Tolga Ciğerci (; born 23 March 1992) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. He represented Germany at under-19 and under-20 level, before switching his allegiance to Turkey.

Club career

Ciğerci signed a three-year deal on 14 April 2014 with

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

to move permanently, after a full season on loan. Ciğerci signed a three-year contract with Turkish club

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

on 8 August 2016 for an initial fee of €3 million. On 31 January 2023, Ciğerci returned to

on a 1.5-year deal. On 11 July 2023, Ciğerci returned back to

MKE Ankaragücü MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the ...

on a 2-year contract.

International career

Ciğerci played for Germany U-19 and U-20 teams, however, he chose to represent Turkey at senior level and was called up by manager

Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...

for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's friendly match against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

on 31 August 2016 and subsequently made his debut in a World Cup 2018 qualifying 1-1 tie against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Personal life

His younger brother, Tolcay Ciğerci, is also a midfielder, and made his professional debut for

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

in 2014.

Career statistics

Honours

Galatasaray *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

: 2017–18

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cigerci, Tolga 1992 births Living people People from Nordenham German sportspeople of Turkish descent Turkish men's footballers German men's footballers Footballers from Lower Saxony Men's association football midfielders Turkey men's international footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Süper Lig players VfL Wolfsburg players VfL Wolfsburg II players Borussia Mönchengladbach players Borussia Mönchengladbach II players Hertha BSC players Hertha BSC II players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players MKE Ankaragücü footballers Sivasspor footballers 21st-century German sportsmen 21st-century Turkish sportsmen