Ferhat Kiraz (born 2 January 1989) is a Turkish 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 ...
who plays as a
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 ...
. Kiraz is also a youth international, capped at the U-17, U-18, U-19, and U-21 levels.
Early life and club career
Kiraz was born 2 January 1989 in the town of
Bozkır
Bozkır is a town and district of Konya Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. According to 2008 census, population of the district is 31,601 of which 7,212 live in the town of Bozkır.
The town occupied a central position in ancient ...
in
Konya Province
Konya Province ( tr, ), in southwest Central Anatolia, is the largest province of Turkey. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. Its traffic code is 42.
The Kızılören solar power plant in Konya will be able to produce 22.5 megaw ...
. The same year he was born, his father moved to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
for work. His father visits Kiraz and the rest of his family twice a year. He has a younger brother, Yusuf, a right back currently playing for Hacettepe. Kiraz began his career with local club Konya Demirspor. Sami Özdedeoğlu, then manager of the club, suggested Kiraz to
Ünal Karaman
Ünal Karaman (born 29 June 1966, in Konya) is a former Turkish professional footballer and a UEFA Pro Licensed manager.
Club career
He played for Konyaspor (as amateur between 1981–1984), Gaziantepspor (1984–1987), Malatyaspor (1987–1990 ...
, who was then manager of the
Turkey national under-21 football team
Turkey's national Under-21 football team ( tr, Ümit Milli Futbol Takımı), also known as Turkey Under-21s or Turkey U-21s, is the Under-21 years of age team of the Turkey national football team.
History
This team is for Turkish players aged 2 ...
. Kiraz was called up to the Turkey U-16 team, and was subsequently the subject of several inquiries from other clubs. Among them were Istanbul-giants Beşiktaş. However, Kiraz chose Gençlerbirliği instead.
Kiraz signed for Gençlerbirliği in 2005. He competed in the youth leagues before making his debut at the end of the 2006–07 season, coincidentally against the club he turned down, Beşiktaş. Kiraz made eight more appearances for the club before being loaned out to
Karşıyaka
Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional cen ...
at the beginning of the 2007–08 season. He made 29 appearances for the
İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
-based club, scoring seven goals. The next season, Kiraz was loaned out to feeder club Hacettepe during the winter transfer period. Kiraz scored two goals in 12 appearances with the club.