Germany men’s team director Rudi Völler has been impressed with the recent performances of Eintracht Frankfurt playmaker Can Uzun and regrets that the German-born 19-year-old opted to play for Turkey.
The German Football Federation (DFB) made significant efforts to secure the forward before he opted to represent Turkey – the land of his parents – in 2024.
“That he is now having such a career, as you can see week after week on television – I do have a little tear in my eye, to be honest. That is exactly what we had hoped for,” Völler told reporters late on Monday at the premiere of a documentary about his career.
“He is a wonderful footballer.”
Uzun has scored five goals and provided three assists in the first five Bundesliga matches this term.
“We tried (to get him for Germany). It was a wonderful conversation with his father and his adviser – he really wavered, but in the end, you have to accept it, and that is legitimate,” Völler explained.
Uzun made his senior international debut for Turkey in March 2024 and is the latest in a long line of players who have had to choose between the two nations given a wave of immigration to Germany in the post-war years.
Völler said at the weekend that he would not extend his DFB contract beyond 2028. Coach Julian Nagelsmann’s deal also runs until after the next Euros in Britain and Ireland, but he remarked at the premiere that “my contract is not dependent on Rudi Völler.”
