Mehmet Topal facts for kids
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Topal with Turkey in 2016
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mehmet Topal | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 March 1986 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Malatya, Turkey | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | 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 | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Mehmet Topal (born on March 3, 1986) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder. People called him Örümcek, which means "Spider" in Turkish. This was because he used his long legs to win the ball and stop passes.
Topal started his career at Dardanelspor. He then played for big clubs like Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, İstanbul Başakşehir, and Beşiktaş. He won seven major trophies in Turkey. He also played for the Spanish team Valencia for two years. Mehmet Topal played for the Turkish national team from 2008 to 2018. He played over 80 games and was part of two European Championships.
After his playing career, Topal became a manager. He worked for the Romanian club Petrolul Ploiești in 2024.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Mehmet Topal was born in Malatya, Turkey. He began his football journey at the age of 13 with his local club, Malatya B.S.. His first professional games were with Dardanel Spor A.Ş. in Turkey's third division.
In September 2006, Topal joined Süper Lig giant Galatasaray SK.
Time at Galatasaray
In his first season (2006–07) in Istanbul, Topal played in only 11 games. But when his teammate Tobias Linderoth got injured, Topal got a chance to play more. He later said that Linderoth helped him a lot with his game.
In April 2008, Topal signed a new five-year contract with Galatasaray. He played 26 matches in the 2007–08 season, helping his team win the national championship. During this time, he also started playing for the Turkish national team. There were rumors in 2008 that he might move to Everton in England, but he stayed with Galatasaray. He played around 22 games in the next few seasons, even though he had some injuries.
Moving to Valencia
On May 12, 2010, Topal joined Valencia CF in Spain. The transfer fee was about €5.5 million. On September 14, he played his first UEFA Champions League game with Valencia. He played the whole match in a 4–0 win against Turkish team Bursaspor.
Topal scored his first goal for Valencia on September 25, 2010, against Sporting de Gijón. In the UEFA Europa League, he scored the only goal against Stoke City on February 17, 2012. This goal helped his team win 2–0 overall and move to the next round. His goal from 30 yards away was considered one of the best in that tournament. He played six games as Valencia reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Playing for Fenerbahçe
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Topal moved to Fenerbahçe SK on July 1, 2012. He signed a four-year contract. In his second season (2013–14), he played 27 games and scored three goals. His team won the national championship after three years.
On August 11, 2015, while Topal was driving home after training, his car was shot at. He was safe. He played 11 games in the Europa League that season. He scored the only goal in the first game against S.C. Braga. In the second game, he was sent off (given a red card). Fenerbahçe lost that match.
On June 26, 2019, Topal, who was 33, left Fenerbahçe.
Time at Istanbul Başakşehir
On August 26, 2019, Topal joined İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. on a two-year deal. At the end of the 2019–20 season, his team won the domestic league. This made him the first player to win the league with three different teams.
International Career
Topal played his first game for Turkey on February 6, 2008. He came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Sweden. Soon after, he was chosen for the UEFA Euro 2008 team. He played almost every game as Turkey reached the semi-finals.
On May 22, 2016, Topal was the captain for Turkey for the first time. This was in a friendly game against England. A week later, he scored his first goal for his country in his 58th game. It was a last-minute winning goal against Montenegro. He was also chosen for UEFA Euro 2016. He started in all the matches, sometimes playing as a central defender.
Managerial Career
Topal started his career as a manager on June 6, 2024. He joined the Romanian club Petrolul Ploiești. He resigned on December 22, 2024. At that time, his team was in sixth place in the league, which was one of their best results. Petrolul Ploiești said his decision was for personal reasons, but Topal said this was not true on his Instagram account. His contract officially ended on December 31, 2024.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National cup | 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 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | 26 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 39 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 36 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 4 | |||
| Valencia | 2010–11 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | – | 30 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 43 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | – | 59 | 3 | ||||
| Fenerbahçe | 2012–13 | Süper Lig | 27 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 4 | |
| 2013–14 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| 2014–15 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 2 | — | 1 | 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 | 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 | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| Total | 50 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 3 | |||
| Beşiktaş | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Career total | 427 | 25 | 61 | 6 | 104 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 597 | 38 | |||
International Appearances
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| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | |||
| 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 | |
- Turkey's score is listed first. The score column shows the score after each goal by Topal.
| 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 |
Managerial Statistics
| 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 | 32.00 |
| Petrolul Ploiești |
18 March 2025 | 24 May 2025 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 37.50 |
| Total | 33 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 33.33 | ||
Trophies and Awards
Mehmet Topal won several important trophies during his career:
Galatasaray
- Süper Lig: 2007–08
- Turkish Super Cup: 2008
Fenerbahçe
- Süper Lig: 2013–14
- Turkish Cup: 2012–13
- Turkish Super Cup: 2014
İstanbul Başakşehir
- Süper Lig: 2019–20
Beşiktaş
- Turkish Super Cup: 2021
Turkey National Team
- UEFA European Championship third place: 2008
Individual Awards
- Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2014–15
See also
In Spanish: Mehmet Topal para niños
