Committed to first team debut during ‘moun­tain climbing’

Samed Onur cannot suppress a little smile. "One or two vases got smashed," said the 18-year-old about his childhood when he was kicking a ball in the flat of his five-person family in Düsseldorf-Darendorf. Most of the time, his five year older brother Sirac joined in with the game in their own four walls. Samed, the youngest of the three Onur brothers, accompanied Sirac after the sessions at home to training in the evening at BV 04 Düsseldorf. "I always really used to enjoy myself in spite of the big age difference with the rest the team," recalled Samed. When he was five years old, the then U7 coach at the club came and spoke to him – and shortly after that the baby of the Onur family was playing in his age group.

He stayed at BV for two seasons. Then came the move to the 'big' club in the city. The Düsseldorf-born youngster was also at Fortuna for two years. A lot of other big clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia were now interested in the lad who had moved within Düsseldorf to the suburb of Eller with his family. Samed and his parents were presented with a number of offers and in the end it came down to FC Köln and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The family decided on the Werkself. "Firstly, Leverkusen was closer to home. And the reputation of the club was, as it is today, bigger and had more pulling power," said Samed who was ten years old back then. "On top of that, my parents and myself were persuaded by the whole concept with the transport service, care and education."

Second U17 season was "turning point"

Four years at Kurtekotten followed and Onur continued to develop both on a sporting and personal level. At the start of the tenth class, the German Turk from Düsseldorf moved to the Landrat Lucas grammar school in Leverkusen, the partner school of the Bundesliga club. At the same time, he moved in with a host family in Leverkusen up to his A-levels. "The double burden of school and football was very time intensive and stressful," he said but he described his second season in the U17s as the "decisive turning point."

 

In the 2018/19 season, the Leverkusen youngster shone in the U17 Bundesliga West with a number of assists but also 18 goals in 25 games. Werkself head coach Peter Bosz was well aware of those performances. The Dutchman again and again invited Onur to join in with the first team training sessions in the spring of 2019. The youth player was then able to join Lucas Hradecky and Co. at the summer training camp in Austria. "At that time, it became clear to me that I had the potential to progress to the first team squad," said Onur who was also aware he would have to work hard to achieve that target.

The bitter diagnosis – and the hard ROAD back

At the training camp, Kerem Demirbay again and again gave him numerous tips. Onur was very relaxed with his new experiences and also well aware of his new surroundings. "Suddenly you're playing alongside players like Sven Bender who had already played in a Champions League final."

 

After coming back from Austria with wind in his sails, Onur started his first season with the U19s. The first few training sessions were followed by the first league game at Victoria Köln – and an event that turned a lot on its head in the life of the young talent. Shortly after the restart, the midfielder ran for the ball and he felt a slight shove in his back. In falling, the Leverkusen player caught his foot in the turf and had a bad fall. "It was extremely painful and I knew immediately something was broken," he recalled. Two days later came the sad diagnosis: a torn cruciate. In the first moments for the teenager, who had previously avoided injury, it felt like "a world had collapsed. But I believe you never unlearn certain things and I looked into the future with confidence."

A-levels, rehab and diet

Onur primarily saw the positive in the situation. After a successful operation in Cologne on 13 August 2019, he focused on his A-levels, readjusted his diet and generally paid more attention to his body. Lessons and homework were followed in the afternoon by intensive rehab sessions at the 'Werkstatt', the Bayer 04 training and rehab centre at the BayArena. "At times, I didn't really know how I would make my way home. I was that knackered. But it was clear to me that I would only get back on the pitch with hard work," said Onur.

The up-and-coming talent particularly remembers an exhausting training session at the Werkstatt at the BayArena. "In a 'mountain climbing' session I said to our coach: 'Gregor, I'll make you a promise: I'll make my first team debut next year!'"He returned to training with the ball around New Year and he was due to make his comeback in full training with the U19s in the spring. However, the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic scuppered those plans. So he had to carry on working individually, primarily focused on doing preventive work on his knee and, in addition, he wanted to further strengthen his upper body.

Onur was regularly allowed to join in when the senior squad finally returned to full training at the start of May. So the workload for the youth player was gradually increased after his long period on the sidelines due to injury. Only match practice was missing – until the late summer.

First team debut against Slavia Prague

The U19 Bundesliga restarted after the summer break due to lower coronavirus infection rates and comprehensive hygiene protocols. Onur played the first four matches in the 2020/21 season in the West division, playing the full 90 minutes in each game and also the first round cup tie in the highest age group. Those five matches remain the only games for the Leverkusen U19 team to date – the second coronavirus wave again led to suspension of youth football.

While his U19 teammates had to continue working on their own, Onur was like the other two youngsters Emrehan Gedikli and Cem Türkmen as they all trained with the senior squad – always with one target in sight: a first team debut. And that happened on 10 December: Onur made his first appearance in the Bayer 04 first team at the age of 18 years, four months and 25 days.

The final match in the Europa League group stage was a big game against Slavia Prague at the BayArena. The teams from Leverkusen and Prague were battling for top spot in the group. Thanks to a brace from Leon Bailey (8'/32') and a goal from Moussa Diaby (59') the Werkself had a solid lead at the hour mark.

Shortly after the third goal, head coach Peter Bosz brought on stalwart Lars Bender and Samed Onur. The duo stepped onto the pitch at the BayArena on 62 minutes. "I wasn't really nervous when I was brought on. I had to focus on the game straightaway," said Onur who emphasised: "I very much valued being able to play for half an hour in my first game."

Extra sessions and time with the family

Onur now shares the day-to-day life of senior players like Nadiem Amiri and Leon Bailey: breakfast at the BayArena in the morning, followed by preventive work and warming up before going on to the training ground. After full training, the 18-year-old generally does not go home for the rest of the day. The youngster wants to do more work and that involves extra shifts at the 'Werkstatt'. "Of course, time with the family comes first," said Onur. His best way of switching off is watching TV series. Thematically it's all to do with football. "At the moment I'm watching the documentary about Tottenham Hotspur."

The versatile midfielder does not want to set certain targets for his career. Things can change quickly in the football business as he knows from his own experience. He prefers to take it week by week. "From game to game," as coach Bosz is always keen to emphasise. But Onur is very sure of one thing for his future: "I don't want to be a player who has made his first team debut and is then never heard of again. I want to be an option for the coach in every game and I give my all for that day in, day out."