs Klubs vertreten: Die kicker-Elf der Saison 2021/22". Kicker (in German). 26 May 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
External links
- Profile at the Borussia Dortmund website
- Salih Özcan at the Turkish Football Federation
- Salih Özcan at DFB (also available in German)
- Salih Özcan – UEFA competition record (archive)