Ekrem Dağ

Ekrem Dağ — Biography

Ekrem Hayyam Dağ was born on 5 December 1980 in Mardin and moved with his family to Austria as a child, where he began playing football. He joined the Sturm Graz academy in 1997, turned professional there in the 2000-01 season and stayed with the club until 2005. He then returned to Turkey and signed for Gaziantepspor, making 83 appearances and scoring 7 times for the club. He moved to Beşiktaş in June 2008 and won the Süper Lig and Turkish Cup double in 2008-09, adding a second Turkish Cup in 2010-11.

After his Beşiktaş contract was terminated ahead of the 2012-13 season, he returned to Gaziantepspor and then joined Şanlıurfaspor in 2014; he retired at the end of that season but soon returned to playing with Austria's SV Pachern. Holding dual citizenship, he was eligible for both Turkey and Austria and chose to represent Austria, earning his first cap in a friendly match played on 3 March 2010, opposite Denmark. After retiring as a player he moved into coaching, taking charge of 1. Lig side Göztepe on 25 September 2022, and later joined the coaching staff at Çaykur Rizespor, where he now delivers the club's post-match remarks.