Atakan Karazor (born 13 October 1996) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. He began his senior career at

Borussia Dortmund II Borussia Dortmund II are the reserve team of Borussia Dortmund. They play in the 3. Liga, at Stadion Rote Erde. Until 2005, the team played as Borussia Dortmund Amateure. History From Kreisliga to Oberliga (Until 1997) The second team of Boruss ...

in the Regionalliga West before playing for Holstein Kiel for two seasons in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. In 2019, he joined Stuttgart, where he won promotion to the Bundesliga in his first season.

Career

Early years

Born in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, North Rhine-Westphalia, Karazor played as a youth for local Schwarz-Weiß Essen and

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

. 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 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. II, commonly known as simply 1. FC Köln II, is a German football team based in Cologne. It is the reserve team of German association football club 1. FC Köln. The team has qualified for the first round of the ...

Holstein Kiel

In June 2017, Karazor left his native region and signed for Holstein Kiel in the

on a three-year deal. He injured his ankle ligaments in pre-season, recovering to make the squad in November, before making his professional debut on 23 January by starting in a 2–2 home draw with

1. FC Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...

. 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 Holstein-Stadion is a stadium in the port city of Kiel in Northern Germany. It is the home of football club Holstein Kiel, who currently play in Germany's 2. Bundesliga.https://int.soccerway.com/teams/germany/kieler-sv-holstein-von-1900-ev/1019 ...

on 17 February, and in a 1–1 draw away to FC Ingolstadt 04 on 14 April.

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 or €800,000. 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 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bund ...

. Karazor made his top-flight debut on 3 October 2020 in a 1–1 draw at home to

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

, as an 84th-minute substitute for Daniel Didavi. 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. On 19 May 2022, Karazor extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2026. 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 A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Sven Mislintat who cited the presumption of innocence.

Personal life

Born in Germany, Karazor is of Turkish descent. On 11 June 2022, VfB Stuttgart confirmed via the club's website that Karazor had been arrested while on holiday in

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

. He was remanded in custody while investigations continue; Spanish law permits a maximum of two years' pre-trial detention. 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.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karazor, Atakan 1996 births Living people Footballers from Essen German men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Borussia Dortmund II players Holstein Kiel players Holstein Kiel II players VfB Stuttgart players VfB Stuttgart II players Regionalliga players 2. Bundesliga players Bundesliga players German sportspeople of Turkish descent