Semih Kaya

Semih Kaya — Biography

Semih Kaya is a former Turkey international center-back who played for Galatasaray in three separate spells. With the Istanbul club he won four Süper Lig titles, four Turkish Cups and five Turkish Super Cups, and he added the Czech Cup with Sparta Prague. On August 12, 2022, he announced on his social media accounts that he was leaving football.

Born in the Bergama district of İzmir, Kaya began playing in 2001 at Petkimspor and passed through Helvacıspor and Altay. In 2006 his tight marking against Galatasaray at a tournament in Burhaniye won the club's attention, and at 15 he joined its academy. Injuries in his teens slowed his rise. He made his first-team debut in a Turkish Cup tie against Malatyaspor in January 2009 and was in the squad for the UEFA Europa League meeting with Bordeaux that season. He was then loaned to Gaziantepspor in 2010 and to first-division side Kartalspor in 2010-11.

His breakthrough came in 2011-12. When Fatih Terim gave him a chance he formed the center-back pairing with Tomáš Ujfaluši, played 30 games that season, scored his first goal against Samsunspor on January 7, 2012, and was part of the championship-winning squad. He made his senior Turkey debut against Slovakia on February 29, 2012, and was in the squad for Euro 2016. He moved to Sparta Prague in 2017, returned to Galatasaray on loan in January 2019 for the rest of the season and left the Czech club in 2020. After a spell at Yeni Malatyaspor he rejoined Galatasaray for a third time in February 2022.