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 lea ...

who played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Career

Early years

He started playing football in

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

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

Mardinspor Mardinspor was a Turkish football (soccer), football club located in Mardin, Turkey. They played their home games in Mardin 21 Kasım Stadium in Mardin. The club was founded in 1969 after the merger of ''Timurspor'', ''Kalespor'', ''Mezopotamyas ...

, 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 Istanbul Province, metropolitan municipality of Istanbul in Turkey. Branches *İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (volleyball team), Volley ...

on 2 April 2006. Bursaspor won League A that season and promoted to

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 ...

. He was transferred from

Jean Tigana Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former football player and manager. A central midfielder, he was renowned as one of the best midfielders in the world during the 1980s. He spent his entire playing career in France, and made 5 ...

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 Tof ...

and

Eser Yağmur Eser Yağmur (born 29 May 1983) is a Turkish professional footballer who last played as a striker for Kartalspor. He has played for the Süper Lig sides Beşiktaş, Bursaspor, Konyaspor and Denizlispor Denizlispor is a Turkish sports club bas ...

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 matc ...

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 Gru ...

. 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 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 ...

called-up him in the national team for friendly matches. 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 competiti ...

, is also a professional footballer.

Honours

;Beşiktaş J.K. *

: 2008–09, 2015–16 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () 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''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

: 2006–07, 2008–09 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

;Bursaspor *

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 ...

: 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 fi ...

Runner-up

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

References

External links

* *
Guardian Stats Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtulus, Serdar 1987 births Living people Turkish men's 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 Footballers from Bursa 21st-century Turkish sportsmen