Mehmet Topal
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Mehmet Topal (born 3 March 1986) is a Turkish professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
and former player. A
defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
, he was nicknamed ''Örümcek'' () for his ability to use his long legs to win loose balls or cut passes. Topal started his senior career at Dardanelspor, and went on to represent
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
, Fenerbahçe, İstanbul Başakşehir, and
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
, respectively, totalling seven major trophies in his native country. He also had a two-year spell with Spanish team
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
. An international for
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
between 2008 and 2018, Topal amassed over 80 appearances and was selected for two
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
. As a manager, Topal debuted with a six-month stint at Romanian club Petrolul Ploiești in 2024.


Club career


Early career

Born in
Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...
, Topal started his football career at local Malatya B.S. at the age of 13. He made his senior debut with lowly
Dardanel Spor A.Ş. Dardanel is a Turkish food packager based in the town of Çanakkale, Turkey, on the Dardanelles strait. History 1984–1999 The company was founded in 1984 by Niyazi Önen as Turkey's first producer of canned tuna, and was listed on the Istan ...
in the third division. In September 2006, Topal joined
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
powerhouse Galatasaray SK, moving to the club alongside Japanese Junichi Inamoto.


Galatasaray

Topal appeared in only 11 games in his first season in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. However, due to an injury to Swedish international Tobias Linderoth, he was handed his chance in the starting XI, later commenting on his teammate: "He helped me a lot, told me about the areas I should improve and how to do so. Sadly, I got my chance through his injury but I want him to recover in the shortest time possible." In April 2008, Topal extended his contract with ''Gala'' for five years, having played 26 matches during the campaign to help the team win the national championship and also reaching the Turkey national team in that timeframe. In the 2008 summer transfer window, there were rumours surrounding a move to Everton in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, with David Moyes apparently keen to bring the player to
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...
. Topal eventually stayed put, appearing in an average of 22 games in the following seasons but also having to deal with injury early into 2009–10.


Valencia

On 12 May 2010, Topal signed for
Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...
for a fee believed to be in the region of
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
5.5 million. On 14 September, he made he first
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
appearance with his new club, playing the full 90 minutes against Turkish side
Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...
in a 4–0 group stage win. Topal scored his first goal with the ''Che'' at
Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...
, on 25 September 2010 (2–0). In the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
, he netted the game's only goal away against Stoke City on 17 February 2012 in the round of 32 to take his side through 2–0 on aggregate; the 30-yard strike was widely regarded as one of the best goals of that tournament. He played six matches to help his team reach the semi-finals of the latter competition, but overall played second-fiddle to legendary David Albelda during his stint even though the former was ostracised by manager
Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa. He is widely regarded as o ...
for a period of time.


Fenerbahçe

Topal moved to Fenerbahçe SK on 1 July 2012, for a reported fee of €4.5 million. He signed a four-year contract with a €2 million annually salary, plus bonuses. He contributed 27 appearances and three goals in his second season, as the club won the national championship after a three-year wait. On 11 August 2015, whilst he drove home after training accompanied by youth player Uygar Mert, Topal's car was shot at by unknown men. He appeared in 11 games in the Europa League round-of-16 run and, precisely at that stage, against S.C. Braga, scored the only goal in the first leg at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. In the second match, he was sent off for two bookable offences – the second of which resulted in a penalty – as his team had a further two players ejected in an eventual 4–2 aggregate loss. On 26 June 2019, the 33-year-old Topal left by mutual consent.


Istanbul Başakşehir

On 26 August 2019, Topal joined İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. on a two-year deal, the latter one being optional. After conquering the domestic league at the end of the campaign, he became the first footballer to achieve the feat with three teams.


International career

Topal earned his first
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
for
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
on 6 February 2008, coming on for Emre Belözoğlu in the 78th minute of a 0–0 friendly home draw with
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. Shortly after, he was selected by manager
Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...
for his
UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
squad, playing all the games in Austria and Switzerland but one for the eventual semi-finalists. On 22 May 2016, Topal captained the nation for the first time, in their 1–2 friendly loss to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at the
City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...
. A week later, he scored his first international goal on his 58th cap, the only one of a last-minute victory over
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
in
Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
. Picked for Euro 2016, he started in all the matches, featuring as a
central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
in a 0–3 group stage defeat against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.


Managerial career

Topal started his managerial career on 6 June 2024, joining Romanian club Petrolul Ploiești on a three-year deal. He resigned on 22 December that year, leaving the team in sixth place in the
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
after 21 fixtures—one of their best runs since returning to the top division in the 2022–23 campaign. Two days later, Petrolul Ploiești announced that his resignation had not yet been accepted and that the situation would be clarified soon. The club attributed his decision to personal reasons, a claim Topal denied on his
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
account. The contract was officially terminated on 31 December.


Career statistics


Club


International

:Turkey score listed first, score column indicates score after each Topal goal)


Managerial statistics


Honours

Galatasaray *
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
: 2007–08 *
Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...
:
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
Fenerbahçe *Süper Lig: 2013–14 *
Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...
: 2012–13 *Turkish Super Cup:
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
İstanbul Başakşehir *Süper Lig: 2019–20 Beşiktaş *Turkish Super Cup:
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
Turkey *
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...
third place:
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
Individual *Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2014–15


References


External links

* *
CiberChe biography and stats
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Topal, Mehmet 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Malatya Turkish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Süper Lig players TFF 1. Lig players Çanakkale Dardanelspor footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers La Liga players Valencia CF players Turkey men's youth international footballers Turkey men's under-21 international footballers Turkey men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2016 players Turkish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Turkish football managers Turkish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Romania Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Romania Liga I managers FC Petrolul Ploiești managers 21st-century Turkish sportsmen