Efe-Kaan Sihlaroğlu

Efe-Kaan Sihlaroğlu made history before he had turned seventeen. A product of the Karlsruher SC academy, having arrived from 1. FC Kaiserslautern's youth ranks in 2016, he signed his first professional contract in October 2021 and was handed his senior debut the following month, coming on against Hannover 96 in the 2. Bundesliga. At 16 years and 142 days, he became the youngest player ever to appear in the competition.

That match remains, to date, his only senior appearance for Karlsruher SC. Three cruciate ligament injuries in as many years halted the progress that debut had promised. The first came in August 2022 while he was on international duty with Turkey's under-17 side; the second struck his left knee during pre-season training in the summer of 2023; the third arrived in June 2024, during the rehabilitation from the previous setback. His contract in Karlsruhe eventually ran its course without a second first-team outing.

Sihlaroğlu resumed his career in Turkey, joining Iğdır FK, also known as Iğdır Belediyespor, on a free transfer and signing a two-year deal. At youth international level he had already featured for Turkey's under-17 team, collecting six caps and a goal, and had been part of the squad named for the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.