Samet Akaydin #25

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His rise to prominence was so unlikely that, when he finally made it to the big time with Adana Demirspor, he admitted that he had kept his old kits from the lower leagues as a reminder of the struggle. "I never forget where I came from; those pitches in the third tier made me the defender I am today," he says. Now 32, he is at Caykur Rizespor after spells with big clubs such as Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce. He remains a polarising figure amid the fan base because of his occasional lapses of concentration, but his physical edge has seen him called up to the national team regularly by the coach, Vincenzo Montella.

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