Veli Kavlak (born 3 November 1988) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Rapid Wien and Turkish club Beşiktaş. He made 31 appearances for the Austria at international level scoring one goal.

Veli Kavlak
Kavlak with Beşiktaş in 2014
Personal information
Full name Veli Kavlak[1]
Date of birth (1988-11-03) 3 November 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Vienna, Austria
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
SK Slovan HAC
2003–2004 Rapid Wien
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2011 Rapid Wien 146 (13)
2011–2018 Beşiktaş 115 (6)
Total 261 (19)
International career
2005–2006 Austria U19 4 (0)
2006–2007 Austria U20 7 (0)
2007–2010 Austria U21 18 (1)
2007–2014 Austria 31 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

International career

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On 15 August 2012 he scored against his parents' home country Turkey playing for Austria in the 3rd minute. Austria went on to win that game 2–0.

Style of play

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Kavlak is a defensive box-to-box midfielder. At club level, he is deployed in the holding role and is key in midfield with his tireless running and endless stamina. He is also a hardworking leader and although not being known for unsportsmanlike acts, he is known to be a hatchet man in midfield. Kavlak is often accompanied by another more offensive central midfielder such as Manuel Fernandes and Oğuzhan Özyakup. At international level, however, he has most prominently featured in a more advanced position in front of a holding midfielder.

Personal life

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Veli Kavlak was born to Turkish parents.[3] He also holds Turkish citizenship.[4] He speaks Turkish fluently.

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rapid Wien 2004–05 Austrian Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 2 0
2005–06 14 2 2 0 1 0 17 2
2006–07 29 3 1 0 30 3
2007–08 27 2 4 1 31 3
2008–09 29 4 3 1 2 0 34 5
2009–10 24 2 2 0 7 0 33 2
2010–11 21 0 3 0 10 1 34 1
Total 146 13 15 2 20 1 181 16
Beşiktaş 2011–12 Super Lig 33 1 1 1 11 0 45 2
2012–13 30 1 3 0 0 0 33 1
2013–14 29 3 0 0 2 0 31 3
2014–15 22 1 1 0 12 0 35 2
2015–16 1 0 5 0 0 0 6 0
2016–17 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0
2017–18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 115 6 12 1 25 0 152 7
Career total 261 19 27 3 45 1 333 23

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Austria 2007 3 0
2008 1 0
2009 3 0
2010 5 0
2011 3 0
2012 7 1
2013 7 0
2014 2 0
Total 31 1
Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kavlak goal.
List of international goals scored by Veli Kavlak
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 August 2012 Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria   Turkey 1–0 2–0 Friendly

Honours

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Rapid Wien

Beşiktaş

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 5 July 2007. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Veli Kavlak". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Loyalty test for Rapid's Turkish-tinged trio". Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Player Details". TFF.org. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
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