Veli Kavlak (born 3 November 1988) is an Austrian former 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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English, is an Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the f ...

and Turkish club

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 ...

. He made 31 appearances for the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

at international level scoring one goal.

International career

On 15 August 2012 he scored against his parents' home country

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

playing for Austria in the 3rd minute. Austria went on to win that game 2–0.

Style of play

Kavlak is a defensive

box-to-box 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. ...

. At club level, he is deployed in the holding role and is key in midfield with his tireless running and endless stamina. He is also a hardworking leader and although not being known for unsportsmanlike acts, he is known to be a hatchet man in midfield. Kavlak is often accompanied by another more offensive central midfielder such as Manuel Fernandes and

Oğuzhan Özyakup Oğuzhan Özyakup (born 23 September 1992), also known as Ozzie or Ozzy, is a Dutch-Turkish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Zaandam, the Netherlands, Özyakup has previously featured for c ...

. At international level, however, he has most prominently featured in a more advanced position in front of a holding midfielder.

Personal life

Veli Kavlak was born to Turkish parents. He also holds Turkish citizenship. He speaks Turkish fluently.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kavlak goal.''

Honours

Rapid Wien *

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

: 2004–05, 2007–08 Beşiktaş *

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 ...

: 2015–16, 2016–17

References

External links

* * * 1988 births Living people Footballers from Vienna Austrian sportspeople of Turkish descent Austrian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Austria men's international footballers Austria men's under-21 international footballers Austria men's youth international footballers 21st-century Austrian sportsmen Austrian Football Bundesliga players Süper Lig players SK Slovan HAC players SK Rapid Wien players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers Austrian expatriate men's footballers Austrian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey {{austria-footy-midfielder-stub