Hakan Çalhanoğlu: 10 things on the Bundesliga-made set-piece master
Hakan Çalhanoğlu has shown his outrageous skill in Italy's Serie A over the past seven years, but is still remembered fondly in Germany due to the special moments he provided during stints at Karlsruhe, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Türkiye captain’s spiralling 41-metre missile for Hamburg in February 2014 is forever part of footballing folklore, and any European football fan worth their salt has seen it dozens of times since. A decade on, Çalhanoğlu is still one of Europe’s most feared dead-ball specialists and one of his country's most celebrated players.
bundesliga.com looks at 10 things about the set-piece specialist who rose to prominence in the Bundesliga.
1. German origins
Born in Mannheim, Germany, the attacking midfielder could have represented Germany, which only leads you to dream of how he would have dovetailed alongside the likes of Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger down the years.
Instead, he opted to represent his parents' homeland Türkiye at international level, making his full senior debut in September 2013. That goal was clear from day one, starting with the U16 Turkish side, through all underage groups and up to the seniors, making his debut in 2013.
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