Tuncay Şanlı

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Tuncay Şanlı
Personal information
Date of birth	16 January 1982 (1982-01-16) (age 27)
Place of birth	Sakarya, Turkey
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Winger, Forward
Club information
Current club	Middlesbrough
Number	17
Youth career
1999 1999–2000	Sakarya Tekspor Sakaryaspor
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000–2002 2002–2007 2007–	Sakaryaspor Fenerbahçe Middlesbrough	066 (32) 142 (60) 067 (15)
National team2
2000 2000 2001 2002–2003 2002–	Turkey U17 Turkey U18 Turkey U20 Turkey U21 Turkey	002 0(0) 011 0(6) 006 0(3) 014 0(9) 065 (19)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:30, 25 May 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 09:40, 2 April 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Tuncay Şanlı (born 16 January 1982 in Sakarya, Turkey) is a Turkish footballer who plays for Middlesbrough, since joining from Fenerbahçe in June 2007. He plays either as striker or as an attacking midfielder and winger, and can play wide left or right. He is often known solely by his first name Tuncay, and captains the Turkish National Team.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Fenerbahçe 1.2 Middlesbrough 1.2.1 Season 2007–08 1.2.2 Season 2008–09 2 International career 2.1 Confederations Cup 2003 2.2 Euro 2008 3 Playing Style 4 Career statistics 4.1 Club 4.2 International goals 5 Honours 5.1 Turkey 5.2 Fenerbahçe 5.3 Individual 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Fenerbahçe

Tuncay caught the eye of Turkish football giants Fenerbahçe in 2002 at the age of 20 after impressive displays for his hometown club Sakaryaspor in the Turkish second division. He signed a 5 year contract with Fenerbahçe. His first official game with Fenerbahçe was a Turkcell Super League match against Gaziantepspor on 11 September 2002.

In the 2004-05 season, he became only the second person ever to score a Champions League Hattrick against Manchester United, and the first Turkish person to score a hattrick in Europe. Tuncay always stated that his dream was to eventually play for a European Club.

After he had left Fenerbahçe, his former trainer Zico stated: "Tuncay has been a great loss to us, he was the one giving us the soul and the hope. Now that he is gone we miss that piece of soul and hope. He is a great person, and I wish him the best of luck in his new team. Even though he is now gone, I still wish he will come back."

[edit] Middlesbrough

On 13 June 2007, Middlesbrough confirmed they had agreed personal terms with Tuncay and the move was now subject to a medical. Tuncay arrived in Middlesbrough on 18 June 2007.^[1] After passing his medical on 22 June 2007,^[2] he attained a work permit on 4 July 2007, and completed his free transfer.^[3]

In July 2007, Tuncay was interviewed by the Evening Gazette and talked about his ambitions for the upcoming season. He said: "My aim was to play in Europe one day and I have done that in previous seasons. It is also very important for me to play in the Premier League and that, too, is going to happen. But I want to get Middlesbrough back into Europe. That is my target.^[4]"

On 15 July 2007, Tuncay made his debut in Boro shirt against German team, Schalke 04, at neutral venue in Austria.^[5]

Known for his passionate affinity with fans at his beloved Fenerbahçe SK, Tuncay has developed the same kind of relationship with the fans of Middlesbrough. His efforts aren't going unnoticed, with Middlesbrough supporters singing in his favour, "we've only got one player!" in reference to their admiration of his non-stop attitude.^[6]

Tuncay's endless energy and passion shown during matches has won him many plaudits. In May 2009, Matt Le Tissier of Sky Sports acknowledged his performances: "If they [Boro] had 11 Tuncay's they'd be in the top half of the table; this boy is quality, he works his socks off as well. He showed great technique with the overhead kick and was a great example for the rest of the team - it's just a shame there are not a few more like him in the side.^[7]"

The 2008-09 season saw him pick up all four of the club's major awards for 2009: the Players Player of the Year, Garmin Player of the Year, the Middlesbrough FC Official Supporters’ Club Prize and the Terrace Legends Award. ^[8] He won the Player of the Year with a massive 75% of the vote.

