Did you Know?
This shirt was worn by Hakan Calhanoglu during the Euro 2020 game between Turkey and Italy which took place in Roma, “Stadio Olimpico”, on June 11th 2021. Italy defeated Turkey 3-0 and at the end of the game Calhanoglu swapped his shirt with an Italy player whom we got it from. Italy dominated proceedings from start to finish, but for long periods of the goal-less first half it looked like a desperately unambitious Turkey side would successfully frustrate the Azzurri by sitting deep and clogging the space in and around the penalty area. Born in Germany, Çalhanoğlu opted to play for Turkey, qualifying for them through his family’s origins in Trabzon. He played for the country at youth international level, including the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup on home soil. He made his senior international debut on 6 September 2013 in a World Cup qualifier in Kayseri, replacing Gökhan Töre for the last eight minutes of a 5–0 win against Andorra in Fatih Terim’s first match back in charge. He made his first start on 25 May 2014 in a 2–1 friendly win against the Republic of Ireland at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, making way for Olcan Adın after 61 minutes. Çalhanoğlu was sharing a hotel room with national team defender Ömer Toprak in October 2013 after a World Cup qualifying defeat to the Netherlands, when Gökhan Töre and an unknown armed friend entered the room, and threatened both roommates at gunpoint, ostensibly due to Töre’s ex-girlfriend dating a friend of Toprak. The incident was hidden from Turkish media, but Çalhanoğlu revealed it to Germany’s ZDF television channel. Töre did not return to the national team until October 2014, when both Çalhanoğlu and Toprak were injured. The following month, with both players back to fitness and form, both were left out by Terim for a friendly against Brazil and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Kazakhstan while Töre remained. Çalhanoğlu questioned his omission from the team, while Terim defended his own decision and said that Töre deserved to be forgiven. In June 2015, Çalhanoğlu and Töre reconciled. On 31 March 2015, Çalhanoğlu scored his first international goal in a 2–1 friendly win away to Luxembourg, a 30-yard strike with three minutes remaining.[41] He scored two more in a 4–0 home friendly win over Bulgaria on 8 June, the latter being a free kick. His first competitive goal came on 10 October, a cross which secured a 2–0 away win over the Czech Republic in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying event. Çalhanoğlu became the first Turk to score against England, in the 11th match between the two nations, a friendly at the City of Manchester Stadium on 22 May 2016.
