23 competitive games, 15 goals: Can Uzun made the difference in Nuremberg – and should soon be playing in a different league. Image: dpa
Can Uzun, at just 18 years old one of the best players in the second division, wants to play for Turkey in the future despite the DFB’s advertising. This decision could be painful for German football.
Can Uzun did not want to reveal much about the background to a decision that will probably be discussed more often in the coming months and years. “I listened to my heart” – that was the simple reason given by the Regensburg-born attacker from 1. FC Nürnberg when he announced that he did not want to play football for the German national team, but for Turkey. A decision that could be painful for those responsible at the German Football Association (DFB).
At the moment, the 18-year-old Uzun is still playing under the radar of the general public, but he is one of the stars of the second Bundesliga. During the current season he has scored 15 goals and prepared three more in 23 competitive games. During his six games after the winter break alone, he scored six times. His first appearance for the U17s of 1. FC Nürnberg is already legendary. When he came on as a substitute after 67 minutes during a game at Eintracht Frankfurt, his team was 0-1 down, but in the end they won 3-1 – Uzun, then only 14 years old, had scored three goals within ten minutes. In addition to a number of Bundesliga clubs, large clubs from England are now said to be interested in signing the talent, and those responsible at the DFB also intensively advertised Uzun.
