Who is Emre Can? – New Juventus target
plays as a central midfielder for Liverpool football club. The 23-year-old has also played as a defensive midfielder, centre back and full back.
The Germany international’s ability to attack and defend from midfield has seen him compared to fellow German midfielders Michael Ballack and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Prior to calling Can up to the senior squad, German national team coach Joachim Löw reserved praise for the midfielder, stating that he has a good, all-round game. Emre Can has also been praised for his versatility which was showcased in his debut season at Liverpool where he showed his ability to play in both defense and midfield. The 23-years old has also been singled out for his composure in possession, positioning, and sense of timing, while former German international Dietmar Hamann described him as being “physically strong, a good passer and technically gifted”.
Emre Can was born in 1994 to Turkish parents in Frankfurt, Can joined local side SV Blau-Gelb Frankfurt at the age of six and remained at the club until 2006, when he joined the youth academy of Eintracht Frankfurt. During his time with both Frankfurt clubs, Emre Can predominantly played in midfield where he assumed an attacking role. In 2009, at the age of 15, Can relocated to Bavaria after being signed by Bayern Munich.
The Germany international began his senior career at Bayern Munich, playing mostly in the club’s reserve side before transferring to Bayer Leverkusen in 2013. In 2014, the Germany international was signed by Liverpool for a fee in the region of 11.4 million euros. Emre Can has since made 146 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool.
The 23-year-old represented Germany from Under-15 to Under-21 level, and featured at the 2015 Under-21 European Championship. Can made his senior debut in September 2015 and was selected for the 2016 European Championship. In 2017, Can was part of the German squad which won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
During his first year in Bayern’s academy, Can was used in the centre-back position before returning to midfield when he began playing for Bayern Munich II in the Regionalliga Bayern. Competing with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez for a spot in Bayern’s midfield, Can ultimately made only 7 senior appearances before signing for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2013 in seek of regular game-time.
In August 2013, the Germany international signed a four-year deal with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. A buy-back clause was included in the agreement which would have allowed Bayern to re-sign Emre Can for a set-fee in 2015.
In his only season at Leverkusen, Can scored four goals and made four assists in 39 appearances, while largely operating in a defensive capacity. The Germany international performances while at Leverkusen sparked interest from Liverpool.
Emre Can made his competitive debut for Liverpool on 25 August 2014, coming on as a substitute in an away defeat against Manchester City. Can spent much of his debut season playing in defense, and ultimately featured 40 times for the campaign across all competitions.
In April 2016, the Germany international ruptured his ankle ligaments in Europa League quarter-final against BVB 09. Can was ruled out for the rest of domestic season. However, Can returned ahead of the schedule and played in second leg of the semi-final against Villarreal. The Germany international later revealed that he trained for 8 hours a day for 3 weeks to get fit for the Villarreal match.
In May 2017, Can scored an overhead kick in a win over Watford, with the strike later earning him the BBC Goal of the Season and Carling Goal of the Season awards.
Due to his Turkish ancestry, Can was eligible to play for the Turkey national football team, but he stated he “likes playing for Germany very much, and wants to make it in the DFB”.
Can received call-ups for the German U15, U16 and U17 youth football teams. In 2011, he was a part of U17 team that finished as runners-up at the European Championships. He was also named in the team of the tournament. Later, he captained the U17 World Cup campaign and led his team to the semi-finals. During the semi-final, he netted a solo goal against Mexico.
TOP FOOTBALL TRANSFERS 2017-2018
Can represented the under-21 team at the 2015 European Championship in the Czech Republic, starting all four matches. In their opening game in Prague, Can scored in a draw against Serbia.
In August 2015, Emre Can received his first senior call-up from manager Joachim Löw, ahead of the following month’s UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Poland and Scotland. He made his debut on 4 September in the first game, playing the full 90 minutes of a win in Frankfurt.
In May 2016, Can was named in Germany’s final 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016. His sole appearance in the tournament came in the 2–0 semi-final loss to France, a match that Can started.
In May 2017, Emre Can was named in Germany’s final 23-man squad for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Can made an appearance as a substitute in Germany’s first game, a win over Australia. He would appear in all 5 of his team’s matches in the competition as Germany ran out winners in the final against Chile.
Emre Can’s statistics for the season 2017/2018
Games played: 23
Minutes: 1084
Goals: 2
Assists: 2
Yellow cards: 5
Pass success percentage: 84.9
Total passes: 739
Accurate passes: 628
Total tackles: 25
Total interceptions: 13
Successful dribbles: 13
