Erhan Karahan

Erhan Karahan (born 12 January 1987 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian/Turkish professional footballer (soccer) who is currently a defender with Victorian Premier League side, Richmond SC.

The Australian/Turkish defender was born in Melbourne, where he lived, grew up and called home, despite being of Turkish origin. Soccer was the sport he began at the age of five and with the support of his father he began to rise through the ranks very quickly. As his days went on he got better and better attracting the eyes of many. During his days he played for famously well-known clubs amongst Australian soccer fans, such as, South Melbourne FC, Preston Lions FC and Heidelberg United FC. One of his biggest highlights was a crucial header goal he scored whilst apart of the Preston Lions squad. The year 2007 was definitely what we can call the turning point in Erhan Karahan’s career. He was not only Erhan Karahan anymore; he had gained a recognition which no matter what occurs can no longer be taken from him. He had been offered a professional footballer contract from the Turkish Super League side Sivasspor. Negotiating didn’t take long, and before he knew it he was off to the Anatolian Turkish city of Sivas in order to join Sivasspor’s team camp. Erhan being Australian born but of Turkish origin meant he holds dual citizenships and as a result of this he is entitled to choose to play for the Socceroos or the Turkish National Team if called up.

Overall the results of moving to Turkey were satisfying. Appearing in a Turkish Super League side isn’t easy but Erhan managed to mark his place in Sivasspor’s eleven with his jersey number twenty-two. Moreover, he gained a spot in Sivasspor’s squad which played against Russian team Saturn FC in the UEFA CUP. Unfortunately like everything Erhan’s Sivasspor days also came to an end. This followed with Erhan remaining in Turkey and signing on with a lower Ankara side named Etimesgut Şekerspor, who had previously signed former big stars of Turkish soccer such as: Sergen Yalçın and Ahmet Yıldırım aiming to promote the teams’ position. However, financial difficulties led Erhan deciding to terminate his contract with the Ankara side and go on to spend some time playing in the Belgium Jupiler League before returning home to Melbourne to join the Richmond Soccer Club. Despite unlucky injuries throughout the season Erhan still managed to have a very bright season with Richmond, with a satisfying statistic of results for the club in the games he appeared. He was also a representative of the Victorian State Squad which took on Australian Champions; Melbourne Victory in a series of Charity Matches.