İlkay Gündoğan

Early career

Having grown up in Gelsenkirchen, Gündoğan's boyhood affiliation was with Schalke 04, with which he had a brief spell as an eight-year old before being forced to take a break from the sport altogether because of growth problems. He subsequently confessed that this was one of the worst disappointments in his life, one which led him to reject Schalke when the club offered to sign him up again when he was 13-years old, fearing he would be somehow disappointed again. Gündoğan eventually came through VfL Bochum's youth academy. In 2008, he began playing for the club's reserve team before signing for 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. In his fourth Bundesliga match, on 19 September 2009, away against Bayern Munich, he made his first assist. His first goal for Nürnberg came on 20 February 2010 in a home match against Bayern Munich.

Borussia Dortmund

2011–2013: Domestic double and UEFA Champions League final

On 5 May 2011, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract with another Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut on 23 July in the 2011 DFL-Supercup against Schalke. After a 0–0 draw at Arena AufSchalke, he scored Dortmund's first attempt in the penalty shoot-out, which they went on to lose 4–3. On 17 December, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in a 4–1 victory away to SC Freiburg. He played once for the club's reserves on 22 February 2012, being replaced at half time by Rico Benatelli in an eventual 2–1 win over 1.…

After years of playing for different youth teams, Gündoğan received his first call-up to the Germany senior team in August 2011 for a friendly match against Brazil, but did not feature in the game. On 11 October, he made his debut for Germany after coming on as a substitute for captain Philipp Lahm for the last six minutes of a 3–1 victory against Belgium in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf. In May 2012, he was selected in the German squad for Euro 2012. Germany reached the semi-finals, although Gündoğan did not play. On 26 March 2013, Gündoğan scored his first goal for Germany in a 4–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan at the Grundig Stadion in Nuremberg. He scored his second goal in his next match, a friendly on 14 August at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, as Germany came from 2–0 down to draw 3–3 against Paraguay. However, he was taken off with a back injury that ruled him out for the next year and forced him to miss the 2014 World Cup, which Germany would go on to win. Gündoğan returned to international football on 25 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw with Australia in a friendly. He participated in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, scoring in a 7–0 away victory against Gibraltar on 14 June 2015, and a 3–2 win against Scotland at Hampden Park on 7 September. On 6 May 2016, it was announced Gündoğan would be unable to participate at Euro 2016 due to injury. He made the team's squad, announced in June 2018, for the 2018…

Known for his vision, athleticism and leadership, Gündoğan's Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, described him as "one of the best players [he had] worked with". Jürgen Klopp, Gündoğan's former coach at Borussia Dortmund, has described Gündoğan as an "intelligent and complete midfielder with numerous strengths". Although Gündoğan had a tough start at Dortmund, where he admitted "things hadn't gone as well as I had thought", his "willingness to learn" and "great attitude", according to Klopp, allowed him to play a pivotal role in his later career at the club in the deep-lying playmaker role. He was able to fit into Dortmund's "explosive" style "by combining creativity and outstanding passing with the defensive attributes and tireless energy needed". In his earlier years, Gündoğan was often deployed as a wide midfielder, but later established himself in a more central role at Dortmund. Regarding this positional switch, he commented: "I came to the conclusion that playing wide wasn't my strength. I feel fine playing as a defensive or central midfielder, but I also believe that I can hold my own as a playmaker." In a 2016 UEFA profile, Philip Röber also observed that Gündoğan "excels in possession-based teams and can dictate a side's tempo." At Manchester City, Gündoğan was deployed in a variety of midfield positions, including in a holding role. Although he was not statistically as productive as his other midfield teammates, specifically in terms of the number of goals and…

İlkay Gündoğan was born on 24 October 1990 in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, to Turkish parents. His grandfather on his father's side was a guest worker who moved from Balıkesir, Turkey, to the Ruhr region of Germany to work as a miner. Meanwhile, his wife stayed in Turkey with their children where they grew up and went to school.