Ex-Borussia Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin takes player/coach role at Antalyaspor

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Fraport TAV Antalyaspor assigned its football player Nuri Sahin, who is also a Harvard graduate, for a player/head coach role in the Turkish Super Lig club.

In a statement, Antalyaspor said on Tuesday that following talks between the club board and midfielder Sahin, the 33-year-old was appointed as the senior team's coach.

On Monday, Antalyaspor sacked Turkish manager Ersun Yanal for poor results in the league.

German-born Turkish player Sahin is a Borussia Dortmund product and veteran, spending the majority of his career in the German Bundesliga club.

He was a Real Madrid midfielder in the 2011-12 season.

Sahin also played for Werder Bremen, Feyenoord, and Liverpool.

In 2011, he helped Dortmund win the German Bundesliga title and bagged the 2012 Spanish La Liga title with Real Madrid.

In his football career, Sahin also had 52 caps for the Turkish national team.

Separately, Sahin was admitted to Harvard Business School for sports management in 2018, while playing for Dortmund.

He combined football and education.

"I'm pleased to inform you that I've been admitted to Harvard Business! Super excited about the programme and delighted to meet legendary Anita Elberse #LifeAtHBS," Sahin tweeted on April 26, 2018.

Famed professor Elberse is an "expert on the business of entertainment, media and sports" at Harvard.

Sahin completed this program in the same year.

Known for his passing ability in the center of the park, Sahin joined Antalyaspor in 2020 and has a contract with this club as a player until June 2022.