Doğuhan Aral Şimşir (born 19 June 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danish Superliga club Midtjylland. Born in Denmark, he was a youth international for Denmark and Turkey.

Aral Şimşir
Personal information
Full name Doğuhan Aral Şimşir
Date of birth (2002-06-19) 19 June 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Køge, Denmark
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Midtjylland
Number 58
Youth career
HB Køge
2017–2020 Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Midtjylland 57 (10)
2022Jerv (loan) 20 (3)
2022Lillestrøm (loan) 6 (0)
International career
2017–2018 Denmark U16 9 (3)
2018–2019 Denmark U17 9 (2)
2019 Denmark U18 2 (0)
2020 Denmark U19 1 (0)
2022– Turkey U21 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:26, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2023

Club career

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Midtjylland

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Şimşir was born to Turkish parents in Denmark. His family hails from the Sivas Province in the Central Anatolia Region, which is why he wears the number 58 as his shirt number, the region's registration number.[1] Şimşir initially played in the youth teams of HB Køge before moving to Midtjylland at U15-level.[2]

On 1 June 2020, aged 17, he made his Danish Superliga debut when he came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Anders Dreyer in the 1–0 loss to AC Horsens.[3] Midtjylland qualified for the championship round, in which Şimşir made two more appearances for the first team, in which the club finished as champions.[4]

On 22 September 2021, Şimşir scored his first professional goal in a 5–0 win over Kjellerup IF in the Danish Cup.[5]

Loan to Jerv

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On 7 March 2022, Şimşir joined Norwegian club Jerv on loan for the 2022 season.[6] He scored his first goal for the club on 18 April, becoming the matchwinner in a 1–0 victory against Kristiansund in Eliteserien.[7][8]

Return to Midtjylland

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On 9 June 2023, Şimşir scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over Viborg FF in the 2022–23 Danish Superliga European play-off match, securing a berth in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.[9]

On 29 June 2023, Şimşir signed a new long-term contract with Midtjylland, keeping him at the club until 2028.[10]

During a UEFA Europa League match against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv in October 2024, Şimşir was alleged to have yelled “I hope you die”, “Free Palestine” and “I hope Israel will burn down” to the Maccabi players, causing a brawl between the two teams at the end of the match. UEFA have launched an investigation into Simşir's conduct, while Midtjylland have issued a statement saying it could not accept Maccabi's interpretation of the events.[11][12]

International career

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Born in Denmark, Şimşir is of Turkish descent.[1] He formerly represented Denmark internationally, before switching to Turkey with the Turkey under-21s in 2022.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 24 October 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Midtjylland 2019–20 Danish Superliga 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2020–21 Danish Superliga 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2021–22 Danish Superliga 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1
2022–23 Danish Superliga 16 3 1[b] 0 18 4
2023–24 Danish Superliga 25 4 2 0 6[c] 0 33 4
2024–25 Danish Superliga 12 3 1 1 9[d] 2 22 6
Total 57 10 5 2 16 2 1 1 79 15
Jerv (loan) 2022 Eliteserien 20 3 3 0 23 3
Lillestrøm (loan) 2022 Eliteserien 6 0 6 0
Career total 83 13 8 2 16 2 1 1 108 18
  1. ^ Includes Danish Cup, Norwegian Football Cup
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League

References

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  1. ^ a b "Danimarka Süper Ligi'nde 3'cü Türk!". Milliyet (in Turkish). 19 June 2020.
  2. ^ Nørgaard, Jakob (4 July 2017). "Driblestærk angriber på akademiet". fcm.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Midtjylland vs. Horsens – 1 June 2020 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  4. ^ "FC Midtjylland er dansk mester – TV 2". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). 9 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Kjellerup vs. Midtjylland – 22 September 2021 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Angrepsspiller klar for Jerv". FK Jerv (in Norwegian). 7 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  7. ^ El-Itr, Obaida (18 April 2022). "Simsir scorede debutmål i snæver Jerv-sejr". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Simsir ble matchvinner for Jerv". Fædrelandsvennen (in Norwegian). 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Viborg vs. Midtjylland – 9 June 2023 – Superliga". superliga.dk. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Aral Simsir sætter signatur på ny lang aftale". FC Midtjylland (in Danish). 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  11. ^ Vøge, Lasse (8 October 2024). "FCM-stjerne undersøges efter vilde anklager: 'Vidste, det ville ske på et tidspunkt'". www.bt.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  12. ^ Grønborg, Af Matias; Bold (7 October 2024). "UEFA starter undersøgelse af Simsir-sag". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  13. ^ "U-kampe for Danmark: Nu er han udtaget for Tyrkiet". Tipsbladet.dk.
  14. ^ Aral Şimşir at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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