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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1962-08-15)15 August 1962 (age 62) | ||
| Place of birth | Nazilli, Turkey | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1979 | Nazilli Sümerspor | ||
| 1979–1980 | Muğlaspor | 10 | (3) |
| 1980–1983 | Boluspor | 41 | (8) |
| 1983–1987 | Sarıyer | 119 | (29) |
| 1987–1994 | Fenerbahçe | 108 | (32) |
| Total | 278 | (72) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1992 | Turkey | 29 | (5) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Vanspor | ||
| 1999–2000 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 2000 | Konyaspor | ||
| 2001 | Altay | ||
| 2001–2002 | Adanaspor | ||
| 2002–2003 | Karşıyaka | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rıdvan Dilmen (born 15 August 1962) is a Turkish former professionalfootballer who played as aattacking midfielder orwinger, notably forFenerbahçe and theTurkey national team. During his career Dilmen established himself as one of the most skilled players of theSüper Lig.
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.
Dilmen made his debut with Sümerspor in 1977. He transferred toMuğlaspor in exchange for 25 footballs in 1979 and then became a renowned player forBoluspor between 1980–1983. After playing forSarıyer between 1983–1987, he signed forFenerbahçe 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 againstTrabzonspor by the Serbian defenderMiodrag 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 theTurkey national team from 1984 to 1992.[1]
Dilmen worked as amanager forVanspor 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 fromUEFA Cup at an early stage. Dilmen was also employed as a manager forAltay SK andAdanaspor andKarşıyaka SK. So far, he doesn't have a successful managing career as he was expected to deliver.
Dilmen is a commentator atNTV Spor and a columnist atSabah; at the same time he does bet guesswork atFanatik 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 toSabah on 1 August 2010.