Orhan Gülle

Orhan Gülle — Biography

Orhan Gülle is a midfielder from the generation that took Turkey to the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, called up to the national youth teams 88 times across the age groups. He had his best years in the Süper Lig with Gaziantepspor and is remembered for long-range goals against Galatasaray and his former club Beşiktaş. At one point he was named alongside Neymar on lists of young talents. He later played for Gençlerbirliği and Sivasspor, and in the summer of 2024 he moved to the third tier.

Gülle moved from Trabzon to Istanbul at one and began playing at 11 in a school team. Beşiktaş coaches noticed him at a tournament and he joined that club's academy in 2006, scoring five goals in 47 games for the A2 side. He signed for Gaziantepspor in 2010 and made his Süper Lig debut on August 14, 2010, as a 70th-minute substitute against Kasımpaşa. His first professional goal was a long-range strike in a 4-2 win over Galatasaray on October 26, 2011; on September 22, 2012, he came on in the 86th minute against Beşiktaş and three minutes later scored the goal that made it 3-2. He made 69 appearances there in four seasons.

He played for Turkey from under-15 to under-21. At the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, where Turkey went out to Colombia on penalties in the quarter-final, he converted one of the penalties. At an under-18 tournament he scored both goals in the third-place match and was named best midfielder. In November 2010 Guus Hiddink called him up to the senior side, and he stayed on the bench against the Netherlands.