Aziz Eraltay Behich ( tr, Aziz Eraltay, ; born 16 December 1990) is an Australian 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

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Scottish club

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

and the Australia national team.

Club career

Youth career

Behich played in the junior divisions of

Green Gully SC Green Gully Soccer Club is an Australian association football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Green Gully is one of the largest clubs in Melbourne, having participated in the now defunct National Soccer League between 1984–1986. The club ...

. He participated in the junior leagues of Melbourne's North-West. He had played for the club's Reserve team in 2007. In February 2007 Behich had returned to Australia after having been training at the

David Beckham Academy The David Beckham Academy was a football school founded by England international David Beckham that existed from 2005 to 2009. It operated in two locations: London, United Kingdom and Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy pulled out ...

. In 2008 Behich was signed to the club's first team, surprisingly because the coach; Ian Dobson, had preferred experienced players within his squad, where he made his debut on 22 February 2008 in a 2–0 loss against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He had been substituted onto the field in the 57th minute. He had been promoted to the club's first team with teammate

Diogo Ferreira Diogo Alexandre Alves Ferreira (born 5 October 1989) is an Australian footballer who plays as a midfielder. Early career At the age of 16, Ferreira completed a successful trial with FC Porto and was signed to the club's youth academy. Whilst ...

, who also went on to sign for Melbourne during Behich's second youth season. In 2008, Behich scored 2 goals in 11 appearances while playing for Green Gully in Australia's Second Division. He had scored his two goals in a 6–1 win against Fawkner Blues on 17 May 2008, he had been substituted onto the field in the 76th minute and scored in both the 84th and 86th minutes. Prior to the start of the 2008–2009 A-League's National Youth League, Behich was selected for Melbourne Victory's squad. On 3 January 2009, Aziz scored in a 3–0 win against

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record ...

. One week later, he scored again in a 2–0 win against

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

on 10 January 2009. Victory went on to finish in 6th position out of 7 teams. During the National Youth League's off-season, Behich would return to play for Green Gully in the 2009 season. Aziz had appeared 22 times for Green Gully, once in the final's play-offs, and had scored 2 goals overall. His second goal came in a play-off match against

Altona Magic Altona Magic Soccer Club (Commonly known as Altona Vardar SC) is a soccer team based in Altona North, a western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Magic currently compete in the second tier of the Australian soccer league system. Fo ...

where which Behich was substituted onto the field in the 80th minute when Green Gully were trailing 3–2. Behich had scored an equaliser in the 94th minute to take the game to extra-time, however, Green Gully eventually lost 4–3 on penalties The following season, Behich was the only youth player to re-sign with Melbourne's youth team and was handed the captain's arm band.

Melbourne Victory

Behich made his debut for

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

's first team on 16 January 2010, in the

2009–10 A-League The 2009–10 A-League was the 33rd season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the fifth season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. The season marked the addition of two new teams from Queensland. Gold Coast United F ...

season, where he was substituted on to the field in the 83rd minute for Carlos Hernández in a 6–2 win against Perth Glory. His second appearance was on 23 January 2010, where he was substituted onto the field in the 91st minute, again for Carlos Hernández, in a 2–0 win against

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...

. Despite Matthew Theodore being the only player to sign from Melbourne's youth-team to its first team in 2009, as of 2010 Behich was the only youth player to gain a first-team appearance and consecutive first-team appearances. It was then announced, in January 2010, that Behich was named in Melbourne's

2010 AFC Champions League The 2010 AFC Champions League was the 29th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 8th under the current AFC Champions League title. The final was held at the National ...

squad. He was substituted on during the second half of the 2009–2010 A-League Grand Final when Melbourne lost on penalties to Sydney, and is notable for the narrowest miss of the match, which could have been the winner. Behich then signed to Hume City in the Victorian Premier League during the A-League off-season.

Hume City

Behich debuted for Hume City in a 2–2 draw against

Northcote City Northcote City Football Club (Iraklis) is a soccer club based on the border of Thornbury and Northcote, Victoria (Australia). Formed in 1960 by local Greek Australians, the club currently competes in the NPL Victoria 2. In 2011, Northcote w ...

on 16 May 2010. Scoring on debut, he netted Hume city's second goal on 81 minutes. He appeared 5 more times for the side, departing from the club in June, as they finished in second spot of the

Victorian Premier League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

table.

