Photo: Granada / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

İlkay Gündoğan

イルカイ・ギュンドアン　/　いるかい・ぎゅんどあん

Association football player from Germany

October 24, 1990 (age 35)　・　Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia
association football player

My Take

İlkay Gündoğan is the sort of midfielder I value most: the quiet engine who shapes a match without chasing the spotlight. Born in Gelsenkirchen to a Turkish immigrant family, he rose from the Bochum youth academy through Nürnberg all the way to captaining Germany, a trajectory I find genuinely moving. His 2023 German Footballer of the Year award confirmed what tactically minded fans already knew about his control and intelligence. There is something poetic about him later returning to play in the Turkish league, closing a personal circle. Goals get the cheers, but players like him quietly decide who actually wins.

Overview

İlkay Gündoğan (Turkish: [ilˈkaj ˈɟyndoan]; born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He was considered amongst the best midfielders in world football. A youth academy graduate of VfL Bochum, Gündoğan joined 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): İlkay Gündoğan
Name (Japanese): イルカイ・ギュンドアン
Reading: いるかい・ぎゅんどあん
Born: October 24, 1990 (age 35)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Scorpio / Horse
Origin: Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Blood type: Private
Height: 180 cm
Agency: Private
Occupation: association football player

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private

Awards & achievements

2023 German Footballer of the Year

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

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