Alim Öztürk (born 17 November 1992) is a 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for Iğdır. Born in the Netherlands, he represented Turkey at youth level. Öztürk has previously played for Dutch club SC Cambuur,

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

, 1461 Trabzon, Scottish club Heart of Midlothian, Boluspor and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Career

Playing in Netherlands

Born in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

, Netherlands, to his Turkish parents, Öztürk grew up with three siblings and started playing football when he was nine years old and joining AFC '34 youth team. His parents kept distance from Öztürk playing football. He then joined

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

. In 2011, Öztürk joined

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

side SC Cambuur, where he quickly went through to the first team and made his Eerste Divisie debut for Cambuur on 22 January 2012.

Playing in Turkey

He moved to Turkish club

in 2013 for €125,000 on a three-year contract, depending on the ongoing payment, but did not break into their first team. After struggling to break into the first team, Öztürk was sent to join 1461 Trabzon on loan for the 2013–14 season. After a half season with the club, Öztürk left Trabzonspor by mutual consent. Öztürk later described playing in Turkey as difficult, citing more long balls, more fights and unsatisfied playing in the second division.

Heart of Midlothian

Öztürk moved to then

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

side Hearts in June 2014 on a three-year contract.Hearts recruit Turkish defender Alim Ozturk
BBC Sport Öztürk made his Hearts debut, playing in the centre-back along with Danny Wilson, in a 2–1 win over Rangers in the opening game of the season. On 26 October 2014, Öztürk scored his first goal for the club, a 40-yard screamer against Edinburgh rivals Hibernian. He also scored with long-range efforts against Raith Rovers,

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

, and he scored a free-kick against Queen of the South. Alim Öztürk was the main free-kick taker at Hearts. With 33 appearances and scoring four times in his first season at Hearts, Öztürk was among six players to be named 2014–15 Championship's Team of the Year. Öztürk was also won Goal of the Season and Memorable Moment at the club's award ceremony. Following the club's promotion to the Scottish Premiership and Wilson's departure, it was announced that Öztürk was appointed as the new captain at Hearts. He had previously spoke about becoming the club's captain ahead of the 2015–16 season. Öztürk's first game as Hearts' captain came in the opening game of the season, in a 4–3 win over St Johnstone. On 21 September 2016, the captaincy was transferred to Perry Kitchen.

Boluspor

Öztürk returned to Turkish football in January 2017, signing an 18-month contract with

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 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 ...

club Boluspor.

Sunderland

On 21 June 2018,

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

club

announced the signing of Öztürk on a free transfer with a two-year contract. Ozturk struggled to cement his place in the team and it was announced on 17 June 2020 that he would be leaving Sunderland, bringing to an end his two years at the club.

Ümraniyespor

On 26 August 2020, Öztürk joined

club Ümraniyespor.

Personal life

Öztürk speaks Dutch, Turkish and English. Öztürk was so popular with Hearts supporters that they named a beer after him.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozturk, Alim 1992 births Footballers from Alkmaar Dutch sportspeople of Turkish descent Living people Dutch men's footballers Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football central defenders AFC '34 players SC Cambuur players Trabzonspor footballers 1461 Trabzon footballers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Boluspor footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Ümraniyespor footballers Samsunspor footballers Eerste Divisie players TFF 1. Lig players Scottish Professional Football League players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Turkish expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Dutch sportsmen 21st-century Turkish sportsmen