Arda Turan

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Arda Turan bigraphy, stories - Turkish footballer

Arda Turan : biography

30 January 1987 –

Arda Turan (born 30 January 1987) is a Turkish footballer who currently plays as a winger for Atlético Madrid in the Spanish La Liga. Galatasaray.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-20.. Clubatleticodemadrid.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-20. and the Turkish national team. At the age of 22, prior to the 2009–10 season, he was made the captain of Galatasaray. He is mostly known for his ball control, dribbling skills, and vision.

Arda has 65 senior national caps and 12 goals for Turkey and following a successful UEFA Euro 2008 campaign, he was ranked eighth in a selection of the 100 Best Young Football Players in the World piece published by Spanish magazine Don Balón in July 2008. In January 2011, Arda was voted as the third most popular European footballer of 2009, as well as the 14th most popular footballer in the world, by the IFFHS.

Personal life

Arda describes himself as an avid fan of Galatasaray. He says that, "Other teams have offered me really big money but my love for Galatasaray is real." He also declares that, "I want to play in major leagues and my dream team is Liverpool." He added, "As I always mention, Liverpool attracts me because of their tradition. In Europe, I am a Liverpool supporter, so if I go to play in Europe, I would like to play for them."{}

He says he enjoys being compared to Lionel Messi but states that Messi is the "greatest player in the world."{} He is also highly involved in work with the Galatasaray youth set up, particularly with the under-21’s. He is a regular follower of their games and offers them support. On 16 November 2008, Arda collapsed during a game against İstanbul BB. After being rushed to hospital, he was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia.{} The day after the incident, doctors declared that Arda was in good health and that extreme exhaustion caused the arrhythmia. In November 2009, he suffered a minor bout of swine flu but recovered within a few days to resume training.{} He is also known for his humanitarian work. Especially in the helping of sick children.{}

He has a passion in cars and currently drives an Aston Martin DB9 and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, according to the Turkish press.{} {} In early January 2009, he was involved in a serious car crash in Istanbul,{} which totaled his car.{} Fortunately, Arda suffered no injuries and continued training with only cuts and bruises.{}