When Xabi Alonso was still tying his boots on the main pitch of the Bayern Munich training facility back in 2016, just months before his retirement, an 11-year-old boy was working tirelessly to fulfill his dream and that of his family on one of the adjacent fields. That boy was Kenan Yildiz (Regensburg, 2005), born to a Turkish father and a German mother, raised in Bavaria and donning the Turkish national team jersey internationally. This young lad, whose surname translates to “star” in Spanish, is now set to challenge Madrid’s coach in the Champions League, marking a decade of remarkable transformation in his life.
“He was in the youth categories of Bayern while I was there. I know him and he has had a fantastic progression, both at Juventus and with Turkey,” said Alonso in his recent press conference. The former midfielder mentioned Juventus instead of Bayern because the young talent decided to leave Munich at the age of 17 in 2022, with the Italian club winning a bidding war for him. Emerging as one of Europe’s most promising young players, the Yildiz family deemed Kenan’s salary demands “impossible” for Bayern to meet. “We would have liked to continue supporting him, but it was impossible. We couldn’t satisfy his demands,” commented Hasan Salihamidzic, Bayern’s sporting director.
Lured by Barcelona, Yildiz ended up in Turin, where he became one of Dean Huijsen’s closest friends in Juventus’s youth setup. Born in the same year, both share an almost identical birthday: the Spanish player celebrates his birthday on April 14, while the Turkish star’s is on May 5. The duo spent nearly two seasons in the same locker room, moving between the youth and first teams of Juventus, until Huijsen was loaned to Roma, marking a turning point in his career—he would not return to Turin’s locker room. Huijsen left the club for 19 million euros to join Bournemouth, and a year later, Real Madrid splashed out 62 million euros for him.
Four Coaches in Two Years
Meanwhile, Yildiz maintained his composure in Italy and gradually established himself as the new star of Juventus, a team adrift after several near misses in the Champions League over the last decade. The Turin side has not won Serie A since 2020, with their best European results being the Round of 16 in the Champions League and the semi-finals in the Europa League in 2023. In the last two years, the club has seen four different coaches: Allegri, Montero, Motta, and Tudor, who now oversees a locker room led by Yildiz.
He wears the number 10, starts from the left flank, and roams across the attacking midfield, prompting comparisons from the eager Juventus supporters: the new Del Piero. In 2024, Yildiz made his Champions League debut as a goalscorer at just 19 years and 136 days old, breaking Del Piero’s record, who has been careful not to place undue pressure on the young talent amid his team’s crucial moment. “I like being compared to him. I admire his bravery and wish him luck; he’ll need it,” Del Piero commented recently. Yildiz, for his part, admits he has “studied” the former player. “He’s a legend, and I’m just starting. I’ve learned a lot from him, and we talk often. But each of us has our own path. I am who I am, and I don’t compare myself to anyone,” the Turkish player stated this week.
Yildiz exploded into prominence in 2024 after a full first year with Juventus. He netted five goals for his club, but it was his standout performance in the Euro Cup for Turkey that propelled him to another level. Along with Arda Güler, born in the same year, they became a formidable duo, leading Turkey through the German summer tournament, where they reached the quarter-finals and emerged as new icons in a nation that rallied behind them.
Spiritual Return
As the son of a Turkish immigrant who sought a better life in Germany, Kenan Yildiz’s rejection of the German national team in favor of playing for Turkey marks a spiritual return home for multiple generations of immigrants, whose numbers are counted in the millions in Germany.
After the tournament, Yildiz solidified his leadership role at Juventus: he scored 12 goals, three of which came in the Club World Cup, and provided seven assists in a tumultuous season marked by the club’s ongoing struggle to keep pace with Napoli and Inter, who have dominated Serie A in recent years. Now, the ‘new’ Del Piero poses a real threat to Madrid.