Deniz Barış

Deniz Barış — Biography

Deniz Barış is a former international known for the goal that took FC St. Pauli up to the Bundesliga in 2001, and for his part in Gençlerbirliği's best European run in the UEFA Cup and in two Süper Lig titles with Fenerbahçe. He was born in Kemah, in Erzincan, and moved to Hamburg with his family as a child; holding Turkish and German citizenship, he played as a defensive midfielder and center-back.

He began at SV Este 06/70 in Hamburg and joined St. Pauli as an amateur. He made his first official appearance against Energie Cottbus on December 12, 1999; on the last day of 2000-01 he came on in the second half at 1. FC Nürnberg and scored the winner in the 76th minute, taking his club up to the Bundesliga. In 2002 he moved to Gençlerbirliği. With the side coached by Ersun Yanal he finished third in the league and reached the Turkish Cup final; in the 2003-04 UEFA Cup the team knocked out Blackburn Rovers, Sporting Lisbon and Parma before losing to Valencia. That form earned him a place in the national team and third place at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.

In 2004 he signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe, first mostly as a substitute and then as a regular starter. He won the Süper Lig in 2004-05 and 2006-07 and the Süper Kupa in 2007, and reached the Champions League quarter-finals with the club in 2007-08. When his contract was not extended in 2010 he moved to Antalyaspor; he also played for Greuther Fürth.