 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kazım Ersun Yanal | ||
| Date of birth | (1961-12-17)17 December 1961 (age 63) | ||
| Place of birth | İzmir,Turkey | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Denizlispor | |||
| 1982–1984 | Manisaspor | ||
| 1984–1985 | Denizli Emsan Şirinköy İDY | ||
| 1985–1987 | Nazilli Belediyespor | ||
| 1987–1988 | Sarayköyspor | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1996 | Denizlispor | ||
| 1997–1998 | Yeni Salihlispor | ||
| 1998–1999 | Denizlispor | ||
| 2000–2002 | Ankaragücü | ||
| 2002–2004 | Gençlerbirliği | ||
| 2004–2005 | Turkey | ||
| 2005–2007 | Manisaspor | ||
| 2007–2009 | Trabzonspor | ||
| 2012–2013 | Eskişehirspor | ||
| 2013–2014 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 2014–2015 | Trabzonspor | ||
| 2016–2017 | Trabzonspor | ||
| 2018–2020 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 2020–2021 | Antalyaspor | ||
| 2023 | Alanyaspor | ||
| 2024 | Amedspor | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kazım Ersun Yanal (Turkish pronunciation:[eɾˈsunˈjanaɫ], born 17 December 1961) is a Turkishfootball manager and formerplayer. His style has always been attacking football doubled up with tactics unprecedented inTurkish football. He enjoys a very respectable place amongst Turkish coaches although having only won a single title.[1][2]
Yanal started his coaching career in 1990 at Sarayköyspor, a team located in theSarayköy district of Denizli, where his family resided for many years.
Ersun Yanal's careerSüper Lig career started with Denizlispor in the 1995-1996 season. AfterÜmit Kayıhan's resignation, Yanal took charge of Denizlispor in the last 6 weeks of the league, experiencing 1 win, 2 draws and 3 defeats in 6 games.[3] Following his management of Denizlispor, he was appointed manager ofTFF Second League clubYeni Salihlispor in 1997, winning the Afyonkarahisar Çay Municipality District Governorship Cup in the 1997-1998 season with the club.[4]
He was appointed as manager of Süper Lig sideAnkaragücü on 17 July 2000.[4] Under Yanal's managership, Ankaragücü saw two successive seasons, becoming 6th in the2000–01 season and 4th in the2001–02 season with even some victories againstThe Big Three. Yanal was appointed head ofGençlerbirliği on 19 June 2002.[4] He reached the4th round of the UEFA Cup with the club and was knocked out by eventual championsValencia 2–1 on aggregate in extra-time in the second leg. He also lost the final of theTurkish Cup twice toTrabzonspor in 2003 and 2004.[5] In April 2004 he was appointed as head coach of theTurkish national team. Yanal's tactics showed their fruit immediately as Turkey won two friendlies againstAustralia, beating them 3–1 and 1–0. Yanal's successful run was ended bySouth Korea after a 2–1 defeat. His job was to secure qualification for the2006 World Cup but despite being on target to achieving this goal, sitting in second place in the qualifying group, he was dismissed in June 2005 to be replaced byFatih Terim, who couldn't lead the team to the finals inGermany. Yanal was named new manager ofManisaspor for the2005–06 season. At the end of the winter break in the2006–07 season, the club were flying high in fourth position. However, they could not keep up the results, finishing in 12th place, four points away from relegation. Yanal parted company with Manisaspor after their match at home to bottom-sideSakaryaspor was abandoned following on field violence.[6] In October 2007 he was signed byTrabzonspor to take over fromZiya Doğan, signing a three-year deal at the club.[7] In April 2009 he resigned his job from Trabzonspor.[8] He was appointed the general director of theTurkish Football Federation on 22 February 2010. On 4 October 2011 he was sacked from his job in accordance to TFF's decision to affiliate all age categories of the Turkish national football team to the A national football team coach.[9]
On 28 June 2013, Yanal agreed to take charge ofFenerbahçe, replacingAykut Kocaman who resigned in May 2013.[10][11] His appointment coincided with tough times for Fenerbahçe who had been banned fromEuropean competition for two seasons over their alleged involvement in a domesticmatch-fixing scandal.[12][13] On 1 July 2013, Fenerbahçe opened the 2013-14 season with a training session. Yanal, addressing his players, said the absolute goal was winning theSüper Lig championship. “I have gotten to know you. You will get to know me and we will get to know each other much better. Let's keep our eyes on the prize and hope for the best next season,” he noted.[14] On 18 July 2013, Fenerbahçe played in theChampions Leaguethird qualifying round despite its UEFA ban after winning an emergency ruling from theCourt of Arbitration for Sport.[15] On 31 July 2013, on Yanal's first official match, Fenerbahçe made the most of their Champions League lifeline with a 1–1 draw againstRed Bull Salzburg in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie.[16][17][18] On 6 August, Fenerbahçe defeated Salzburg 3–1 in the second leg, which was Yanal's first competitive win for the club.[19][20][21] On 11 August 2013, Yanal coached in his firstIntercontinental Derby, the40th edition of the Turkish Super Cup played inKayseri. This was the 375th meeting between the rivals.Galatasaray won the match with a header fromDidier Drogba in the first half ofextra time, which was also the only goal in the match.[22][23]
