Semih Kiliçsoy – The Turkish Agüero by Jake McGhee
Introduction
Touted as the ‘Turkish Agüero’ Semih Kiliçsoy is quickly making a name for himself at Besiktas and turning heads all across Europe with his mercurial playstyle. A bulky yet deceptively mobile attacker who is capable of doing a job anywhere in a forward 3 Semih looks to be yet another jewel to be handcrafted in the Turkish capital.
A Black Eagle for 7 years now he is making ripples in Turkish football and looks to be knocking at the door of a breakthrough season, netting an impressive 18 senior goals so far at the age of 18 Semih could prove to be a joker in Besiktas’ impressive pack of cards.
Playstyle
Semih is a strong and powerful attacker who’s enjoyed the fruits of his labour primarily on the left wing of a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 but is also capable of playing at the forefront of attack or out on the right, his explosive pace coupled with his willingness to play on the shoulder of the last defender allows for him to fashion openings with sharp turns and quick bursts into space and open up for a shot or link up with his fellow attackers.
Despite being an attacking player he has a keen eye for a pass and enjoys linking up and advancing play further up the park by making decoy runs and checking back on himself availing himself deeper into the park and allow his wingers to tuck into the space he has created in the centre forward area, his one touch passing in these situations is impressive and weights his balls well to allow spaces to open up further ahead and form seamless attacks.
On the ball Semih excels in tight spaces and shows a real fearlessness in isolating his man and taking him on, one feature of his game I really enjoy is that he often scans around him before receiving the ball with his back to goal, waiting for the opponent to get touch tight to him and then using his frame and low centre of gravity to spin his man and burst forward into empty space and spark a quick attack. When in shooting positions Semih interprets space very well despite not always getting a shot away when he maybe should, he uses body feints and step overs well to draw defenders in and ghost by them and showcasing his excellent ball striking ability to test the keeper.
Ball-striking is a huge part of Semih’s game being an attacking player and despite not always shooting when he really should, the shots he does take are venomous, he is able to really catch hold of his strikes and possesses a wide array of finishing techniques. He can drill a shot low and hard at the near post or open his body up and wrap the ball into the far corner, this versatility keeps defenders and goalkeepers alike on their feet and makes his a nightmare to defend against.
I would liken his playstyle to Sergio Aguero as many have already hailed him as a Turkish counterpart to the Argentine legend, but in todays game he is very similar to Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi, not the tallest of players but this is more than made up for in their runs they make off the ball. Semih and Kyogo both have a real variety in their game that makes them a handful for defenders by switching their runs up and dropping deep in one sequence then peeling off the shoulder of the defender in the next and showcasing tremendous speed to latch onto balls and dispatch a cool finish more often than not.
What’s next?
Being only 18 these are some of the most formative years of Semih’s career and really looks likely to be one of Besiktas’ biggest exports in the coming years, however for the time being I can see no better place for him to develop for another season or 2 than his current club with marquee signing Ciro Immobile not being the worst strike partner in the world to learn from. The sky really does look the ceiling for the young man with clubs such as Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund rumoured to be keeping tabs on him, he possesses intangible skills and a real mature head on his shoulders at such a young age and with the right application and mentoring there is no reason why he couldn’t go on and become a household name in a big European league.