Cenk Özkacar

Cenk Özkacar
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-10-06) 6 October 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth İzmir, Turkey
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Valladolid
(on loan from Valencia)
Number 6
Youth career
2011–2013 Bucaspor
2013–2014 Altinordu
2014–2018 Altay
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Altay 12 (0)
2018–2019 → Karacabey Belediyespor (loan) 23 (1)
2020–2021 Lyon B 2 (0)
2020–2023 Lyon 0 (0)
2021–2022 → OH Leuven (loan) 32 (2)
2022–2023 → Valencia (loan) 17 (0)
2023– Valencia 23 (0)
2024– → Valladolid (loan) 3 (0)
International career‡
2019– Turkey U21 6 (0)
2022– Turkey 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:50, 29 September 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 June 2024

Cenk Özkacar (born 6 October 2000) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a defender for La Liga club Valladolid, on loan from Valencia, and the Turkey national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a left-back.

Club career

Early years in Turkey

Born in İzmir, Özkacar spent his youth career at local teams Bucaspor, Altinordu and Altay.[2] He made his professional debut in 2018, while on loan at Karacabey Belediyespor, before returning to Altay the following year.[2]

Lyon

On 18 August 2020, Özkacar joined Ligue 1 club Lyon on a five-year deal.[3] On 21 April 2021, he made his debut for Lyon as a late substitute for Léo Dubois during a 2–0 loss to Monaco in the Coupe de France.[4]

Loan to Leuven

On 6 July 2021, Belgian First Division A team OH Leuven presented Özkacar as new player, on loan from Lyon for one season.[5]

Valencia

In August 2022, Özkacar signed on loan for La Liga side Valencia.[6] On 1 July 2023, the club exercised their buy-option in the loan contract, signing him permanently on a five-year contract.[7]

However, Özkacar scored an own-goal in a 1-0 loss against Deportivo Alavés,[8] and only started 35% of matches in La Liga by January 2024, leading some media outlets to report he was seeking a move away in order to make it in Turkey's UEFA Euro 2024 squad.[9]

Loan to Valladolid

On 29 August 2024, Özkacar was loaned to fellow Spanish top tier side Real Valladolid on a one-year deal.[10]

International career

Özkacar has been capped six time by the Turkey U21s.[2]

He had his first cap with the Turkey senior national team on 8 June 2022, getting subbed on in the UEFA Nations League match against Lithuania, replacing Ozan Kabak in the 76th minute. He managed to help his team keeping the clean sheet and ended up winning 6–0.[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 May 2024[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Karacabey Belediyespor (loan) 2018–19 TFF Third League 21 1 1 0 2[b] 0 24 1
Altay 2019–20 TFF First League 12 0 4 0 — 16 0
Lyon 2020–21 Ligue 1 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Lyon B 2020–21 Championnat National 2 2 0 — — 2 0
OH Leuven (loan) 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 32 2 2 0 — 33 2
Valencia (loan) 2022–23 La Liga 17 0 3 0 1[c] 0 21 0
Valencia 2023–24 La Liga 23 0 2 0 — 25 0
Career total 107 3 13 0 3 0 122 3
  1. ^ Includes Turkish Cup, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup and Copa del Rey
  2. ^ Appearances in TFF Third League play-offs
  3. ^ Appearance in Supercopa de España

International

As of match played 4 June 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Turkey 2022 3 0
2023 4 0
2024 2 0
Total 9 0

References

  1. ^ "Cenk Özkacar". LaLiga Santander. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Cenk Özkaçar Profile @ TFF.org" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 13 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Cenk Özkaçar joins OL through 2025". Olympique Lyonnais. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Cenk Özkaçar Lyon'da ilk maçına çıktı" (in Turkish). Ajansspor. 22 April 2021.
  5. ^ "OH Leuven huurt Turkse jeugdinternational van Olympique Lyon" [OH Leuven loans Turkish youth international from Olympique Lyon] (in Dutch). Oud-Heverlee Leuven. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Ozkacar ya está en Valencia: Cuarto fichaje y cero euros de gasto" (in Spanish). Marca. 23 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Cenk Özcakar: "We are going to do everything possible to make them feel proud of their team"". Valencia CF. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Valencia coach Baraja makes appeal to fans after Alaves defeat - Tribal Football". www.tribalfootball.com. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Valencia defender Cenk Özkacar rejects interest from Turkey - Get Spanish Football News". getfootballnewsspain.com. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Comunicado oficial | Cenk Özkacar" [Official announcement | Cenk Özkacar] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Cenk Özkaçar Lyon'da ilk maçına çıktı" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. 8 June 2022.
  12. ^ Cenk Özkacar at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  • Cenk Özkacar at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata

Cenk Özkacar – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French (archived)