Koray Günter (, ; born 16 August 1994) is a German 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 Turkish club Göztepe on loan from the Italian club

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Hellas Verona (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Verona, Veneto, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won ...

Personal life

Günter was born in

Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel. It lies the heart of the Weser Uplands, and is the seat of the Höxter district. The district of Höxter has a popul ...

in North Rhine Westfalia. He went to König-Wilhelm-Highschool in Höxter and then switched to Leibniz-Gymnasium in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

. He is in a relationship with Betty Taube, who is known for her participation in the German TV Show Germany's Next Topmodel. The two are engaged since January 2016. On 11 October 2020, he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Club career

Borussia Dortmund

Günter began his career in 2001 for SV Höxter, before moving to SpVg Brakel in 2006. Günter was elected sportsman of the year of

in November 2011, and Günter was scouted by Borussia Dortmund at a Westfalen youth football tournament then enrolled into the Borussia Dortmund academy. Günter was previously an attacking player before being retrained as defender. He has played three seasons with the BVB academy since he joined BVB through to Borussia Dortmund II. In the 2012–13 season, Günter succeeded to

Borussia Dortmund II Borussia Dortmund II are the reserve team of Borussia Dortmund, currently playing in the 3. Liga, at Stadion Rote Erde. Until 2005, the team played as Borussia Dortmund Amateure. The team won the Regionalliga West in 2009 and became the second ...

, playing in the German

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

and on 28 August 2012, on the seventh match day of the 2012–13 3. Liga season, Günter made his debut in professional football, as he stood in the starting eleven of Borussia Dortmund II against

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

. Günter was inducted into the Borussia Dortmund's first team in the 2012–13 Bundesliga season, where he was selected for the first time in the BVB squad as an unused substitute on 27 November 2012 in a home match against

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

in the Bundesliga.

Galatasaray

Günter passed his medical and signed for four and half years with

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 30 January 2014 for €2.5 million with Dortmund including a buy-back option worth €7 million. On 12 July 2016, Günter injured while playing against

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

in a friendly match, suffered from ACL. The anticipated return to team was January–February 2017, reported by medical team.

Genoa

On 12 July 2018, Günter signed with

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

a free transfer.

Hellas Verona

On 19 July 2019, Günter joined

on loan with an option to buy. The purchase option was exercised.

Loan to Sampdoria

On 31 January 2023, Günter joined Sampdoria on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

Loan to Fatih Karagümrük

On 26 January 2024, Günter was loaned to Fatih Karagümrük.

International career

Günter represented the Turkish U-16 national football team four times before he decided in the future to represent his country of birth Germany. Günter debuted for the German U-17 national football team on 4 September 2010, in an international friendly in

Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Landkreis Schaumburg, Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen ...

against Azerbaijan U-17 national football team. In 2011, Günter represented the German U-17 national football team at the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

where the German team finished as runner-up and one month later Günter represented the German U-17 national football team at the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 14th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was h ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

where the German team finished in third-place. Günter scored at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the group game against Burkina Faso U-17 national football team, then he again scored in the second round of the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in a 4–0 Germany victory against the United States U-17 national football team, before Günter again scored in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup third-place match where Germany were victorious in a 4–3 victory against Brazil U-17 national football team. Günter's teammate Marvin Ducksch scored two goals at the World Cup and is also enrolled in the Borussia Dortmund II squad. On 17 April 2012, Günter debuted made for the German U-19 national football team in a 0–0 draw against Czech Republic U-19 national football team.

Career statistics

Club

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 ...

: 2014–15, 2017–18 * Türkiye Kupası: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 * Süper Kupa:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Germany U17 *

UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competition, having ...

runners-up:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

* FIFA Under-17 World Cup third place:

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunter, Koray 1994 births People from Höxter Footballers from Detmold (region) German sportspeople of Turkish descent Living people German men's footballers Turkish men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Germany men's youth international footballers Turkey men's youth international footballers Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Süper Lig players Serie A players Borussia Dortmund II players Borussia Dortmund players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Genoa CFC players Hellas Verona FC players UC Sampdoria players Fatih Karagümrük S.K. footballers Göztepe S.K. footballers German expatriate men's footballers Turkish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy German expatriate sportspeople in Italy Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Italy 21st-century German sportsmen 21st-century Turkish sportsmen