Mustafa Saymak (born 11 February 1993) is a Dutch 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 winger for Turkish club

Bandırmaspor Bandırmaspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the town of Bandırma, Balıkesir Province. The club was founded in 1965 and currently plays in the TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for spon ...

. He has represented both

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

at various international youth levels.

Club career

PEC Zwolle

2011–12 season

Saymak made his league debut for PEC (then named FC Zwolle) when they were still playing in the second tier of Dutch league football, the Jupiler League. The game was played on 5 August 2011 and was an away game against

FC Den Bosch FC Den Bosch () is a football club from 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. They were founded 18 August 1965, as FC Den Bosch/BVV. They are the successor of BVV (1906) and Wilhelmina (1890). Their stadium is called 'De Vliert', an 8,500 all-seater. R ...

. Saymak came on as a substitute in the 87th minute, as the game ended in a 2–2 draw. His first league goal came on 12 September 2011, in an away game against

Helmond Sport Helmond Sport is a professional association football club based in the city of Helmond, North Brabant, Netherlands, that competes in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of the Dutch football league system. The club was founded on 27 June 1967, as ...

. However, it turned out to be the only goal in a 3–1 defeat for PEC. Saymak's progress was rewarded with his first league start 4 days later, at home against

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...

. Saymak completed the full 90 minutes, as PEC won the game 3–1. Saymak completed his first brace of his career, in a 5–0 home win over

FC Dordrecht Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...

. Saymak was unable to clinch a definite place in PEC's starting line-up, but was seen as one of the squad's most exciting prospects for the future, as PEC won promotion to the

2012–13 Eredivisie The 2012–13 Eredivisie was the 57th season of Eredivisie, since its establishment in 1955. It began on 10 August 2012 with the first match of the season and ended on 26 May 2013, with the last matches of the European competition and relegation ...

by winning the league. Saymak finished the season with 3 goals in 17 league games and 5 league starts.

2012–13 season

Saymak made most of his league appearances in the 2012–13 season as a sub, as PEC secured safety from relegation surprisingly easy. Similarly to the previous season, Saymak finished with 17 league games and 5 league starts, in which he scored 1 goal.

2013–14 season

The 2013–14 season was Mustafa's breakthrough season. With the departure of

Youness Mokhtar Youness Mokhtar ( ar, يونس مختار; born 29 August 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga 1 club Bhayangkara. Born in the Netherlands, Mokhtar has represented both his native country and Morocco international ...

(

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...

) and Denni Avdic ( AZ), Saymak took the opportunity to clinch a place on the wing in PEC's starting line-up. Saymak started the first 10 league games of the season, with assists against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

(1),

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

(1) and

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

(1), with also scoring a brace in the latter, as PEC was riding high in 3rd place after 10 league games. The game against

(6–1 home win) also saw Saymak play in a different role than usual, being used as an attacking midfielder, as opposed to his usual role as a winger. His run of games ended as he missed the home game against AZ with an ankle injury and the third round cup-game for the

KNVB Beker The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

against Wilhelmina '08, but he was re-instated in the starting line-up in the following game against PSV. Saymak had a significant role in a rampant PEC, that drew praise for their excellent passing game and attacking play. PEC also reached unprecedented heights in the cup, as the club from Zwolle surprisingly reached the final of the KNVB Beker, against league champions

. The biggest surprise was yet to come, as Saymak started for PEC in a dominating 5–1 win, securing European football for the first time in the club's history and more importantly, securing the club's first major trophy. Saymak finished the season with 30 league appearances, including 29 league starts, in which he scored 6 league goals and was responsible for 6 league assists.

2014–15 season

Saymak started the season on a positive note, as PEC defeated Ajax 1–0 to win the 2014 Johan Cruijff Schaal. Saymak started the game and completed the full 90 minutes. Saymak scored his first league goal of the season on 16 August 2014, by scoring an injury-time winner in the away game against

Bandırmaspor

On 13 June 2022, Saymak returned to Turkey and signed a two-year contract with

International career

Saymak was born in the Netherlands to parents of Turkish descent. He originally played for various Dutch youth teams. In February 2013, Saymak was called up to the Turkish under-20 team for the a match against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. He has since been called up and capped by the Netherlands U21 team.

Honours

Club

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2013–14 *

Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

: 2011–12

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saymak, Mustafa 1993 births Living people Footballers from Deventer Turkish footballers Turkey youth international footballers Dutch people of Turkish descent Dutch footballers Netherlands youth international footballers PEC Zwolle players Çaykur Rizespor footballers Bandırmaspor footballers Eredivisie players Süper Lig players Eerste Divisie players Association football forwards Netherlands under-21 international footballers