Nadir Çiftçi

Nadir Çiftçi
Personal information
Full nameNadir Çiftçi
Date of birth12 February 1992
Place of birthKarakoçan, Turkey
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Dundee United
Number7
Youth career
2003Haaglandia
2003–2007ADO Den Haag
2007–2010Portsmouth
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2010–2011Portsmouth19(1)
2011–2012Kayserispor11(0)
2012–2013NAC Breda7(0)
2013–Dundee United63(23)
National team‡
2008Netherlands U172(0)
2011Turkey U197(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:33, 19 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 August 2011

Nadir Çiftçi (born 12 February 1992) is a Turkish footballer who currently plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Dundee United. He has previously played professionally for Portsmouth in England, Kayserispor in Turkey and NAC Breda in the Netherlands. He has represented both the Netherlands under-17 and Turkey under-19 teams.

Club career

Portsmouth

Çiftçi moved from Dutch side ADO Den Haag to Portsmouth at the start of the 2007–08 Premier League season when he was just 15 years of age for a fee of around £80,000.[2] He signed professional terms in June 2010. After an impressive pre-season tour of the United States, he made his the first-team debut on 7 August 2010 as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat against Coventry City.[3] On his first competitive start for Portsmouth, Çiftçi scored his first goal for the club against Stevenage on 9 August 2010 in the first round of the League Cup. This goal proved vital for Portsmouth as they won the match 2–1.

He scored the opener in Portsmouth's first home game against Reading in the 2010–11 Championship season, his second goal in three competitive games.[4] Following the arrival of Liam Lawrence, Çiftçi's playing time became more limited, but manager Steve Cotterill was reluctant to send him out on loan due to the club's lack of squad depth.[5] He finished the season making 22 appearances (17 as substitute) and scoring two goals in all competitions.

Kayserispor and NAC Breda

On 14 May 2011, Çiftçi turned down the offer of a new contract with Portsmouth and signed with Turkish club Kayserispor. Because of his age, Portsmouth received £100,000 for the transfer.[6] His contract was mutual terminated in June 2012[7] before trialling at NAC Breda[8] and former club ADO Den Haag.[9]

Following a trial, Çiftçi joined NAC Breda on a three-year contract.[10] After one season, Çiftçi would leave the club.[11]

Dundee United

On 2 July 2013, Çiftçi went on trial to Scottish Premiership club Dundee United.[12] On 25 July, he joined United on a two-year contract.[13] Two days later, he scored for Dundee United with a stunning strike, in a 1–0 win against Wigan Athletic in a pre-season friendly.[14] Çiftçi scored his first competitive goals for Dundee United on 28 August 2013 in their 3–2 win in the League Cup second round tie against Dumbarton; he came on as a second-half substitute and quickly equalised before going on to score the winning goal in the dying minutes of the game.

On 15 September 2013, Çiftçi scored his first league goal for Dundee United against Ross County. He followed this up seven days later with another goal, against Motherwell. On 5 October 2013, Çiftçi scored a twenty-yard volley low and hard without the ball hitting the ground, which proved to be the winner against Kilmarnock.

On 29 October 2013, Çiftçi was red-carded as Dundee United lost 2–1 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the League Cup. On 1 November 2013, with Dundee United having appealed against the ordering off, Çiftçi was then accused of grabbing an assistant referee by the throat and grabbing the face of an Inverness player during the same match.[15] On 7 November 2013, the SFA judiciary panel ruled that the charge of grabbing the opponent was unproven and also reduced his red card to a yellow card.[16] On 3 December 2013, Çiftçi was given a two-match suspension by the SFA, with one of those matches suspended until the end of the season. This was after the initial charge of "seizing hold" of the assistant referee "by the throat" was amended to "excessive misconduct at a match by placing an open hand into the lower area of the assistant referee's throat".[17]

On 12 April 2014, Çiftçi scored Dundee United's third goal in a 3–1 Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Rangers.[18]

International career

Although Çiftçi has represented the Netherlands at youth level,[19] he has chosen to play for Turkey. In November 2010, Turkey national team coach Guus Hiddink (coincidentally a Dutchman) met Çiftçi to persuade him to switch his national allegiance to Turkey,[20] and subsequently received a call-up after Çiftçi announced his desire to play for the country.[21]

On 8 March 2011, Çiftçi made his debut for Turkey, but on U19 team, in the match against Montenegro. This game ended 3–0.[22]

On 10 March 2011, Çiftçi made his first goal for U19, in the match against Montenegro. This game ended 3–3.[23] On 2 July 2013, Pierre van Hooijdonk revealed that Çiftçi was about to make his senior Turkey debut but his passport application fell through, causing him to miss out on a first international cap at senior level.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Portsmouth first team profile
  2. ↑ "Nadir Çiftçi Portsmouth´un Umudu" [Nadir Çiftçi is Portsmouth hope] (in Turkish). 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Coventry 2–0 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Portsmouth 1–1 Reading". BBC Sport. 14 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "Cotterill still keen for youngster loan move". Portsmouth Today. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  6. ↑ Çiftçi set for Kayserispor The News
  7. ↑ "Kayserispor coach Shota: "We will, to the summit Squad"" [Kayserispor Teknik Direktörü Şota: "Zirve için Kadro Kuracağız"] (in Turkish). Haberler.com. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Çiftçi overtuigt noodlijdend NAC Breda in proefperiode" [Çiftçi convinces distressed NAC Breda in trial]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "ADO Den Haag vindt de ideale rechterspits in eigen huis" [ADO Den Haag is the ideal judge striker in house]. Voetbal International (in Dutch). 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "NAC Breda legt aanvaller Çiftçi vast" [NAC Breda explains attacker Çiftçi fixed]. De Weekkrant (in Dutch). 24 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Nadir Çiftçi weg bij NAC" [Nadir Çiftçi is away at NAC] (in Dutch). BN DeStem. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "McNamara closes in on young English duo". Herald Scotland. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Former NAC forward Nadir Çiftçi joins Dundee United on a free transfer". STV Sport. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Wigan's pre-season ended in defeat as they went down 1–0 to Dundee United". Sky Sports. 27 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Dundee Utd's Nadir Ciftci faces ban for 'seizing' official by throat". BBC Sport. 1 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Dundee United: Nadir Ciftci red card reduced to yellow". BBC Sport. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dundee Utd's Nadir Ciftci banned for excessive misconduct". BBC Sport. 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  18. ↑ Tom English (12 April 2014). "Dundee United punish Rangers' defects to reach Scottish Cup final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Irish Under 15 side Prepare for Dutch Encounter". Football Association of Ireland Official Website. 21 November 2006. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Turkish delight? Çiftçi faces dilemma". Portsmouth Today. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  21. ↑ "Nadir Çiftçi opts for Turkey". Turkish Football Federation. 16 November 2010. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  22. ↑ "Montenegro 3–0 (Report)". Turkey Football Federation. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
  23. ↑ "Turkey – Montenegro 3–3 (Report)". Turkey Football Federation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Passport blunder’s his Nadir". The Scottish Sun. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.

External links