Back محمد توبال Arabic محمد توبال ARZ Mehmet Topal Azerbaijani محمت توپال AZB Mehmet Topal Catalan Mehmet Topal Czech Mehmet Topal Danish Mehmet Topal German Mehmet Topal Esperanto Mehmet Topal Spanish
.jpg) Topal with Turkey in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Mehmet Topal (born 3 March 1986) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. A defensive midfielder, he was nicknamed Örümcek (Turkish: Spider) for his ability to use his long legs to win loose balls or cut passes.[1][2]
Topal started his senior career at Dardanelspor, and went on to represent Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, İstanbul Başakşehir, and Beşiktaş, respectively, totalling seven major trophies in his native country. He also had a two-year spell with Spanish team Valencia. An international for Turkey between 2008 and 2018, Topal amassed over 80 appearances and was selected for two European Championships.
As a manager, Topal debuted with a six-month stint at Romanian club Petrolul Ploiești in 2024.
- ^ Summerscales, Robert (20 April 2016). "Mehmet Topal to Tottenham on free transfer agreed in principle". Caught Offside. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Sarigul, Emre (7 June 2016). "Shot at twice and still thriving: Mehmet 'The Spider' Topal is Turkey's rock". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 7 November 2017.