Şaban Özel

Şaban Özel — Biography

Şaban Özel was born on 1 May 1988 in Sakarya and began playing football through the youth ranks of his hometown club, signing a professional contract there in 2007 and joining the senior squad; he made his official debut in a Turkish Cup match in September 2008. From his second season he became a regular starter, and in 2010-11 he helped the team win promotion from the second tier to the first division, a run of form that drew interest from bigger clubs and earned him a call-up to one of Turkey's youth national sides.

He went on to play for Sivasspor and then Samsunspor, turning out regularly for the latter club through to 2014, when he transferred to Adana Demirspor. He won his first cap for Turkey's A2 national side in a friendly against Lebanon in June 2011, and in 2017 he publicly voiced a wish to return to his home city, underscoring the attachment to Sakarya that had marked his career.