“Dream” of top league
Umut Günes is not quite sure: the 22-year-old Swabian would actually like to continue playing in Turkey. But there is still his “dream” – Europe, Bundesliga or one of the other top leagues. The midfielder, trained at VfB Stuttgart, made his breakthrough at Alanyaspor. Now he emphasizes Conversation with Transfermarkt.com.tr: “It doesn’t matter what league it is in Europe. I would be very happy if it becomes one of the five big leagues.”
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VfB wanted him when he was 13. Günes hesitated, finally left his family at the age of 14 and went to Stuttgart. “Here my motivation for football increased again,” explains Günes, although he hasn’t been able to think about anything else since he was five. Although he went through all junior departments at VfB, he didn’t make the jump to the pros. Instead, the center player went to the Turkish Riviera.
“At first I felt like a guest. But now that I’ve settled in, I feel at home,” says Günes, who was initially active for Alanyaspor in the youth team, but has established himself more and more with the professionals over the past two years. In the current season, the young professional from the Swabian Alb is one of the regulars with 20 starts in the Süper Lig. “I think I’ve developed physically. Physical strength is important in this league,” sums up Günes. “That took me a step further.”
Günes on the national team & Bundesliga – “Would love to come back”
In view of his achievements, Günes is also wondering about the national team. No one from the DFB has contacted him in the youth field, but he has already played three dozen times for Turkey’s junior selections from the U17 to the U21. “I was very, very happy and immediately decided to go to Turkey,” says Günes about the first request from the TFF. However, he has not yet had any contact with senior national coach Stefan Kuntz.
Umut Günes played in the VfB youth team until 2019 before moving to Alanyaspor in Turkey.
The Bundesliga would be a good platform to offer for the state selection. “I would like to come back to Germany and play football there,” emphasizes Günes. After all, his family is here too. But first he wants to “end this season very well. Then we’ll see what happens at the end of the season. But now I’m concentrating on my own performance.”
Sinan Yener conducted the interview for Transfermarkt.com.tr
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