[edit] Season 2007–08

Tuncay took time to settle in the Premier League. He went 12 league games without a goal but then scored 3 in 3 games. The first was on 1 December 2007 in a 1–1 draw against Reading, the second, the following week in a 2–1 victory over Arsenal. His third, in the 1–0 victory over Derby County, was a superb volley from a Stewart Downing cross which won the BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Month award for December 2007, and was later nominated for Goal of the Season. He scored his fourth goal of the season against Portsmouth to help Middlesbrough to a 1-0 away win. His fifth goal was a seventh minute header against Liverpool to give Middlesbrough the lead. However, a Fernando Torres hattrick, meant Middlesbrough lost 3-2 at Anfield. On the 31st match day of the season he again scored the winning goal against Derby County in a match that ended 1–0. Tuncay then scored two goals against Sunderland and Portsmouth later on in the season to take his tally to eight goals for the season. In his first season for Middlesbrough he was their second leading goalscorer behind Stewart Downing with nine.

[edit] Season 2008–09

Tuncay started off the season brightly, his first league goal being the winner against Stoke City, in the third league game of the season. After a knee injury while playing for Turkey against Belgium in the World Cup Qualifiers in early September 2008, Tuncay was sidelined for seven weeks. He returned to first team action against Blackburn Rovers on 10 October, and scored an overhead kick goal which was wrongly ruled out for offside. Tuncay scored his first brace in the Premier League in a 2-1 away win at Aston Villa on 9 November 2008.

In December 2008, newspapers speculated that he was wanted by Chelsea in the January 2009 transfer window, in a rumoured £8 million bid by Luiz Felipe Scolari.^[9] Gareth Southgate laughed off the rumours suggesting that Chelsea could get him for such a small fee, saying that if he was even to start to consider selling him, then Chelsea's bid would have to be much higher.^[10]

Tuncay scored two goals in as many games, during his side's 2-0 victories over both West Ham in the FA Cup and against Liverpool in the league, with the latter bringing an end to both Liverpool's 15-match unbeaten run, and Boro's 14-match winless run in the league. The win against West Ham takes Boro to their fourth Quarter Final in the FA Cup in four consecutive seasons. Against Tottenham in March, he had 2 goals again ruled out for offside, in a game which Tottenham defeated Boro 4-0. April 2009 saw Tuncay score Boro's quickest goal during the season just 3 minutes into the game. The match, against Hull finished 3-1 to Middlesbrough in, what was described as a "must-win game" by manager Gareth Southgate.

In May 2009 he was named Boro's Player of the Year. On 16 May, in the penultimate game of the season, he scored a supurb overhead kick goal against Aston Villa, which won him another BBC Goal of the Month award. In the vital game, an injury to captain Stewart Downing in the 23 minute meant that Tuncay took the captain's armband. This was the first time he has played as captain for Boro, and played a vital role in midfield. The game ended 1-1 and means that the chance of survival will go down to the final game of the season. Middlesbrough will need a win against West Ham, and hope that other results go in their favour in order to compensate for their -28 goal difference.

Despite Tuncay's efforts, Middlesbrough were relegated at the end of the 2008-09 season after suffering a 2-1 defeat away to West Ham. Middlesbrough had spent almost the whole second half of the season in the relegation zone. In the final game of the season Tuncay, Boro's captain, provided the assist to Boro's goal, however could not lead Middlesbrough to the win they desperately needed. There is much speculation about his future at Middlesbrough, and in June 2009, he announced that it is his aim to remain in the Premier League for the next season.^[11]

In a disappointing season which saw Boro score only 28 league goals, Tuncay ended the season as their top scorer with 7 league goals, a quarter of Boro's total.

