 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Erol Bulut | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-01-30)30 January 1975 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Bad Schwalbach,West Germany | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position | Left wing-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Antalyaspor (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1994 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1995 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 9 | (0) |
| 1995–1999 | Fenerbahçe | 110 | (10) |
| 1999–2001 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 7 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | →Trabzonspor (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2001 | →Adanaspor (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 2001–2003 | Panionios | 39 | (4) |
| 2003–2004 | Bursaspor | 17 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | 1860 Munich | 10 | (1) |
| 2005–2007 | Olympiacos | 24 | (2) |
| 2007–2009 | Metalurh Donetsk | 18 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Olympiacos Volos | 22 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | OFI | 40 | (0) |
| 2012 | Veria | 12 | (0) |
| Total | 310 | (23) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994–1997 | Turkey U21 | 18 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2017–2019 | Yeni Malatyaspor | ||
| 2019–2020 | Alanyaspor | ||
| 2020–2021 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 2021–2023 | Gaziantep | ||
| 2023–2024 | Cardiff City | ||
| 2025– | Antalyaspor | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Erol Bulut (Turkish pronunciation:[eˈɾoɫbuˈɫut]; born 30 January 1975) is a Turkish professionalfootball manager and formerplayer. He is currently the head coach ofSüper Lig clubAntalyaspor.
Born inBad Schwalbach,West Germany, During his career as a football player, Erol Bulut achieved notable successes. He representedTurkey in theunder-21 international level. His journey began with various German clubs in his youth. In 1995, he transferred fromEintracht Frankfurt toFenerbahçe inTurkey, where he secured theSüper Lig title in the following season. Afterward, he returned toEintracht Frankfurt briefly in 1999 before mainly playing on loan for Turkish clubs.
Bulut continued his career trajectory, moving between various clubs. He returned toTurkey in 2003 withBursaspor, followed by a stint at1860 Munich inGermany. His move toGreece'sOlympiacos in 2005 proved fruitful, as he won theSuper League Greece andGreek Football Cup in his initial year. His contract was terminated during the second season. After subsequent trials at European clubs, he played forUkraine'sMetalurh Donetsk in 2007. From 2008–09, he joinedGreece's second division clubOlympiacos Volos, eventually moving toOFI in January 2011 and securing promotion to the Super League.
Bulut's playing career concluded after a second promotion withVeria in the summer of 2012. He underwent trial periods at clubs likeStoke City,Rangers, andNewcastle United.[1][2][3]
Bulut playedfutsal and became a member of theTurkey national futsal team in theUEFA Futsal Championship.[4]
Bulut's coaching journey began in October 2012 as a co-assistant atKartalspor. He continued in the same role atYeni Malatyaspor,Elazığspor, andİstanbul Başakşehir.
In September 2017, he became a head coach for the first time atYeni Malatyaspor, a newly promoted team, successfully ensuring their place in the top-tier league. In the subsequent 2018/19 season, he guided the Anatolian club to the semi-finals of theTurkish Cup, where they were eliminated by eventual winnersGalatasaray. In late April 2019, Bulut resigned with five matchdays remaining in the season.
During the 2019–20 season, he took on the role of head coach atAlanyaspor, a prominent Turkish top-tier club. Under his leadership, the team secured a fifth-place league finish and reached theTurkish Cup final. This accomplishment marked the club's first qualification for theEuropa League qualification rounds.
In the following season 2020–21, Bulut returned to his initial professional playing club,Fenerbahçe, to assume the position of head coach. However, in March 2021, the club and Bulut decided to part ways. Subsequently, in May 2021, Bulut signed a three-year contract withGaziantep, another Turkish top-tier club. However, they parted ways in January 2023.
On 3 June 2023, Bulut was appointed manager ofChampionship clubCardiff City.[5] During his time at the club, he led Cardiff City to 3 derby victories, including a 2-0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium against fierce South Wales rivalsSwansea City. On 4 June 2024, he signed a new two-year contract extension.[6] However, he was sacked as manager on 22nd September 2024 following just 1 point from 6 games at the start of the 2024-25 season.[7]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| Yeni Malatyaspor | 1 October 2017 | 25 April 2019 | 69 | 27 | 19 | 23 | 039.13 | |||
| Alanyaspor | 17 August 2019 | 3 August 2020 | 44 | 23 | 9 | 12 | 052.27 | |||
| Fenerbahçe | 5 August 2020 | 25 March 2021 | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 061.76 | |||
| Gaziantep | 20 May 2021 | 27 January 2023 | 65 | 21 | 19 | 25 | 032.31 | |||
| Cardiff City | 3 June 2023 | 22 September 2024 | 58 | 21 | 7 | 30 | 036.21 | |||
| Antalyaspor | 13 October 2025 | Present | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 033.33 | |||
| Career totals | 276 | 115 | 60 | 101 | 041.67 | |||||
Fenerbahçe
Olympiacos
Olympiacos Volos