.jpg) Topal withTurkey in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mehmet Topal | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1986-03-03)3 March 1986 (age 39) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Malatya, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Malatyaspor | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Dardanelspor | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Dardanelspor | 39 | (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 | 427 | (25) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Turkey U19 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Turkey U20 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Turkey U21 | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2018 | Turkey | 81 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Petrolul Ploiești | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Petrolul Ploiești | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Mehmet Topal (born 3 March 1986) is a Turkish professionalfootballmanager and former player. Adefensive midfielder, he was nicknamedÖrümcek (Turkish:Spider) for his ability to use his long legs to win loose balls or cut passes.[1][2]
Topal started his senior career atDardanelspor, and went on to representGalatasaray,Fenerbahçe,İstanbul Başakşehir, andBeşiktaş, respectively, totalling seven major trophies in his native country. He also had a two-year spell with Spanish teamValencia. An international forTurkey between 2008 and 2018, Topal amassed over 80 appearances and was selected for twoEuropean Championships.
As a manager, Topal debuted with a six-month stint at Romanian clubPetrolul Ploiești in 2024.
Born inMalatya, Topal started his football career at localMalatya B.S. at the age of 13. He made his senior debut with lowlyDardanel Spor A.Ş. in thethird division.
In September 2006, Topal joinedSüper Lig powerhouseGalatasaray SK, moving to the club alongside JapaneseJunichi Inamoto.
Topal appeared in only 11 games inhis first season inIstanbul. However, due to an injury toSwedish internationalTobias 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."[3]
In April 2008, Topal extended his contract withGala for five years, having played 26 matches duringthe campaign to help the team win the national championship and also reaching theTurkey national team in that timeframe. In the2008 summer transfer window, there were rumours surrounding a move toEverton in thePremier League, withDavid Moyes apparently keen to bring the player toGoodison Park.[4][5][6]
Topal eventually stayed put, appearing in an average of 22 games in the following seasons but also having to deal with injury early into2009–10.
On 12 May 2010, Topal signed forValencia CF for a fee believed to be in the region of€5.5 million.[7] On 14 September, he made he firstUEFA Champions League appearance with his new club, playing the full 90 minutes against Turkish sideBursaspor in a 4–0group stage win.[8]
Topal scored his first goal with theChe atSporting de Gijón, on 25 September 2010 (2–0).[9] In theUEFA Europa League, he netted the game's only goal away againstStoke City on 17 February 2012 in theround 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.[10] He played six matches to help his team reach the semi-finals of the latter competition, but overall played second-fiddle to legendaryDavid Albelda during his stint even though the former was ostracised by managerUnai Emery for a period of time.[11][12]
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Topal moved toFenerbahçe 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.[13][14][15] He contributed 27 appearances and three goals inhis 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.[16][17] He appeared in 11 games in theEuropa League round-of-16 run and, precisely at that stage, againstS.C. Braga, scored the only goal in the first leg at theŞükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.[18] In the second match, he wassent off for two bookable offences – the second of which resulted in apenalty – as his team had a further two players ejected in an eventual 4–2 aggregate loss.[19]
On 26 June 2019, the 33-year-old Topal left by mutual consent.[20][21]
On 26 August 2019, Topal joinedİstanbul Başakşehir F.K. on a two-year deal, the latter one being optional.[22] After conquering the domestic league at the end ofthe campaign, he became the first footballer to achieve the feat with three teams.[23]
Topal earned his firstcap forTurkey on 6 February 2008,coming on forEmre Belözoğlu in the 78th minute of a 0–0friendly home draw withSweden. Shortly after, he was selected by managerFatih Terim for hisUEFA Euro 2008 squad,[24] playing all the games in Austria and Switzerland but one for the eventual semi-finalists.
On 22 May 2016, Topalcaptained the nation for the first time, in their 1–2 friendly loss toEngland at theCity of Manchester Stadium.[25] A week later, he scored his first international goal on his 58th cap, the only one of a last-minute victory overMontenegro inAntalya.[26] Picked forEuro 2016,[27] he started in all the matches, featuring as acentral defender in a 0–3 group stage defeat againstSpain.[28]
Topal started his managerial career on 6 June 2024, joining Romanian clubPetrolul Ploiești on a three-year deal.[29] He resigned on 22 December that year, leaving the team in sixth place in theLiga I after 21 fixtures—one of their best runs since returning to the top division in the2022–23 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,[30] a claim Topal denied on hisInstagram account. The contract was officially terminated on 31 December.[31]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Dardanelspor | 2004–05 | Lig A | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 4 | |||||
| Galatasaray | 2006–07 | Süper Lig | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 26 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 5[c] | 0 | – | 39 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8[f] | 1 | – | 36 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 4 | |||
| Valencia | 2010–11 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | – | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[g] | 2 | – | 30 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 43 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | – | 59 | 3 | ||||
| Fenerbahçe | 2012–13 | Süper Lig | 27 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 51 | 4 | |
| 2013–14 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| 2014–15 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 2 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 41 | 4 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 33 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 2 | – | 53 | 3 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | – | 45 | 4 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 29 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4[f] | 0 | – | 41 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | – | 36 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 206 | 16 | 37 | 5 | 53 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 299 | 24 | |||
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 2019–20 | Süper Lig | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[f] | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| Total | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 3 | |||
| Beşiktaş | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Career total | 427 | 25 | 61 | 6 | 104 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 597 | 38 | |||
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| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey[34] | |||
| 2008 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 1 | |
| Total | 81 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 May 2016 | Antalya Arena,Antalya, Turkey | 58 |  Montenegro | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 23 March 2018 | 74 |  Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
 Petrolul Ploiești | 6 June 2024 | 31 December 2024 | 25 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 032.00 |
| Petrolul Ploiești | 18 March 2025 | 24 May 2025 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 037.50 |
| Total | 33 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 033.33 | ||
Galatasaray
Fenerbahçe
İstanbul Başakşehir
Beşiktaş
Turkey
Individual
Turkey squads | |||||||
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