On 17 August 2013, Yanal coached his first league match with Fenerbahçe, squandering a 2–0 first-half lead to lose 3–2 to newcomerTorku Konyaspor in their Süper Lig opener atKonya Atatürk Stadium.[24][25] Four days later, Fenerbahçe lost 3–0 toArsenal atŞükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in the first leg of theChampions League play-off round.[26][27][28][29] They lost in the second leg as well, losing 5-0 on aggregate. On 10 November 2013, Yanal won his first Intercontinental Derby, with a score of 2–0 against Galatasaray, maintaining a nearly 15-year streak of suffering no derby losses on home turf.[30][31][32] On 1 December, Yanal coached his firstBeşiktaş-Fenerbahçe rivalry, drawing 3–3 with the black and whites in an eventful Süper Lig match that witnessed a number of controversial positions.[clarification needed][33] On 4 December, Fenerbahçe suffered an unexpected 2–1 loss in the2013–14 Turkish Cup at home against first division sideFethiyespor.[34] Yanal's Fenerbahçe won the Süper Lig title with three games to spare after a 0–0 draw at home toÇaykur Rizespor, in front of a crowd made up exclusively of women and children.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] On 21 May 2014, Yanal stated that he would extend his contract with Fenerbahçe by two more years. Yanal would have earned $1,75 million each year in accordance with the contract. However, on 9 August, he resigned due to disagreements with the club's board.[47][48][49]
After the 15th week of the2018-19 Süper Lig season, he returned to Fenerbahçe as manager.
Yanal, who started the 2019-20 season well with Fenerbahçe, resigned on 1 March 2020 after the point losses in the second half of the season were added to the defeat to arch-rival Galatasaray in Kadıköy after 20 years. It was announced by the club that they parted ways but Ersun Yanal that he would be in charge of the team against Trabzonspor in the Ziraat Turkish Cup match to be played on 4 March 2020. After the match, Yanal's 2nd Fenerbahçe period officially ended.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| Denizlispor |  | 5 September 1996 | 14 November 1996 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 020.00 | |||
| Yeni Salihlispor | | 11 September 1997 | 31 May 1998 | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 037.50 | |||
| Denizlispor | | 1 August 1998 | 31 May 1999 | 38 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 063.16 | |||
| Ankaragücü | | 17 July 2000 | 19 June 2002 | 73 | 34 | 16 | 23 | 046.58 | |||
| Gençlerbirliği | | 19 June 2002 | 15 May 2004 | 86 | 44 | 19 | 23 | 051.16 | |||
| Turkey | | 28 April 2004 | 8 June 2005 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 053.33 | |||
| Manisaspor | | 13 October 2005 | 19 March 2007 | 58 | 21 | 11 | 26 | 036.21 | |||
| Trabzonspor | | 27 October 2007 | 28 April 2009 | 62 | 30 | 12 | 20 | 048.39 | |||
| Eskişehirspor | | 2 January 2012 | 31 May 2013 | 75 | 29 | 24 | 22 | 038.67 | |||
| Fenerbahçe | | 28 June 2013 | 9 August 2014 | 40 | 24 | 6 | 10 | 060.00 | |||
| Trabzonspor | | 12 November 2014 | 2 July 2015 | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 047.22 | |||
| Trabzonspor | | 1 June 2016 | 16 October 2017 | 50 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 040.00 | |||
| Fenerbahçe | | 14 December 2018 | 3 March 2020 | 56 | 27 | 15 | 14 | 048.21 | |||
| Antalyaspor | | 11 November 2020 | 4 October 2021 | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 030.43 | |||
| Alanyaspor | | 27 February 2023 | 19 April 2023 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 028.57 | |||
| Total | 683 | 307 | 164 | 212 | 044.95 | ||||||
Yanal is known for playing a self-destructive tactic of going all out on attack and leaving huge holes in the midfield and defense. Teams coached by Yanal are recognised for conceding almost as many goals as it scored.
Yanal was born inİzmir, Turkey. He graduated fromManisa Celal Bayar University in 1984. Yanal has two kids and is married to İrem Ağan, the daughter of formerCHP Bodrum Mayor Mazlum Ağan.[51][52] He is ofKosovo Albanian origin.[53]
Media related toErsun Yanal at Wikimedia Commons