Following Boro's relegation to the Football League Championship, Tuncay was linked strongly with a move away from the club. On 29 June 2009, Sky Sports claimed that Aston Villa were considering a bid for the attacker.^[12]

[edit] International career

Tuncay is an international regular in Fatih Terim's Turkey side, and also captains his country. He has currently scored 19 international goals in 62 senior appearances.

Tuncay has scored two international hattricks for Turkey. His first came against Switzerland in the 2006 World Cup Qualifyer's play-off match. The game ended 4-2, however the Swiss advanced due to the away goals rule, and meant Turkey would not play in the finals of WC 2006.^[13] His second international hattrick came in November 2008 in a friendly with Austria.

[edit] Confederations Cup 2003

Turkey took part in the FIFA Confederations Cup for the first time in 2003 after finishing third at the World Cup the previous year. Tuncay scored his first ever international goal to win the game against the USA. He went on to score three goals and get an assist which won him the Silver Shoe Award at the competition. Turkey finished in third place. Tuncay, along with Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta, currently holds the record for scoring the quickest goal in the history of the Confederations Cup, scoring within 120 seconds.^[14]

[edit] Euro 2008

Tuncay played a major part in Turkey's progression to the semi-finals in Austria and Switzerland, as Turkey came from behind to win three games and earn the title "Comeback King's".

In the final group-stage game of Euro 2008, Tuncay went in goal to briefly play as a goalkeeper for the final few minutes, after starting goalkeeper Volkan Demirel was sent off for a push on Jan Koller, and Turkey having made all their substitutions.

He picked up a second yellow card in the quarter-finals against Croatia which meant that he was suspended for the semi-finals against Germany. Drawing 2-2 until the 90th minute, having just scored minutes earlier to bring the score level, Turkey were undone by a German team who themselves had to come from behind to win the game. Tuncay registed two assists, in his four games during the 2008 European Championships finals.

[edit] Playing Style

A striker or wide attacking midfielder of substantial energy, directness and skill. He plays with very high intensity and passion. He is most suited to playing in the 'hole' or as a second striker, but can also play right across the midfield and upfront.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Club

Club Performance

England	Season	Premier League		FA Cup		Carling Cup		Europe		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Middlesbrough	2008-09	33	7	4	1	0	0	0	0	37	8
	2007-08	34	8	3	0	1	0	0	0	38	8
Total		67	15	7	1	1	0	0	0	75	16
Turkey	Season	Super League		Turkish Cup		Super cup		Europe		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Fenerbahçe	2006-07	32	9	6	1	0	0	12	6	50	16
	2005-06	30	15	8	1	0	0	5	0	43	16
	2004-05	28	7	5	1	0	0	8	5	41	13
	2003-04	32	19	4	3	0	0	0	0	36	22
	2002-03	20	10	1	0	0	0	1	1	22	11
Total		142	60	24	6	0	0	26	12	192	78
Sakaryaspor	2001-02	35	16	2	1	0	0	0	0	37	17
	2000-01	31	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	16
Total		66	32	2	1	0	0	0	0	68	33
CAREER TOTAL		275	107	33	8	1	0	26	12	335	127
Correct as of 24 May 2009[15]

