Alper Balaban

Alper Balaban — Biography

Alper Balaban was a German-Turkish midfielder, born and raised in Germany, who came through the youth ranks of Hoffenheim and Fenerbahçe. He played for Turkey's under-21 side, but his professional career was cut short when he died in 2010, aged 22, after a road accident.

Born in Heilbronn, he grew up in nearby Gemmingen and started playing for SV Gemmingen. At a teacher's suggestion he moved to SV Sinsheim, and two years later to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, where he stayed four years. He transferred to Fenerbahçe in 2005, made 58 appearances and scored 16 goals for the club's reserve side, and made his first-team debut in a Turkish Cup match against Sivasspor on 11 November 2006, coming on in the 82nd minute. He spent a season on loan at Kocaelispor and played for the Turkey under-21s in 2008. Strong with both feet, he signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Eskişehirspor, saying that coach Rıza Çalımbay was a major reason for his choice. In the summer of 2009 he was loaned to Linyitspor of Tavşanlı, Kütahya, in the third-tier Second League.

In early April 2010 he was in Germany for contract negotiations and was involved in a car accident on the B 293 near Bretten on 5 April. He died in Karlsruhe on 12 April 2010.