İsmet Taşdemir

İsmet Taşdemir — Biography

İsmet Taşdemir is a former Turkish footballer and head coach born in 1974 in Iğdır (only the birth year is confirmed by the sources; the day and month are unclear). He began his playing career with Ümraniyespor in the 1990-91 season, then played for Denizlispor, İstanbulspor, Kayseri Erciyesspor, and Samsunspor, where he spent four seasons and took part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. He later moved to Ankaragücü and several other clubs before joining Türk Telekomspor in the 2007-08 season, retiring at the end of 2009-10. He earned twelve caps for Turkey's under-21 team, his last appearance coming in a 1996 European Championship qualifying match.

Taşdemir began his coaching career at Sivasspor and went on to manage Türk Telekomspor, served as an assistant coach at Samsunspor, and led Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyespor, Kocaeli Birlik Spor and MKE Ankaragücü, taking Ankaragücü from the second tier's red group to the first tier in 2016-17. He moved to Altay in December 2017, then guided Bodrum FK up to the first tier in 2021-22 and to the Süper Lig in 2023-24. He signed with Kocaelispor in December 2024, left after promoting the club to the Süper Lig, and took charge of Gaziantep FK at the start of the 2025-26 season. He was appointed Sivasspor's head coach in 2026, departed in June 2026, and returned to the same post that July.