Emre Can facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Emre Can

Can playing for Borussia Dortmund in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth	(1994-01-12) 12 January 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Frankfurt, Germany
Height	1.86 m
Playing position	Central midfielder, Defensive midfielder, Centre-back, Full-back
Club information
Current club	Borussia Dortmund
Number	23
Youth career
2000–2006	SV Blau-Gelb Frankfurt
2006–2009	Eintracht Frankfurt
2009–2011	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2011–2013	Bayern Munich II	31	(3)
2012–2013	Bayern Munich	4	(1)
2013–2014	Bayer Leverkusen	29	(3)
2014–2018	Liverpool	115	(10)
2018–2020	Juventus	37	(4)
2020	→ Borussia Dortmund (loan)	12	(2)
2020–	Borussia Dortmund	119	(12)
National team‡
2009	Germany U15	1	(0)
2009–2010	Germany U16	8	(2)
2010–2011	Germany U17	23	(3)
2012–2013	Germany U19	5	(0)
2013–2015	Germany U21	13	(1)
2015–	Germany	48	(2)
Honours Men's football Representing  Germany FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2017 Russia FIFA U-17 World Cup Third 2011 Mexico UEFA European Under-17 Championship Runner-up 2011 Serbia
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:18, 18 January 2025 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:53, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Emre Can (born on January 12, 1994) is a German professional footballer. He plays for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, where he is the team captain. He also plays for the Germany national team. Emre Can is a very flexible player. He usually plays as a central midfielder. But he can also play as a defensive midfielder, centre-back, or full-back.

He started his senior career at Bayern Munich. He mostly played for their reserve team. In 2013, he moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. A year later, Premier League club Liverpool signed him for about £9.75 million. He played over 150 games for Liverpool. In 2018, he joined Juventus. In 2020, he was loaned to Borussia Dortmund. A few weeks later, he joined Dortmund permanently.

Emre Can played for Germany's youth teams from U15 to U21. He played in the 2015 U21 European Championship. He made his debut for the senior national team in September 2015. He was chosen for the 2016 European Championship. The next year, he helped Germany win the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. He scored his first goal for the senior national team during this tournament.

Emre Can's Football Journey

Starting Out in Football

Emre Can was born in 1994 in Frankfurt, Germany. He joined his first local team, SV Blau-Gelb Frankfurt, when he was six. He stayed there until 2006. Then, he moved to the youth academy of Eintracht Frankfurt. At both Frankfurt clubs, he mostly played in the midfield, often in an attacking role. In 2009, when he was 15, he moved to Bavaria. He joined the famous club Bayern Munich.

Time at Bayern Munich

During his first year at Bayern's academy, Can played as a centre-back. Later, he moved back to midfield. He played for Bayern Munich II in the Regionalliga Bayern. He played his first game for the main Bayern team in the 2012 DFL-Supercup. His first game in the Bundesliga was on April 13, 2013, against 1. FC Nürnberg. He scored his first and only league goal for Bayern on April 27, 2013. It was the winning goal in a 1–0 home game against SC Freiburg. It was hard for him to get a regular spot in Bayern's midfield. He was competing with players like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez. He only played seven senior games for Bayern. In 2013, he decided to move to another Bundesliga team, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, to play more often.

Playing for Bayer Leverkusen

On August 2, 2013, Emre Can signed a four-year deal with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. His contract included a special clause. Bayern could buy him back in 2015 if they wanted to. However, they later decided not to.

Can played his first game for Leverkusen on August 31, 2013. He came on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss to FC Schalke 04. He scored his first goal for the club on October 26. It was the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against FC Augsburg. He also made his UEFA Champions League debut that month. It was against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Leverkusen lost that game 4–2.

In his only season at Leverkusen, Can scored four goals and made four assists. He played in 39 games. He mostly played in a defensive role. His strong performances caught the eye of the English club Liverpool. They were impressed by his play in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League.

Joining Liverpool

On June 5, 2014, Bayer Leverkusen confirmed that Can would join Liverpool. Liverpool paid £9.75 million (€12 million) to sign him. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers called Can an "inspirational young talent." The transfer was officially completed on July 3, 2014.

Can training with Liverpool in 2014

First Season at Liverpool (2014–15)

Can played his first game for Liverpool on August 25, 2014. He came on as a substitute in a 3–1 loss to Manchester City. The next month, he got an ankle injury while playing for Germany's under-21 team. He was out for six weeks. On October 19, after recovering, Can started his first game for Liverpool. They won 3–2 against Queens Park Rangers. He scored his first Liverpool goal on November 8. It was a long-range shot against Chelsea, but Liverpool lost 2–1.

