Emre Balak

Emre Balak — Biography

Emre Balak is a defender who came out of the Turkey generation that won the 2005 European Under-17 Championship and finished fourth at that year's FIFA U-17 World Cup. He played 36 times for Turkey's youth sides across the age groups, then followed a club path that ran from the Süper Lig to the lower divisions.

He began in the Merzifonspor youth setup and moved to Samsunspor's youth ranks after two years, where the youth national teams spotted him early. After the 2005 U-17 success he signed a professional contract with Samsunspor and played regularly for two seasons. That drew the attention of Süper Lig clubs and he transferred to Gençlerbirliği. He made 10 Süper Lig appearances in his first season, was loaned to Gençlerbirliği's reserve side Hacettepe in the second, and on returning in 2010-11 played three matches in the first half of the league season. He was in the Bucaspor squad in 2013. In May 2018 he joined Kocaeli Birlikspor, and in January 2019 he left Bodrumspor and signed for Fethiyespor.

In May 2023 he agreed terms with Aliağa FK and carried his experience on in the lower divisions. Called up 54 times by Turkey's youth teams, Balak played 13 times for the U-17s, 9 for the U-18s, 10 for the U-19s, 2 for the U-20s and 2 for the U-21s, scoring once.