Ilkay Gündogan

Ilkay Gündogan is a German midfielder of Turkish origin who plays for Borussia Dortmund. He was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Ilkay began his career in football in the SV Gelsenkirchen-Hessler 06 youth team and then, at the age of 8, moved to Schalke 04 youth academy, also located in Gelsenkirchen. But the footballer didn’t impress the coaching staff of the Miners and a year later returned to SV Gelsenkirchen-Hessler 06. However, in 2005 the future midfielder drew the attention of VfL Bochum scouts and joined the club’s academy, where he continued training.

In 2008 Gündogan graduated from Bochum’s academy and signed a contract with the club’s reserve team. Ilkay’s second team debut came on 13 December 2008 in a friendly match of Regionalliga against SV Eintracht Trier 05, when he spent the whole second half of the game on the pitch. VfL Bochum II lost 2-3. In the second leg against Cloppenburg-1919 Gündogan appeared in the starting eleven and managed to deliver a goal, but his team lost again 2-4.

In February 2009 the midfielder was purchased by Nuremberg for a fee of €850 thousand. Ilkay opened his account with the club on 24 March 2009 in the 34th Round of the 2nd Bundesliga. It was the 2-1 win over TSV 1860 München and Gündogan entered the game as a substitute for Daniel Gygax in the 62nd minute. The same season Nuremberg advanced to the Bundesliga.

The German footballer made his Bundesliga debut on 8 August 2009 in the match against Schalke 04. Nuremberg was defeated 1-2, with 2 goals scored by Kevin Kurányi. Gündogan spent the entire match on the pitch and became an established part of Nuremberg’s starting eleven.

In the 2009/10 season he appeared in 22 club’s matches and netted 1 goal. In the 2010/11 season Ilkay made 25 appearances for the club and contributed five goals.

In the autumn of 2010 it was rumored that Gündogan drew the attention of such English giants as Manchester United and Chelsea. Moreover, the midfielder became of interest to Hamburger SV and Bayer Munich. But the continuation of this news never came.

On 5 May 2011 it was announced that Gündogan moved to Borussia Dortmund in a transfer deal worth €4 mln, signing a four-year contract with the club. According to many experts, Ilkay was purchased by the Black Yellows to replace the central midfielder Nuri Şahin, who had left the club for Real Madrid.

Gündogan’s official debut for the Borussians fell on 23 July 2011 in the match against Schalke 04, the coaching staff of which once rejected young Ilkay. The regulation game ended in a 0-0 draw, but the Miners won 4–3 on penalties. Ilkay spent all 90 minutes on the pitch and delivered a goal in the penalty shootout.

Ilkay Gündogan won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund in 2012.