Found a bio on Sahin and may have answered my own question...lol
http://www.madridismo.org/article/nuri-sahin-5/Nuri Sahin, a Turkish-German footballer just like Mesut Özil, plays in a variety of midfield positions for Real Madrid. His primary position is center midfielder, but he can also fill in as a defensive midfielder or a left-midfielder, although a weak right foot prevents him from doing much good on the right side of the midfield. Sahin has an extremely acute sense of the pitch, and this combined with his impressive accuracy and vision is what sets him apart from his peers.
Known by the nickname “The Pass Master,” Sahin has mastered the skill of efficient cross-field transfers, and his extreme precision with long-distance passes is a valuable asset to Real Madrid in a wide variety of strategic situations. Blessed with uncommonly acute vision and sense of space, Sahin can target a pass to cut through opposing formations, split the defense, and enable quick and unexpected plays that capitalize on rapid movement of the ball. In addition to his passing ability, which makes him an excellent midfielder, he is also described as a dead-ball specialist, and is a first-rate team player who always puts his squad first.
Having been acquired in the summer of 2011, Sahin is a recent addition to Real Madrid’s lineup, and he has yet to prove himself to head coach Jose Mourinho. Despite several impeccable performances for his national team (Turkey), Sahin has had trouble getting Mourinho’s eye and gaining his trust. In the first 9 months with the team, he has made only a few appearances, and his career with Madrid has yet to get off the ground. Sahin is, of course, not unique in this. Because Madrid attracts some of the top football talent from around the world, many players who would be stars on any other team – as Sahin is when he plays for Turkey – end up sidelined as a result of the long list of top-tier players with whom they share the Madrid roster. Still, many commentators hope that Sahin will get more chances to prove himself in the eyes of the side’s management before he becomes frustrated and seeks opportunity elsewhere.
Although he is a prime example of a midfield specialist, Sahin is sometimes criticized for having a lack of flexibility. He is decidedly one-footed, showing a pronounced preference for using his left foot, and has a fairly lackluster aerial game, perhaps as a result of his relatively small stature. Within the right context – dead center of the pitch with the ball at his feet – Sahin is a master. But he has trouble adapting to other situations, and this may be the reason behind Mourinho’s decision not to field Sahin in most games.
Bio and Career
Nuri Sahin was born in 1988 in Ludenscheid, West Germany, to Turkish parents. His early football career, which was enormously successful, was centered around the Borussia Dortmund team. Sahin started playing with Dortmund in 2000, at the age of 12, and quickly impressed his coaches, who saw enormous potential in the young midfielder. Rising quickly through the ranks, he graduated to the senior team at the tender age of 16, and became the youngest player ever to compete in the Bundesliga. On 25 November, 2005, he also became the youngest player ever to score in the league when he hammered one home in a match against Nuremburg.
After a brief loan period at Feyenoord (2007-2008), Sahin returned to Dortmund and became one of the team’s most important players, starting in all but one match during the 2009-10 season. The following season, he helped Dortmund in bringing home the Bundesliga title. In addition to this great honor for his team, Sahin achieved personal glory as well, as his seven goals and earned him the title of Player of the Season in 2011.
Following his spectacular 2010-2011 performance for Dortmund, Sahin caught the eye of Real Madrid, and the Spanish juggernauts quickly acquired him. During the 2011-2012 season, his first with Los Blancos, he has spent most of his time on the bench, due in part to pesky injuries sustained during the summer and early fall. He has, however, demonstrated that he can make a significant contribution to Real Madrid if given the opportunity in terms of minutes. During a December, 2011 appearance, one of the few times that Sahin has seen 90 minutes on the field for Real Madrid, he scored a header against Ponferradina to open up Madrid’s already commanding lead.
The move to Madrid was of course significant for Nuri Sahin on a professional level, but it also had a personal element to it – he is a long-time admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo and a fan of Real Madrid, and so earning a place on the team was an exciting prospect. For Sahin, playing with Real Madrid is a chance to play football at its highest level as well as an opportunity to work, train, and compete alongside his idols.
Sahin’s international career has been at least as successful as his club career, if not more so. Throughout his life, he has played for the Turkish national team, where he has earned the trust and support of his coaches and teammates. He was the winner of the Bronze Ball award for the 2005 U-17 World Cup in Peru, and has received personal accolades from several senior coaches and managers on the Turkish team. In addition to being the youngest player to have played and scored in Bundesliga, he holds the same honors on the Turkish team – ironically, the first goal he ever scored for Turkey was against Germany, the country where he was born.
