Özgür Çek (born 3 January 1991) is a Turkish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

TFF Third League The TFF 3. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 3. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season as a continuation of then third level division Turkish Third Foot ...

club Tokat Belediye Plevnespor.

Early years

Özgür Çek began his footballing at a Fenerbahçe school in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In 2002, he moved to local club Maltepespor due to its proximity to his residence. He was transferred to

Pendikspor Pendikspor is a Turkish sports club based in Pendik, Istanbul. The club's homeground is the ''Pendik Stadium''. History Pendikspor's best known football section, with a history dating back to 1927, continued its activities without being subject t ...

in 2004, with club scouts having been impressed with his talent. Özgür Çek was persuaded by the club's training facilities and former players who had gone through the youth system at Pendikspor. His dream was to eventually move to one of

's "big three" clubs:

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

, Fenerbahçe and

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

. Özgür Çek later received offers from all three clubs in 2006, choosing Fenerbahçe in the end. In an interview, Özgür Çek remarked that he knew it was very hard for youth players to break through into the first team at Fenerbahçe, but stated that his biggest dream was to play for the club.

Club career

Fenerbahçe signed him to his first professional contract on 1 July 2006. However, he did not make any league appearances for the club, and was later sent to

Ankaraspor Sincan Belediyesi Ankaraspor Kulübü, commonly known as Ankaraspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. The club was known as Osmanlıspor ...

as part of the deal that brought

Özer Hurmacı Özer Hurmacı (born 20 November 1986) is a Turkish former professional footballer who played a winger or attacking midfielder. He played for the Turkey national team in varied age levels, including his two caps for senior level in 2010. Club ...

to Fenerbahçe. His professional debut came against

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matc ...

on 23 August 2009. Özgür Çek's career with the club didn't last long, as they were expelled from the league because of its relationship with

MKE Ankaragücü MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the ...

, ruling that it was contrary to sporting competitiveness" (see

2009–10 in Turkish football The 2009–10 season was the 105th season of competitive football in Turkey. Overview Bursaspor became league champions for the first time in club history, as well as the second club outside of Istanbul to win the Süper Lig.

). As a result, Özgür Çek was loaned out to

for the rest of the season. His deal was made permanent at the end of the year,

having ceased operations, signing a five-year deal with

. Özgür Çek has been a regular fixture in the side for the 2010–11 season, starting the first seven matches while scoring two goals.

Eskişehirspor

Özgür Çek signed a 3.5 year contract with

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish football club located in Eskişehir. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division of Turkish football for 16 years until they were relegated. After being out of the Süper Lig for 12 years the ...

on 5 January 2013.

Gençlerbirliği

On 12 January 2023, Çek joined Gençlerbirliği on a one-and-a-half-year-deal.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cek, Ozgur 1991 births Living people People from Erbaa Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Turkey men's youth international footballers Eskişehirspor footballers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Ankaraspor footballers MKE Ankaragücü footballers Manisa F.K. footballers Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Denizlispor footballers Süper Lig players TFF 1. Lig players TFF Third League players Men's association football wingers Turkey men's B international footballers 21st-century Turkish sportsmen