10 things about Hakan Calhanoglu
Cologne – The last person you want to see lining up a free-kick from anywhere between 20 and 45 metres is Hakan Calhanoglu, unless you are a Bayer 04 Leverkusen fan.
Early days
Calhanoglu has made a name for himself with his set-piece prowess, but there is more to die Werkself's number ten than just that, as bundesliga.com reveals with ten things about the Turkish international attacking midfielder.
Born in Mannheim, Germany, in February 1994, the attacking midfielder nevertheless opted to represent his parents' homeland Turkey at international level, making his full senior debut in September 2013.
From Karlsruhe to Hamburg and back
His free-kicks may resemble Cristiano Ronaldo's, and he also spent the 2014 New Year with the Real Madrid star. Also present to ring in the new year in Dubai was Mario Götze, who posed for a particularly viral selfie with his Bundesliga rival.
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Great ascent
Calhanoglu has risen through the ranks for his country, starting off at under-16 level and including the under-17s, under-19s and under-20s, with whom he scored one of his most stunning free-kicks in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup on home soil. He has gone on to be capped at under-21 and senior level, with three goals to his name already in only nine senior appearances.