Hamit Altıntop

Schalke

Altıntop started his professional career in local German club Wattenscheid in 2000 along with his brother. As successful performances grabbed the attention of bigger clubs, he was transferred to Schalke 04 in 2003, where he played in a primarily defensive midfield role. In the 2006–07 summer transfer window, Schalke signed his brother Halil from Kaiserslautern. Schalke came second in the Bundesliga, only pipped by VfB Stuttgart by two points.

Bayern Munich

Altıntop joined Bayern Munich for the 2007–08 season on a free transfer from Schalke 04. He scored his first goal in his first game for Bayern when they faced the Brazilian champions São Paulo. Munich went on winning the game 2–1 after his spectacular free-kick. Remaining as one of Munich's starters, he scored another left-foot goal out of 30 meters distance against Werder Bremen in the DFL-Ligapokal. Munich completed the match with a 4–1 victory. Altıntop also scored a controversial penalty against Aberdeen in the first leg of their tie in the UEFA Cup competition on 14 February 2008 at Pittodrie. The initial penalty kick was saved by Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield; however, Altıntop scored with the rebound. The match finished 2–2. In 2009–10 season, Bayern Munich competed in Champions League and they eventually went to 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, which was played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid on Saturday, 22 May 2010. He started the match in the first 11, but…

Altıntop played in all five of Turkey's matches at UEFA Euro 2008. He assisted all three goals in the comeback against the Czech Republic and scored the third penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out against Croatia, which Turkey won 3–1. After goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber saved the next Croatian penalty, Turkey advanced to the semi-finals against Germany. Turkish coach Fatih Terim used Altıntop as a right defender in the first two matches before moving him into midfield for the remainder of the tournament. He was awarded the Carlsberg Man of the Match award following the quarter-final against Croatia. At the conclusion of the tournament, Altıntop was selected for UEFA's official 23-man "Team of the Tournament". In January 2011, Altıntop won the FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of 2010 for his volley against Kazakhstan in September 2010 during a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match. He captained the national team for the first time on 30 March 2011 in a 2–0 victory against Austria.

Post-playing career

Following his retirement from professional football, Altıntop became involved in football administration. He served as a board member of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) responsible for the national teams and was involved in the federation's preparations for UEFA Euro 2024. He left the TFF in 2024 following the election of a new federation administration. In 2024, Altıntop was also appointed as a member of UEFA's National Team Competitions Committee for the 2023–25/27…

In 2018, one year after his retirement from professional, he was elected as a board of directors member of the Turkish Football Federation.

In 2014, Altıntop married Feyza Veli in a wedding ceremony in Istanbul's renowned Çırağan Palace. Altintop was nominated as the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final ambassador, since the final was held at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.