Melbourne Heart

By July 2010, he trialled with the Melbourne Heart squad where he took part in a round of warm up matches that the club played, including a 2–0 defeat against Everton. Behich, shortly after trialling with Melbourne Heart, signed a 7-week deal with the club as an injury replacement player for Kristian Sarkies until October 2010. After

Dean Heffernan Dean James Heffernan (born 19 May 1980) is a former professional football (soccer) player. Club career With the Central Coast Mariners he scored 8 goals from left back in 24 games and was subsequently named in FourFourTwo's A-League dream team. ...

received a red card, Behich slotted into the starting lineup to cover his position, and started most games afterwards. On 25 October 2010, he signed a full-time contract with the

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...

, becoming the first player to play for both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart. At Heart, he was developed into more of a defensive player, a left back or left winger, as opposed to the striker position he played at Victory. He was the first player to be sent off in a Melbourne derby, given his second yellow in the very first encounter between the clubs, which Heart won 2–1. In January, Behich was awarded the A-League Young Footballer of the month. It was reported on 28 January 2012 by the Dutch media that Behich had attracted the interest of

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

Excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...

and

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 ...

sides

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 ...

and

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

. Excelsior manager John Lammers spoke of his interest in the exciting youngster to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

newspapers

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

and

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...

: "We are looking to bring Aziz to the club, he's an exceptional talent who we've been watching."

Bursaspor

On 29 January 2013, Behich signed to Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In th ...

. On 11 March 2013, Aziz Behich made his Turkish

debut for Bursaspor against Fenerbahçe as a 69th-minute substitute for

Tuncay Tuncay (; ''toonj-eye'') is a Turkish given name for males and a surname. People named Tuncay include: Given name * Tuncay Güney (born 1972), Turkish spy * Tuncay Karakaya (born 1989), Turkish Paralympian goalball player * Tuncay Mataracı (b ...

. On 4 March 2016, Behich signed three-year extension to his contract with Bursaspor, which was due to expire in May.

PSV Eindhoven

On 31 August 2018, Behich signed for

club

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...

for four years. The transfer fee paid to Bursaspor was reported as for $4.5 million

İstanbul Başakşehir

On 24 May 2019, it was announced Behich would return to Turkey to join

İstanbul Başakşehir ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

for the 2019–20 season, having agreed a three-year deal.

Kayserispor (loan)

On 2 October 2020, Behich joined

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fini ...

on a season-long loan.

Giresunspor

On 26 August 2021, Behich joined recently promoted sided Giresunspor, in their return to the Süper Lig.

Dundee United

On 28 July 2022, Behich joined Dundee United on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.

International career

Behich was called up to the Australia Under-23 side by coach

Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar ( ; born 3 February 1967) is an Australian association football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Thai League 1 club Bangkok United. He is a former captain of the Australia national team and former coach ...

for a friendly match against Japan's Under-23 side at the Tohoku Denryoku Bigswan Stadium, Niigata on Wednesday 1 June 2011. Behich was selected to play against Yemen's under-23 side for the

Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's Asian Qualifiers Preliminary Round 2 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

. On 14 June 2011, in preparation for the

2012 AFC Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, Behich featured in a 6–0 win against Singapore under-23 where he scored Australia's sixth goal in the 90th minute. On 19 June 2011 Behich played in Australia's first-leg 3–0 win against Yemen. Four days later he played in the second leg which resulted in a 4–0 win to Australia on 23 June. Behich was called up to the Australian national team by

Holger Osieck Holger Osieck (born 31 August 1948) is a German football manager who last managed the Australia national team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J. League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League ...

for a friendly match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

on 14 November 2012, where he made his debut. In May 2018 he was named in Australia's 23-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

in Russia.

Personal life

Behich is a Muslim of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

origin, son of immigrants to Australia from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. For this reason he was eligible to represent Turkey, Cyprus or Australia, eventually choosing the last.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Behich goal.''

Honours

Green Gully *

Premiers: 2008 İstanbul Başakşehir *

: 2019–20 Australia *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2011–12

References

External links

* * *
FFA Olyroos ProfileAziz Behich Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behich, Aziz 1990 births Living people Australian people of Turkish descent Australian people of Turkish Cypriot descent Sportspeople of Turkish Cypriot descent Soccer players from Melbourne Australian soccer players Association football defenders Association football midfielders Green Gully SC players Melbourne Victory FC players Melbourne City FC players Bursaspor footballers Hume City FC players PSV Eindhoven players İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Kayserispor footballers Dundee United F.C. players A-League Men players Süper Lig players Eredivisie players Scottish Professional Football League players Australia youth international soccer players Australia international soccer players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players Australian expatriate soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Scotland Australian Muslims