06.06.2025 16:40
Fenerbahçe parted ways with Mario Branco, who was serving as the sporting director. The yellow-navy team appointed 30-year-old executive Devin Özek, who had worked alongside Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, to fill the vacant football director position left by Branco. Okan Özkan, who was Branco's assistant, has been appointed as the Football Coordinator.
The Super Lig giant Fenerbahçe officially announced its football director and football coordinator while announcing the new structure of its Football A Team.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT RELEASED
In the official statement made by Fenerbahçe, it was stated, "Our club has implemented a reorganization effort to establish a more effective and efficient management structure for the Football A Team. In this context, Devin Özek, one of the rising stars of German football who played significant roles in Bayer 04 Leverkusen's championship season and its rise in European football, has been appointed as the Football Director of Fenerbahçe Sports Club."
Okan Özkan, who has contributed to various departments within our club for over seven years and has served as the Assistant Sports Director for the last two seasons, has been appointed as the Football Coordinator. Both individuals will work together under the umbrella of the Football Department. We welcome Mr. Devin Özek to the great Fenerbahçe family and wish him and Mr. Okan Özkan, who has been a part of this family for years, success in their new roles," it was said.
WHO IS DEVİN ÖZEK?
Born in 1995, Devin Özek started his football career in Germany and later took on roles in coaching and football management.
Devin Özek, the child of a German mother and a Turkish father, began to take an interest in football at a young age and played in the lower leagues of Germany. However, in 2016, at the age of just 21, he ended his active playing career. In 2017, he started working as a scout and football career manager at Rolfes & Elsässer, a company owned by Simon Rolfes.
In 2021, Özek served as a scout at Bayer Leverkusen and later became the club's international relations officer. In the summer of 2022, he took on the role of assistant director alongside the club's sports director Simon Rolfes. It is reported that he played a role in the appointment process of head coach Xabi Alonso and in some transfer dealings. He is said to have actively participated in the transfers of Grimaldo and Boniface, as well as the sale process of Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa.