Tolga Ciğerci

Tolga Ciğerci — Biography

Defensive midfielder Tolga Ciğerci came into the world in Nordenham, Germany, on 23 March 1992, and holds Turkish-German dual citizenship. After starting out with small clubs near his hometown, he joined VfL Wolfsburg's academy in 2005, winning a German youth championship with the club's junior sides before being promoted to the first team in 2010, though a series of managerial changes limited his opportunities there.

Loan spells followed at Borussia Mönchengladbach and then Hertha Berlin, where he scored his first Bundesliga goal. After turning out for Germany's under-19 and under-20 sides, he switched his international allegiance to Turkey in 2012 at the urging of the national team's coach at the time, and received his first senior call-up in 2016. He signed for Galatasaray that same year, scoring the decisive penalty in a Turkish Super Cup shootout not long after arriving and going on to win a Süper Lig title with the club.

He later played for Fenerbahçe, İstanbul Başakşehir, Hertha Berlin again, and MKE Ankaragücü, before signing with Sivasspor in January 2025, moving to German third-tier side Energie Cottbus in February 2026, and returning to Sivasspor that July.