Deniz Manuel Bozkurt (born July 23, 1993) is a retired

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

-born Puerto Rican

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 ...

. He most recently played for

Boca Raton FC Boca Raton Football Club is an American soccer club that started playing in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). In 2015, which was their inaugural season, they were only defeated in one game and won the APSL championship and the APSL fall ...

and for the

Puerto Rico national football team The Puerto Rico national football team () represents Puerto Rico in men's international Association football, football, and are governed by the Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol (). The team's nickname is ''El Huracán Azul'' meaning The ...

Career

Bozkurt started his career in the United States' college system with the

Florida Atlantic Owls The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Flori ...

where he stood out as a player, scoring 6 goals in 37 appearances over 3 seasons, earning him a call up to the Puerto Rico U20s for the

2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2013 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place between February 18 and March 3, 2013. The CONCACAF U-20 Championship determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2013 FIFA U-20 Wo ...

. In early 2015 he traveled to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for a trial with

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

International career

Bozkurt was called up to the Puerto Rico U20s in 2012 whilst playing for

for the

2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying The qualifying stage of the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship competition is handled by two regional bodies; the Caribbean Football Union (Caribbean zone) and the UNCAF (Central American zone). Four teams from Central America and five from the Cari ...

match against Barbados U20s. He received his first full national cap for

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 2015 in a friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as a substitute in the 36th minute. His first goal for Puerto Rico came during second round qualifications for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in a first-leg tie over

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

in which Bozkurt's goal gave the Puerto Ricans a 1-0 victory.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Puerto Rico's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* 1993 births Living people Puerto Rican men's footballers Puerto Rico men's international footballers Florida Atlantic Owls men's soccer players Floridians FC players American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American sportspeople of Turkish descent Sportspeople from Plantation, Florida Soccer players from Broward County, Florida USL League Two players Men's association football midfielders Boca Raton FC players 21st-century American sportsmen {{PuertoRico-footy-bio-stub