# Samet Akaydin

Samet Akaydin (born 13 March 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Turkish Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor and the Turkey national football team.

## Club career

Akaydin began his youth career with Black Sea Region-based clubs Trabzon İdmanocağı, Trabzonspor, Boluspor and started his professional career with hometown club Arsinspor. He played four seasons with Istanbul-based club Sancaktepe, one season with Şanlıurfaspor, one and a half seasons with Ankara Keçiörengücü.

### Adana Demirspor

Akaydin moved to Süper Lig side Adana Demirspor until the end of the 2023-24 season. On 23 January 2021, he made his debut against Bursaspor. On 18 September 2021, he made his Süper Lig debut against Rizespor in a 3-1 win.
He showed a very successful performance with his club, made 49 Süper Lig (with 4 goals) and 6 TFF First League appearances with the team and also made three Turkish cup apperarances and one goal. He had successful seasons and selected to the national team.

### Fenerbahçe

On 4 December 2023, Akaydin signed Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe, until the end of the 2026–27 season. He made his Süper Lig debut for the team in a 2–1 away game win over Gaziantep FK on 15 January 2023.
On 9 March 2023, he made his continental debut in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match against Sevilla.
On 10 November 2024, he scored his first goal with the team against Sivasspor.

#### Panathinaikos (loan)

On 14 January 2024, Akaydin joined Greek side Panathinaikos on loan from Fenerbahçe, until the end of the 2023–24 season.
He was excluded from the squad due to his Mustafa Kemal Atatürk social media post for Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day on 19 May 2024. Panathinaikos asked him to remove his post but he did't accept the club's request and did not remove the post, then he was excluded from the main squad. Akaydin, who informed Fenerbahçe that he wanted to leave Panathinaikos after what happened, decided to return to Turkey.

## International career

Akaydin debuted with the Turkey national team in a friendly 2–1 win over the Czech Republic on 19 November 2022.
Akaydin was selected to represent his nation at the UEFA Euro 2024. Notably, he scored an own goal past Altay Bayındır from outside the box in the nation's 3–0 loss to Portugal during the group stage. On 6 July, he scored his first international goal, by opening the score in a 2–1 defeat against the Netherlands in the quarter-final of the competition.

## Style of play

Akaydın is a quick, aggressive, physically strong, and tenacious defender, who was known for his work-rate, energy, and hard-tackling style of play. Due to his height, he was also an aerial threat on set-pieces.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 11 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Arsinspor | 2013–14 | TFF Third League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Sancaktepe | 2014–15 | TFF Third League | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 |
| Sancaktepe | 2015–16 | TFF Third League | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 |
| Sancaktepe | 2016–17 | TFF Third League | 32 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 |
| Sancaktepe | 2017–18 | TFF Second League | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 |
| Sancaktepe | Total | Total | 131 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 9 |
| Şanlıurfaspor | 2018–19 | TFF Second League | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 |
| Ankara Keçiörengücü | 2019–20 | TFF First League | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 3 |
| Ankara Keçiörengücü | 2020–21 | TFF First League | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 |
| Ankara Keçiörengücü | Total | Total | 49 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 4 |
| Adana Demirspor | 2020–21 | TFF First League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Adana Demirspor | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 33 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 3 |
| Adana Demirspor | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 |
| Adana Demirspor | Total | Total | 55 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 5 |
| Fenerbahçe | 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Fenerbahçe | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Fenerbahçe | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Fenerbahçe | Total | Total | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| Panathinaikos (loan) | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 289 | 21 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 313 | 22 |
* ↑ Includes Turkish Cup and Greek Cup
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Turkey | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| Turkey | 2023 | 3 | 0 |
| Turkey | 2024 | 8 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 12 | 1 |
    Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Akaydin goal.
List of international goals scored by Samet Akaydin :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 6 July 2024 | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany | 10 | Netherlands | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2024 |

## Honours

Sancaktepe
* TFF Third League: 2016–17
Adanademirspor
* TFF First League: 2020–21
Fenerbahçe
* Turkish Cup: 2022–23
Panathinaikos
* Greek Cup: 2023–24