Caglar Soyuncu (born 23 May 1996) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays for Super Lig club Fenerbahce, on loan from La Liga club Atletico Madrid, and the Turkey national team. Soyuncu can be deployed as a centre-back or left-back.
Soyuncu's first senior professional team was the Turkish second division Altınordu. In the summer of 2016, he joined SC Freiburg of Germany's Bundesliga, before moving to Leicester City in 2018. He made his senior national team debut in 2016.
In November 2015, he was called up to Turkey national football team by coach Fatih Terim, following the injury of central defender Serdar Aziz. Soyuncu is the first Altınordu player called up to Turkey national football team after 78 years, since Sait Alinordu, the iconic player of the club, was selected in 1937. He is also the first player called up to national team from any Izmir-based football clubs since 1997. On 17 November 2015, Soyuncu was a reserve for the friendly game against Greece, but stayed on the bench and did not actually get a chance to play. On 18 March 2016, he was called to national squad for friendly games against Sweden and Austria, to be held on 24 March 2016 in Antalya, Turkey and on 29 March in Austria, respectively.
Substituting for Ozan Tufan in the dying minutes of a friendly game against Sweden, Soyuncu earned his first senior national team cap on 24 March 2016. Earning his second cap, he was in the starting line-up in the friendly with Russia on 1 September 2016, which ended 0–0.
On 1 June 2018, Soyuncu scored his first senior international goal on a friendly game against Tunisia, held at Stade de Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland.
Possessing leadership attributes, Soyuncu is good at playmaking, dribbling and timing. Standing at 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in), he is strong in the air. In 2016, he stated that his idol is Spanish defender Carles Puyol and he admires German international Mats Hummels.
Former English international and current pundit Martin Keown analysed Soyuncu for BBC Sport in 2019, describing him "a defender made for the modern game", highlighting his agility, aggressiveness and heading attributes. |
