Ali Gökdemir

Ali Gökdemir — Biography

Ali Gökdemir was born on 17 September 1991 in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, and is a former Azerbaijan international footballer of Turkish descent who also held German and Azerbaijani citizenship; he played as a defender. He started out at his hometown club in Schwäbisch Hall, then played for TSV Ilshofen and in VfB Stuttgart's youth system before joining Hannover 96's academy in 2009. He moved up to Hannover 96 II in the fourth-tier Regionalliga for the 2010-11 season, and in February 2013 he was included in Hannover's first-team squad for the first time, though he did not get on the pitch.

Unable to break into the Hannover first team, Gökdemir spent the second half of the 2013-14 season on loan at Süper Lig side Elazığspor. In July 2014, while still under contract with Hannover, he moved to Azerbaijan Premier League club Simurq on a free transfer. Called up to the Azerbaijan U21 squad in early 2012, he scored the winning goal on his debut against Iceland U21, and he made his senior Azerbaijan debut in a tournament match against Japan on 23 May 2012. Between 2012 and 2013 he earned ten caps for the national team, including World Cup qualifiers.

Sources differ on whether he retired from professional football at the end of 2015 or in 2016, aged 24, citing family reasons; from around that time he continued playing for amateur club Sportfreunde Schwäbisch Hall.