In a League Cup semi-final in January 2015, Chelsea's Diego Costa stepped on Can. The referee did not see it, but Costa was later banned for three games. In April, Can received his first red card for Liverpool. This happened in a 4–1 loss to Arsenal. Even though he is a midfielder, Can played a lot in defence during his first season. He played 40 games in total.

Second Season at Liverpool (2015–16)

On October 22, 2015, Can scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season. It was in a UEFA Europa League match against Rubin Kazan. This was the first goal for Liverpool under their new manager, Jürgen Klopp. On February 14, 2016, he scored his first league goal of the season. Liverpool won 6–0 against Aston Villa.

Under the previous manager, Can often played as a centre-back or full-back. But with Klopp, he moved to his favorite position, central midfielder. Klopp praised him for his improvement. Can became a very important player in Liverpool's midfield. On April 14, 2016, Can injured his ankle ligaments. This happened in a Europa League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund. Doctors first thought he would miss the rest of the season. But he recovered faster than expected. He played in the semi-final against Villarreal. Can later said he trained for 8 hours a day for three weeks to be ready for that game.

Third Season at Liverpool (2016–17)

On October 29, 2016, Can scored his first goal of the season. It was the first goal in Liverpool's 4–2 win over Crystal Palace. On November 6, Can scored Liverpool's third goal in their 6–1 win over Watford. This win put Liverpool in 1st place in the Premier League for the first time under Jürgen Klopp. On December 4, Can scored in Liverpool's 4–3 loss to Bournemouth. On March 12, 2017, Can scored the winning goal in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Burnley. Klopp called it an "ugly win." On May 1, 2017, Can scored an amazing overhead kick. It was the only goal in a 1–0 win over Watford. This goal later won him the BBC Goal of the Season and Carling Goal of the Season awards.

Fourth Season at Liverpool (2017–18)

Can (right) defending Andrey Yeshchenko in a match against Spartak Moscow, 2017

On August 23, 2017, Can scored two goals against Hoffenheim. This was in the second game of the Champions League play-off round. Liverpool won 4–2 that night and 6–3 overall. These were his first goals of the new season. Can was praised for his performance in Liverpool's 4–0 win over Arsenal on August 27. On November 1, Can scored in Liverpool's 3–0 win over the Slovenian team Maribor.

His first league goal of the season came in a 5–1 away win over Brighton & Hove Albion. He played as a centre-back in that game. On January 30, 2018, Can scored the first goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win over Huddersfield Town. On February 24, he scored the first goal in Liverpool's 4–1 win over West Ham United. On March 17, during a game against Watford, Can got a muscle injury in his back. It was thought he might miss the rest of the season. But Can recovered in time for the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid. He was a substitute and came on in the 83rd minute. Liverpool lost the match 3–1.

On June 8, 2018, Liverpool announced that Can would leave the club. His contract ended on July 1, 2018.

Moving to Juventus

First Season at Juventus (2018–19)

On June 21, 2018, Can signed a four-year deal with Serie A team Juventus. He joined them after his contract with Liverpool ended. Juventus paid €16 million in extra fees for him. Can was the tenth German player to join Juventus. His contract also included a €50 million release clause. This clause was only for clubs outside Italy and would start in his third year. This was the first time Juventus had added such a clause to a player's contract. He played his first Serie A game on August 18. He came on as a substitute in a 3–2 away win against Chievo Verona. On January 21, 2019, Can scored his first goal for Juventus. It was in a 3–0 home win against the same team.

Second Season at Juventus (2019–20)

At the start of the 2019–20 season, Juventus's new manager, Maurizio Sarri, did not include Can in the club's Champions League squad.

Joining Borussia Dortmund

On January 31, 2020, Borussia Dortmund announced they had signed Can on loan. The loan was until the end of the 2019–20 season. It also included an agreement to buy him permanently. On February 8, Can played his first game for Dortmund. He also scored a goal in a 4–3 away loss to Bayer Leverkusen. On February 18, 2020, the deal became permanent for €25 million. The loan still ended at the close of the 2019–20 season.

During the 2020–21 Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City, his pass was taken in midfield. This led to the first goal in a 2–1 loss in the first game. In the second game, he was penalized for a handball. Dortmund lost that game 2–1 as well. In July 2023, he signed a new contract until 2026. He also became the team captain, taking over from Marco Reus. In his first season as captain, he reached the Champions League final. Dortmund lost 2–0 to Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium.

Playing for His Country

Emre Can has Turkish family. This meant he could have played for the Turkey national football team. But he said he "likes playing for Germany very much" and wanted to play for the DFB.

