Atakan Karazor

Atakan Karazor — Biography

Born in Essen on 13 October 1996 and holding both German and Turkish citizenship, Atakan Karazor is a defensive midfielder who currently captains Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. He began his senior career with Borussia Dortmund's reserve side before spending two seasons at Holstein Kiel in Germany's second-tier league.

He joined VfB Stuttgart in 2019, helped the club move up to the top flight in his first season there, and later rose to become team captain, extending his contract through 2028 in 2024. Though born in Germany, Karazor chose to represent Turkey internationally, making his debut for the national team in 2025. In the summer of 2022 he was detained during a trip to Ibiza over an allegation of sexual assault against an 18-year-old woman, and was released weeks later after posting bail; he continued his career at Stuttgart afterward.