| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Semih Aydilek[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-01-16)16 January 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Frankfurt am Main, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 199x–2007 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| 2007–2008 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2009 | Birmingham City | 0 | (0) |
| 2009 | →Motherwell (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | Kayserispor | 24 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Konyaspor | 3 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | SpVgg 05 Oberrad | ||
| 2016 | Hanauer SC | ||
| 2019–2020 | Türk Gücü Friedberg | 3 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2006 | Turkey U17 | 4 | (1) |
| 2006 | Turkey U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2008 | Germany U19 | 7 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | Germany U20 | 5 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 October 2015 | |||
Semih Aydilek (born 16 January 1989) is a former professionalfootballer who played as aforward. Internationally, Aydilek represented Turkey, the country of his parents, atunder-17 and under-18 level, but later chose to represent the country of his birth, and played for Germany atunder-19 and under-20 level.
Aydilek was born inFrankfurt am Main, Germany, to Turkish parents,[2] and spent ten years in theyouth system of home-town clubEintracht Frankfurt.[3] While playing in a youth tournament in 2006, he was spotted byTerry Westley,youth academy manager at English clubBirmingham City,[4] who persuaded the player that a move to England would benefit his career.[5] Aydilek agreed to join Birmingham, then in thePremier League, in October 2007, though the move could not be completed until his German passport came through in December.[3][4] He played regularly with theirreserve team, with whom he won the 2007–08Birmingham Senior Cup.[6] He was given asquad number prior to being named as asubstitute for theLeague Cup defeat toSouthampton in August 2008, but took no part in the game.[7]
In February 2009, Aydilek joinedMotherwell of theScottish Premier League on loan for the remainder of the 2008–09 season, where he linked up with fellow loanee and Birmingham team-mateArtur Krysiak.[8][9] Motherwell managerMark McGhee had not seen the player, but signed him on the recommendation of his Birmingham counterpart, formerScotland national managerAlex McLeish, who felt he had potential but needed to play in competitive football to develop his game.[10] He was an unused substitute in the SPL draw withCeltic in February 2009,[11] but never appeared for the first team.[12]
When his contract expired at the end of the 2008–09 season,[13] Aydilek signed a four-year contract with Turkish clubKayserispor.[14] An unused substitute in the opening game of theSüper Lig season,[15] he made his debut in the next, on 16 August as a 76th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw at home toGaziantepspor.[16] He made his first start for the club on 29 November as Kayserispor beatManisaspor 1–0 away from home,[17] and finished the season with 13 Süper Lig appearances, mostly as a substitute, without scoring.[14] During the 2010–11 season, Aydilek made ten appearances for the Süper Lig side, four starts and six as a substitute.[14]
In May 2016, while at German lower-league side Hanauer SC, received a 14-match ban.[18]
Aydilek representedTurkey at under-17 and under-18 level while an Eintracht Frankfurt player.[14] However, having received a German passport, he accepted a call-up to theGerman under-19 team in January 2008. He made his debut in afriendly againstPoland under-19,[19] and made a significant contribution to theirqualification for the final stages of the2008 UEFA under-19 championships.[2][20][21] At the pre-tournament training camp, he suffered a severe tear to his ankle ligaments, so missed the final tournament which Germany went on to win, and was still recovering from the injury while his team-mates were in pre-season training at the start of the 2008–09 season.[2]
In September 2008 he appeared for the German under-20 team,[22] and, despite feeling pressure to commit to Turkey,[13] he accepted selection for the German team to compete at the2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In their opening game in the tournament, Aydilek was fouled to earn his side apenalty kick, which he converted himself to open the scoring in a 3–0 defeat of theUnited States.[23] He scored the second goal of the final group game, a 3–0 defeat ofCameroon, but was sent off a few minutes later, which brought a suspension for the round of 16.[24] Germany were eliminated in the quarter-finals byBrazil 2–1 afterextra time; Aydilek missed a chance when one-on-one with the goalkeeper and set up the opening goal forLewis Holtby, but had been substituted by the time Brazil equalised.[25]
Birmingham City
