Serdar Kurtuluş (born 23 July 1987) is a Turkish former

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 played as a

right 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 ...

Career

Early years

He started playing football in

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 ...

youth team. He made his first team debut on 28 August 2005 against

Mardinspor Mardinspor is a Turkish football (soccer), football club located in Mardin, Turkey. They play their home games in Mardin Sehir in Mardin. The club was founded in 1969 when the clubs Timurspor, Mezopotamyaspor, Gençlik and Spor joined together. ...

, when he was 17 years old. He scored his only goal against

İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K., shortly Istanbul BB SK or IBBSK, is a multi-sports club of the metropolitan municipality of Istanbul in Turkey. Branches The club has following sport branches: *Volleyball (Arome Men's League), *Basket ...

on 2 April 2006. Bursaspor won

League A League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Leagues (band), ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full ...

that season and promoted to

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 ...

. He was transferred from

Jean Tigana Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer and coach. He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team ...

during his re-generation plan for team in 2006–2007 season at the age of 18. Beşiktaş paid Bursaspor $1,000,000 plus

Sinan Kaloğlu Sinan Kaloğlu (born 10 June 1981) is a Turkish football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. International career Kaloğlu made his first appearance Turkey national team on 12 April 2006 against Azerbaijan in Tofik ...

and Eser Yağmur as exchange players for this transfer. He was playing as a right full-back in Bursaspor, but

tried to adapt him to play as a defensive midfielder as well. He would not be able to score a goal for his team, however, has been very successful in his first season in Beşiktaş as he built his regular place in team's line-up He was sent to

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

as part of a part exchange deal. This transfer has been regarded as one of the numerous transfer blunders made by

Yıldırım Demirören Yıldırım Demirören (born 6 October 1964) is a Turkish businessman, former chair of the Istanbul-based Turkish multisports club Beşiktaş, and former president of the Turkish Football Federation. He owns part of ''Demirören Şirketler Gr ...

. He started his national team career on 11 January 2005 in a U18 friendly against Belgium. He attended 2005 Mediterranean Games, and played in the final game against Spain. He was selected for the U21 national team on 15 November 2006 for the friendly with Denmark. After his success in Beşiktaş,

Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish association football manager and former player. He is the former manager of Galatasaray, a position he previously held four times. Terim has managed several clubs in Italy (Milan and Fiorentina) ...

called-up him in the national team for

friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. He played his first national match against Brazil on 5 June 2007.

Personal life

Serdar's brother,

Serkan Kurtuluş Fatih Serkan Kurtuluş (born 1 January 1990) is a Turkish football player. Club career He transferred to Galatasaray on 3 September 2008, signing a five-year contract, having previously played for Bursaspor. Kurtuluş made his first competitive ...

, is also a professional footballer.

Honours

;Beşiktaş J.K. *

: 2008–09, 2015–16 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

: 2006–07, 2008–09 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known a ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

;Bursaspor *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

: 2005–06 ;Turkey U21 *

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

Runner-up

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

References

External links

* *
Guardian Stats Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtulus, Serdar 1987 births Living people Turkish footballers Turkey men's international footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Turkey men's youth international footballers Bursaspor footballers Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Gaziantepspor footballers Süper Lig players Men's association football defenders Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games medalists in football Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Sportspeople from Bursa