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 June 2003	Saint-Étienne, France	United States	2-1	2-1	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
2.	26 June 2003	Paris, France	France	3-2	3-2	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
3.	28 June 2003	Saint-Étienne, France	Colombia	0-1	1-2	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
4.	30 March 2005	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	2-5	2-5	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.	8 June 2005	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	0-4	0-6	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.	8 June 2005	Almaty, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	0-5	0-6	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.	16 November 2005	İstanbul, Turkey	Switzerland	1-1	4-2	2006 FIFA World Cup playoffs
8.	16 November 2005	İstanbul, Turkey	Switzerland	2-1	4-2	2006 FIFA World Cup playoffs
9.	16 November 2005	İstanbul, Turkey	Switzerland	4-2	4-2	2006 FIFA World Cup playoffs
10.	24 May 2006	Genk, Belgium	Belgium	2-3	3-3	Friendly
11.	7 October 2006	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	0-1	0-1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
12.	11 October 2006	Frankfurt, Germany	Moldova	5-0	5-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
13.	24 March 2007	Piraeus, Greece	Greece	1-1	1-4	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
14.	26 March 2008	Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	1-1	2-2	Friendly
15.	29 May 2008	Duisburg, Germany	Finland	1-0	2-0	Friendly
16.	6 September 2008	Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	1-0	2-0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
17.	19 November 2008	Vienna, Austria	Austria	1-2	2-4	Friendly
18.	19 November 2008	Vienna, Austria	Austria	1-3	2-4	Friendly
19.	19 November 2008	Vienna, Austria	Austria	2-4	2-4	Friendly
Correct as of 5 June 2009

[edit] Honours

[edit] Turkey

• FIFA Confederations Cup 2003 3rd place
• FIFA Confederations Cup 2003 Silver Ball & Silver Shoe winner
• UEFA Euro 2008 Semi Finals

[edit] Fenerbahçe

• 2004 Turkish Super League Champion
• 2005 Turkish Super League Champion
• 2007 Turkish Super League Champion

[edit] Individual

• 2009 Players Player of the Year^[16]
• 2009 Garmin Player of the Year
• 2009 Middlesbrough FC Official Supporters’ Club Prize
• 2009 Terrace Legends Award
• BBC Goal of the Month Award: December 2007, May 2009
• Middlesbrough top scorer: 2008-09^[17]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official fan site
• Tuncay Şanlı career stats at Soccerbase
• Tuncay Sanli profile and career notes
• Profile at FootballDatabase.com

Awards
Preceded by Inaugural award	FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Shoe award 2003	Succeeded by Michael Ballack
Sporting positions
Preceded by Emre Belozoglu	Turkey Captain 2008 2009	Succeeded by -

v • d • e Turkey squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Third Place 1 Rüştü • 2 Fatih Sonkaya • 3 Bülent • 4 Fatih Akyel • 5 Alpay • 6 Ergün • 7 Serkan • 8 Volkan • 9 Tuncay • 10 Baştürk • 11 Nihat • 12 Ömer • 13 Ahmet • 14 Deniz • 15 İbrahim Üzülmez • 16 Okan • 17 Servet • 18 Hüseyin • 19 Necati • 20 Selçuk • 21 İbrahim Toraman • 22 Gökdeniz • 23 Murat • Coach: Güneş

v • d • e Turkey squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Semi-finalists 1 Rüştü • 2 Servet • 3 Hakan • 4 Gökhan Zan • 5 Emre • 6 Mehmet Topal • 7 Mehmet Aurélio • 8 Nihat • 9 Semih • 10 Gökdeniz • 11 Tümer • 12 Tolga • 13 Emre Güngör • 14 Arda • 15 E. Aşık • 16 Uğur Boral • 17 Tuncay • 18 C. Kazım • 19 Ayhan • 20 Sabri • 21 Mevlüt • 22 Hamit • 23 Volkan • Coach: Terim

v • d • e Middlesbrough F.C. – current squad 2 Hoyte · 3 Taylor · 4 O'Neil · 5 Riggott · 6 Pogatetz (c) · 8 Digard · 9 Mido · 10 Aliadière · 11 Emnes · 12 Afonso Alves · 14 Huth · 15 Shawky · 17 Tuncay · 19 Downing · 20 Arca · 22 Jones · 26 Bates · 28 A. Johnson · 29 McMahon · 31 Wheater · 32 Steele · 33 Porritt · 34 Bennett · 36 J. Johnson · 37 Franks · 38 Hines · 39 Williams · 40 Grounds · 41 Walker · — Coyne · — Yeates · Manager: Southgate