Cenk Güvenç

Cenk Güvenç — Biography

Cenk Güvenç is a center-back who grew up in Germany but chose to play for Turkey. His career ran from Gaziantepspor to the B team of Atlético Madrid and then through the Süper Lig and the second tier, with Denizlispor as the club where he spent the longest stretch. In his later years he played for Afjet Afyonspor and Balıkesirspor.

He started football very young and joined the Offenbach Kickers academy at seven. His physique made him stand out there: he began as a striker, went on to play everywhere except in goal, and faced the youth sides of Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Schalke 04. Germany's national team also called him up, but he picked Turkey and wore the shirt of its youth national teams. His parents' return to their home district of Ödemiş in İzmir weighed on the decision to move to Turkey.

In 2009 he signed a three-year contract with Gaziantepspor and made his professional debut against Trabzonspor. With chances limited there, he went to Atlético Madrid B in 2012 but played only one match. He moved to Çaykur Rizespor in 2013 and to Karşıyaka in January 2014, where he scored his first goal against Kahramanmaraşspor. He joined Denizlispor in the summer of 2015, missed about six weeks with an injury in 2017, extended his contract in 2018 and agreed terms with Denizlispor once more in 2020.