Deniz Yılmaz

Deniz Yılmaz — Biography

Deniz Yılmaz was born on 26 February 1988 in Neu-Ulm, Germany, to parents of Turkish descent. He started out in the youth ranks of TV Wiblingen and SSV Ulm 1846, and his performances for Turkey's 2005 European champion under-17 side earned him a move to Bayern Munich's academy. A regular for Bayern's reserve side who was named in the first team's 2008-09 Champions League squad, he never made a competitive first-team appearance, finishing his reserve career with 115 appearances and 33 goals.

In 2011 he moved on a free transfer to Mainz 05, making his Bundesliga debut in January 2012, and the following season went on loan to Paderborn 07, where he formed a forward line with fellow Turkish-German players Deniz Naki and Mahir Sağlık. His most productive season came in 2013 at Elazığspor, whom he had just signed for: he scored 12 goals in 28 matches to finish as the club's top scorer, though it was not enough to prevent relegation. In the years that followed, hampered by injuries, he moved through Trabzonspor, Bursaspor and Gençlerbirliği without recapturing that form.

Yılmaz's international career began with Turkey's under-16 side in 2003 and continued through the under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels; he scored key goals as Turkey won the 2005 European Under-17 Championship and was part of the squad that finished fourth at that year's under-17 World Cup. Never called up to Turkey's senior team, he switched his allegiance to Azerbaijan in 2016 and made his debut for his new country in a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland.