Rıdvan Dilmen (born 15 August 1962) is a former Turkish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who most notably played for Fenerbahçe and

Turkey national football team The Turkey national football team ( tr, Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in men's international football matches. The team is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation ( tr, Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu), the governing bod ...

. During his career Rıdvan established himself as one of the most skilled players of the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

. He was either an attacking midfielder or an out and out striker. Although he stated on numerous occasions his dislike for it, he was given the nickname "''Şeytan Rıdvan''" ("Rıdvan the Devil") mostly for his wits, immense speed with the ball and stupendous fakes. Since retiring as a player, Rıdvan coached several teams before becoming a color commentator, analyst and sportswriter.

Playing career

Dilmen made his debut with Sümerspor in 1977. He transferred to

Muğlaspor Muğlaspor is a sports club in located in Muğla, Turkey. The football club plays in the Turkish Regional Amateur League The Turkish Regional Amateur League ( tr, Bölgesel Amatör Ligi) is the fifth tier of the Turkish football league s ...

in exchange for 25 footballs in 1979 and then became a renowned player for

Boluspor Boluspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Bolu. The clubs plays in red and white kits, and have done so since their formation in 1965.Sarıyer Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea ...

between 1983–1987, he signed for Fenerbahçe and fulfilled his dream. He was the main actor of the 1988–89 Turkish League season, which Fenerbahçe won the title with 103 goals in 36 matches. In the 1988–1989 season, he scored 19 goals and made 41 assists. After getting injured in 1990 against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

by the Serbian defender Miodrag Ješić, he never fully recovered. Rıdvan failed to fulfill expectations due to consistent injuries, which required sixteen operations. He retired in 1994 after painful years of injuries. He is one of the symbol players not only for Fenerbahçe but for Turkish football also. The reason that his name is not as well-known worldwide are that he seldom had the chance to prove himself on the big international occasions. He played with Turkey, mostly in the 80s, and was a no-hoper and Fenerbahçe's status on the European club stage was scarcely different. Dilmen made 24 appearances for the

from 1984 to 1992.

Managerial career

Dilmen worked as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

for

Vanspor Vanspor A.Ş. was a Soccer, football team of Van, Turkey, Van in eastern Turkey. History They played in the Süper Lig, top division of Turkish football between 1994 and 1998, playing once more in 1999–2000 season. After relegation from the fi ...

in 1998–99 season. His club finished the season as champions of Turkish Second League. He then became Fenerbahçe football teams manager in 2000. However, his stay only lasted five weeks. He resigned as Fenerbahçe was eliminated from

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

at an early stage. Dilmen was also employed as a manager for

Altay SK Altay Spor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in the city of İzmir. Formed in 1914, Altay are nicknamed ''Büyük Altay'' (Great Altay). The club colors are black and white, and they currently play their home matches at the ...

and

Adanaspor Adanaspor is a Turkish professional football club based in Adana, currently performing at the TFF First League. The club is founded in 1954 by the middle-class merchants and artisans in response to the alienation within city's then most popular ...

and

Karşıyaka SK Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional ...

. So far, he doesn't have a successful managing career as he was expected to deliver.

Commentating career

Ridvan Dilmen is a commentator at

NTV Spor NTV Spor is a Turkish online sports platform. NTV Spor used to be a nationwide TV channel between 2008 and 2018. As of April 2021, NTV Spor continues to produce content via their website and YouTube channel. NTV Spor used to hold broadcasting ri ...

and a columnist at ''

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

''; at the same time he does bet guesswork at ''Fanatik'' newspaper. He is a narrator at Star TV for the important Champions League matches. Dilmen has a reputation of saying "it'll be a goal" a few moments before the ball hits the back of the net. He transferred to ''Sabah'' on 1 August 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dilmen, Ridvan 1962 births Living people Turkish footballers Turkish football managers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Fenerbahçe football managers Sarıyer S.K. footballers Boluspor footballers Turkey international footballers Süper Lig managers Karşıyaka S.K. managers Turkey under-21 international footballers Association football midfielders Golden Butterfly Award winners