Barış Özbek

Barış Özbek — Biography

Barış Özbek is a German-born midfielder of Turkish descent best known for his time at Galatasaray, where he won the league title in 2007-08. He could play in central midfield, on the right wing and, rarely, at right-back, and worked in both directions of the game, attacking and defending. After leaving football he took part in the 2021 edition of Survivor in the celebrities team.

He started in the youth ranks of BG Schwerin, played for Tus Hordel in 2003-04 and moved to Rot-Weiss Essen's youth side in 2005. At Essen he spent two years in the first team and scored once in 39 matches. In 2007 he joined Galatasaray, rebuilt by Karl-Heinz Feldkamp, together with Serkan Çalık; he finished his first season as league champion and added the Turkish Super Cup in 2008. On August 6, 2009, he scored twice against Maccabi Netanya in a Europa League qualifying round. He moved to Trabzonspor in June 2011, later played for Union Berlin and joined Kayserispor in January 2015. On February 1, 2016, he signed for MSV Duisburg and agreed to terminate his contract in November 2017. Fatih Karagümrük is also among his clubs, and by April 2022 he had retired from professional football.

Born to Turkish parents, Özbek holds a German passport and played for Germany's youth sides, winning 16 caps with the under-21 team. His brother Ufuk is also a footballer.