Abdullah Ercan

Abdullah Ercan — Biography

Abdullah Ercan is a former Turkish international who was part of the squad that finished third at the 2002 World Cup and later moved into coaching. A left-back and defensive midfielder, he won 71 caps for the senior national side. After retiring he worked with Turkey's youth teams and with a club, and today he comments on Turkish football in newspaper columns and on television.

He was spotted while playing for the Istanbul amateur side Beyoğlu Yeniçarşı and moved to Trabzonspor in 1990, where he spent the longest stretch of his career. With the club he won the Turkish Cup in 1992 and 1995 and the Super Cup in 1995. In 1999 he joined Fenerbahçe, won the Süper Lig in 2000-01 and, as a Fenerbahçe player, captained the national side (twice in total). He moved to Galatasaray in 2003 and to İstanbulspor a year later, and stopped playing in 2006. He was in the national team from 1993 to 2003 and also played at youth levels. He holds the Turkish State Medal of Distinguished Service.

His first coaching job was with the Turkey under-17 side from 2007 to 2009. In the 2011-12 season he took over Gaziantepspor, but on January 26, 2012, he announced that he and his team were resigning. From August 2013 he coached the Turkey under-21 side, and in 2015 he was appointed assistant to Fatih Terim with the senior national team.