VfB Stuttgart captain Atakan Karazor said on Friday he was “proud and grateful” to be called up into Turkey’s national team squad for the first time in what is also a decision against an international career for Germany.
Karazor has citizenship of his birth country Germany and of Turkey where his parents are from.
The midfielder Karazor was nominated by Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella into the Nations League squad for matches on October 11 against Montenegro and three days later against Iceland.
Karazor said earlier he had more or less made up his mind, “purely for sporting reasons”, after Sky TV reported he had chosen Turkey.
He then broke his silence on the issue shortly after the nomination on Instagram.
“I am proud and grateful to have been called up to the Turkish national team for the first time,” he said in a statement in Turkish and German.
“This is the realisation of a childhood dream of mine. I can’t wait to be part [of the team] and wear the jersey with great honour. I have worked hard for many years to achieve this goal and would like to thank everyone who has supported me along the way.
“Now I’m looking forward to playing my part, together with my team-mates, in overcoming the challenges ahead and achieving our goals. I am sure that together, with all the talent in this team, we can achieve a lot.”
Sebastian Hoeness, Karazor’s coach at last year’s Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart, said he fully understands his player.
“I can follow his reasoning. He simply sees a better chance to play there,” Hoeness said. “I am delighted for Ata because he has been performing well over a long period.”
