Ramazan Özcan

Ramazan Özcan — Biography

Ramazan Özcan is a goalkeeper of Turkish descent, born in Hohenems, Austria, who spent most of his career in Austria and Germany and ended it with four years as a goalkeeper for the Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He retired in July 2020 and stayed at the club as a youth goalkeeping coach. His family roots lie in the Ayancık district of Sinop, and he holds Turkish citizenship alongside his Austrian one.

His professional path began in 2003 at SC Austria Lustenau. In his first season he came on when the first-choice keeper was injured and kept the goal until the end of the campaign, as the team conceded fewer goals than any other in the league. At Red Bull Salzburg from 2006 he was the third-choice goalkeeper and played only in the final weeks of the season, which ended in the Bundesliga title. The real step up came at Hoffenheim, where he arrived on loan in the 2007-08 winter break, played every league game of the second half in the 2. Bundesliga, and was signed permanently when the club went up. In early 2010 he was loaned to Beşiktaş but appeared only in cup games. From 2011 he became first choice at FC Ingolstadt 04 before moving on to Leverkusen.

For Austria he played 24 times at under-21 level. He was in the squad for UEFA Euro 2008 without playing, made his senior debut in a 2-2 friendly against Italy in August 2008, and was also in the squad for UEFA Euro 2016.