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Mehmet Topal
Turkish association football manager and former player (born 1986) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mehmet Topal (born 3 March 1986) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club Petrolul Ploiești. A defensive midfielder, he was nicknamed Örümcek (Turkish: Spider) for his ability to use his long legs to win loose balls or cut passes.[1][2]
![]() Topal with Turkey in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Mehmet Topal | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1986-03-03) 3 March 1986 (age 38) | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Malatya, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Petrolul Ploiești (manager) | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
1999–2002 | Malatyaspor | ||||||||||||||||
2002–2004 | Dardanelspor | ||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2004–2006 | Dardanelspor | 42 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
2006–2010 | Galatasaray | 82 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
2010–2012 | Valencia | 43 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
2012–2019 | Fenerbahçe | 206 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
2019–2021 | İstanbul Başakşehir | 50 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
2021–2022 | Beşiktaş | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Total | 430 | (25) | |||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | Turkey U21 | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
2008–2018 | Turkey | 81 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
2024– | Petrolul Ploiești | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Topal started his senior career at Dardanelspor, and went on to represent Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, İstanbul Başakşehir, and Beşiktaş, respectively, totalling seven major trophies in Turkey. He also had a two-year spell with Spanish team Valencia.
An international for Turkey between 2008 and 2018, Topal amassed over 80 appearances for his country and was selected for two European Championships.