Tedesco protégé
©IMAGO
Despite a 2-1 (1-0) win at Nottingham Forest, Fenerbahce said goodbye to the Europa League on Thursday evening. There was therefore little to celebrate for the Süper Lig club, but the fans were at least happy about the commitment of talented Alaettin Ekici. The 17-year-old was sent onto the field by coach Domenico Tedesco in the 76th minute for Sidiki Chérif and thus wrote himself into the club’s history books.
At 17 years, one month and 25 days, left winger Ekici was the second youngest player ever used by Fenerbahce in the European Cup. Only Arda Güler was allowed to play in the Europa League qualification and Conference League in 2021 and 2022 at the age of 16.
Ekici has been playing in Fenerbahce’s youth team since 2019 and made the jump to the professionals for the first time this season. The junior international was on the bench once in the Süper Lig and was substituted on three times in the final stages of the Turkish Cup. In the 1-2 win against Besiktas just before Christmas, at 16 years, eleven months and 21 days, he was the fifth youngest player with a Fenerbahce appearance in the TM database.