Youth National Teams

Can was called up to Germany's U15, U16, and U17 youth football teams. In 2011, he was part of the U17 team that finished second at the European Championships. He was also named in the team of the tournament. Later that year, he was the captain of the team in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He led his team to the semi-finals. In the semi-final, he scored an amazing solo goal against Mexico. He took the ball, got past three defenders, and went around the goalkeeper. But Germany lost the game 3–2.

He played for the under-21 team at the 2015 European Championship. He started all four games. In their first game on June 17, Can scored a goal from outside the penalty area. It was an equalizer in a 1–1 draw against Serbia. In their second group game on June 20, Can helped set up a goal for Kevin Volland. Germany won that game 3–0. Germany was knocked out in the semi-finals. They lost 5–0 to Portugal on June 27. Can started that game.

Senior National Team

Can with Germany during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

On August 28, 2015, Emre Can was called up to the Germany senior team. This was by manager Joachim Löw. It was for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Poland and Scotland. He played his first game on September 4. He played the whole 90 minutes in a 3–1 win against Poland.

Can was chosen for Germany's team for UEFA Euro 2016. He only played once in the tournament. This was in the 2–0 semi-final loss to France. He started because Sami Khedira was injured.

Can was also in Germany's team for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He played in all five of his team's games. Germany won the tournament. They beat Chile in the final.

He scored his first goal for the senior national team on October 8, 2017. It was in a 5–1 home win against Azerbaijan. This was a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

He was not chosen for Germany's team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Can was selected for the German team for UEFA Euro 2020. He came on as a substitute three times in the tournament. Germany was knocked out by England in the round of 16.

On June 12, 2024, Can was called up to the Germany squad for UEFA Euro 2024. This was two days before the tournament started. He replaced the injured Aleksandar Pavlović. In the first match against Scotland, he came off the bench. He scored the final goal as Germany won 5-1.

How Emre Can Plays

Emre Can is known for his ability to attack and defend from midfield. People have compared him to other German midfielders like Michael Ballack and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Before calling Can up to the senior team, Germany's coach Joachim Löw praised him. He said Can has a good, all-around game.

Can is also praised for being very flexible. In his first season at Liverpool, he showed he could play in many different positions. He can play as a central midfielder, a defensive midfielder, or even an attacking midfielder. He can also play as a winger, in a box-to-box role, or as a right-sided full-back, wing-back, or centre-back. He is also known for being calm with the ball, having lots of energy, and good timing. Former Liverpool player Dietmar Hamann said Can is "physically strong, a good passer and technically gifted." Football writer Andrew Beasley noted that Can is strong in the air. Matt Jones of Bleacher Report called Can an intelligent player with good passing. He said Can "is powerful in possession and difficult to barge off the ball." However, Jones also said Can can be inconsistent sometimes. Beyond his skills, Can has shown strong leadership. He is currently the captain of Borussia Dortmund.

In October 2019, Turkish footballer Cenk Tosun posted a photo on Instagram. He showed support for soldiers involved in a conflict. Can and İlkay Gündoğan, who are German with Turkish family, initially liked the post. But they both later removed their likes. Can told a German newspaper that he is "an absolute pacifist and against all forms of war." He also said he accidentally liked the post while looking through his feed.

In January 2023, Can shared that he had thyroid cancer. It was found during his medical checks before he joined Juventus. He had surgery for it in October 2018.

Career Statistics

Club Performance

International Performance

International Goals

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 October 2017	Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Azerbaijan	5–1	5–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	14 June 2024	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Scotland	5–1	5–1	UEFA Euro 2024

Football Achievements

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2012–13
• DFB-Pokal: 2012–13
• DFL-Supercup: 2012
• UEFA Champions League: 2012–13

Liverpool

• Football League Cup runner-up: 2015–16
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2017–18
• UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2015–16

Juventus

• Serie A: 2018–19
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2018

Borussia Dortmund

• DFB-Pokal: 2020–21
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2023–24

Germany U-17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship runner-up: 2011
• FIFA U-17 World Cup third place: 2011

Germany

• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2017

Individual Awards

• Fritz Walter Medal U17 Gold: 2011
• UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2011
• Liverpool Young Player of the Season: 2015–16
• UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2015–16
• Liverpool Goal of the Season: 2016–17
• BBC Goal of the Season: 2016–17
• Premier League Goal of the Season: 2016–17
• Bundesliga Goal of the Month: February 2020
• Bundesliga Goal of the Season: 2019–20

See also

In Spanish: Emre Can para niños