Mert Altınöz (born 28 May 2002) is a Turkish

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 an

attacking midfielder 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

Elazığspor Elazığspor is a Turkish professional football club located in Elazığ and currently competes in the TFF Second League. They play their home games at Elazığ Atatürk Stadium in Elazığ, which has a maximum capacity of 18,423. The club was ...

. Although he plays primarily as an attacking midfielder for his club, his versatility as a player means he can play a variety of roles across the midfield.

Personal life

Altınöz was born in the province of

Hatay Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, ...

in Turkey. He is described as "quick, dynamic, and creative with the ball at his feet". His younger brother, Ali, is currently playing for the U19 team of

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Hatayspor Hatayspor Kulübü, known as Atakaş Hatayspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in Antakya, Hatay Province. Hatayspor, founded in 1967 through a merger of three local clubs, aimed to promote sports and po ...

Club career

Youth

Altınöz signed with Turkish side

as a youth player in 2016, eventually getting promoted from the youth academy to the U21 team in 2019, playing matches for Hatayspor's U21 and U19 teams.

Hatayspor

After spending 2 years in the Hatayspor youth teams, he signed his first professional contract with the club in 2021. He did not make a single appearance for the team in the

, but played his first match for the club in a 2–1 win over

Şanlıurfaspor Şanlıurfaspor is a Turkish sports club located in Urfa. The football (soccer), football team currently plays in the TFF First League. Current squad Out on loan Honours * TFF Second League ** Winners (1): ...

in the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

Dynamic Herb Cebu

In March 2022, it was announced by Hatay mayor

Lütfü Savaş Lütfü Savaş (born 23 March 1965, Yayladağı) is a Turkish politician, doctor and former mayor of Hatay Province of Turkey. Early life and education Savaş was born in the Dağdüzü village in the Yayladağı district of the province of Ha ...

that Altınöz, along with Arda Çınkır and Nazım Özcan, his teammates, would be transferring to

Philippines Football League The Philippines Football League (PFL) is a men's professional association football, football league in the Philippines. Sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and organized by Liga Futbol Inc., it is the country's Football in t ...

side Dynamic Herb Cebu, as part of the club's partnership with the Turkish side. His signing was formally announced on 1 April 2022. Altınöz made his debut for the club in the

2022 Copa Paulino Alcantara The 2022 Copa Paulino Alcantara was the fourth edition of the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the domestic football cup competition of the Philippines. The 2022 edition marked the first time since the 2019 Copa Paulino Alcantara that matches are not hel ...

, the country's domestic cup competition, in a 2–0 win over Stallion Laguna. On 2 May 2022 he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over Mendiola 1991, scoring the club's third goal. He remained with the club for the

2022–23 Philippines Football League The 2022–23 Philippines Football League was the fifth season of Philippines Football League (PFL), the professional football league of the Philippines. This is the second season of the PFL under the sponsorship of Qatar Airways. The season be ...

, claiming 5 goals and 8 assists before renewing his contract with the club for the 2nd half of the season. In March, Cebu and Altınöz qualified for the 2023–24 edition of the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altınöz, Mert 2002 births Living people Footballers from Hatay Turkish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Hatayspor footballers Cebu F.C. players Elazığspor footballers Philippines Football League players TFF Third League players Turkish expatriate men's footballers Turkish expatriate sportspeople in the Philippines Expatriate men's footballers in the Philippines 21st-century Turkish sportsmen