Mehmet Özdilek

Mehmet "Şifo" Özdilek (born 1 April 1966, in Samsun) is a Turkish football manager and former player. He is nicknamed "Şifo" after Belgian star Enzo Scifo with whom he shared a similar playing style.

Mehmet Özdilek
Personal information
Full name Mehmet Özdilek
Date of birth (1966-04-01) 1 April 1966
Place of birth Samsun, Turkey
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5+12 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1981–1984 Samsun Ladikspor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1988 Kahramanmaraşspor 107 (63)
1988–2001 Beşiktaş 386 (130)
Total 493 (193)
International career
1990–1997 Turkey 31 (0)
Managerial career
2004 Malatyaspor
2005 Sarıyer (youth)
2005 Turkey (assistant)
2007–2008 Yakacık Futbol Okulu (coach)
2008–2013 Antalyaspor
2013–2014 Gençlerbirliği
2014 Çaykur Rizespor
2015 Kayseri Erciyesspor
2015 Gençlerbirliği
2017 Turkey (assistant)
2017–2018 Konyaspor
2019 BB Erzurumspor
2019–2020 Denizlispor
2020 BB Erzurumspor
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Having spent most of his professional career with Beşiktaş, he is regarded as one of the idols of the İstanbul side. Özdilek is one of the most prolific scorers of Turkish football despite playing mainly in midfield. During his Beşiktaş days he has managed to score 130 goals which was a record for most goals scored by a midfield player in Turkish top-flight.

For 13 years, Beşiktaş has worn his form. In 1991, he won the Footballer of the Year award in Turkey.[1] He took part in the squad which was the "Undefeated Champion" in 1992. With 130 goals It is the domestic midfielder who scored the most points of the Süper Lig in all time.[2] He also scored 100 goals and entered the 100s club. He was captain of Beşiktaş for 4 years.[3] On behalf of Mehmet Özdilek, who won the appreciation of everyone who is impartial with the personality of the example, the Special Jubilee Match was organized by Besiktas with AC Milan on 4 August 2001.[4] Beşiktaş's Milan defeat at the BJK İnönü Stadium led to one of the most spectacular jubilees of the Turkish Football History.[5] The match donated all of its income to the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) itself.[6] He never saw any red cards in official matches in his career.[3][7][8]

Club career

Early years

Born in Samsun, Özdilek started to play at the amateur level with his hometown outfit Samsun Ladikspor. While he was only 16, he was scouted and picked up by Kahramanmaraşspor, a team which has freshly promoted to the second-tier of Turkish football. Özdilek managed to make an immediate impact on his new team and became a regular of the starting line-up while Kahramanmaraşspor's record in the league improved every season. In the 1986–87 campaign, Özdilek had an outstanding season and became the topscorer of the Turkish 1. League with 29 goals while his team narrowly missed promotion. The following season proved to be an even more successful one for Kahramanmaraşspor. With Özdilek's contribution the team finished at the top of the league and promoted to the first-tier of Turkish football for the first time in their short history. His consistently high performance did not go unnoticed and at the end of the 1987–88 season he was transferred to Beşiktaş, the team which he spent the remainder of his career with.

Beşiktaş

In Özdilek's first year Beşiktaş have won the Turkish Cup and came second in the league. The following years proved to be even more successful for the team. Under Gordon Milne's helm, Beşiktaş's young outfit started to dominate Turkish football in a way which was unprecedented before. In the 1988–89 season Beşiktaş claimed the double, winning both the league and the Turkish Cup and broke the record for the highest scoring game of Turkish football history, beating Adana Demirspor 10–0. Özdilek contributed to this glorius season by scoring a goal in the Cup final against Trabzonspor. In the following year, Beşiktaş became the league champion again without breaking much sweat. The team has lost only one game throughout the campaign but the team managed to improve even more on the next season. In the 1991–92 football season, Beşiktaş became the only undefeated champion of the Turkish top-flight while Özdilek netted 12 goals. This record-breaking string of results came to an end only in the following season when Beşiktaş was finally beaten by Galatasaray after 48 weeks. 1992–93 season ended bitterly for Beşiktaş when the team did not just lost the Turkish Cup to Galatasaray in the Cup final, but also lost the championship to after 3 years to the same team on goal difference while Özdilek scored 13 goals in the campaign.

1993–94 season was not a successful one. For the first time in 8 years, Beşiktaş finished the league outside of the top two while Özdilek had a quiet year comparing to his high standards and netted 8 goals. The sole consolation of the year was another Turkish Cup added to the club's trophy cabinet. Next year saw the arrival of Christoph Daum replacing Milne, revitalising the team and winning the league again. This was Özdilek's 4. league title with Beşiktaş and he contributed to campaign with 8 goals. In the 1995–96 season Özdilek was in top form again, netting 11 goals while Beşiktaş finished the league at the third place. Mehmet continued to score heavily on the next season and scored 11 goals in the league while Beşiktaş improved comparing to the last season and finishing the league at the second place after Galatasaray. The following season proved to be one of the least successful campaigns of Beşiktaş. The team finished the league at the sixth place. Along with the Turkish Cup title, Özdilek's spectacular performance was a source of consolation. Mehmet scored 16 times in the league, becoming third most-scoring among all the players and the most-scoring midfield player. He also scored in the Cup final against Galatasaray. This was Özdilek's fourth Cup title with Beşiktaş.

Beşiktaş lost against Valerenga and was eliminated from the Cup Winners' Cup. Then a middle-aged man was shouting behind the crowd behind the wire looms: "Captaaaiiinnn!". The black and white captain, Özdilek, did not remain indifferent to the man's call, facing the other side of the wire. "When the first half is over I told my son to go to bed because he would go to school tomorrow. What am I going to say to this kid when he wakes up in the morning? How will I say that Beşiktaş is being handed down for God's sake?" [9] Özdilek apologized.[10]

In 1998–99 season Beşiktaş once again came very close to a double and prevented by Galatasaray. The Black Eagles lost the league with just one point difference. Özdilek scored heavily in this season, too, and netted 13 goals. In the next year, the scenario remained the same. Galatasaray won the league with four-point ahead of Beşiktaş while Mehmet scored 11 goals in the contest. Following season proved to be the last one for Özdilek and he retired from football after playing 14 years for Beşiktaş. He wore the black and white colours for the last time on the pitch in a testimonial honouring his services for his club against the Italian giants, AC Milan. Gathered money was donated to a charity which grants free education to the children in need.

With 130 goals under his belt, Mehmet is still, the second most-scoring player of Beşiktaş's history after Feyyaz Uçar.

International career

During his playing career, he made 31 appearances for the Turkey national football team from 1990 to 1997.[11] He played at UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying, 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification and 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification stages.

Style of play

Özdilek used both legs with the same skill, turning his opponents head-to-head with unbelievable strikes. Although it was short, it made a very aesthetic head kick. Great goals scored, nice unforgettable goals rust out of the feet. The wrists were soft and he turned the soccer ball between his feet as he wanted. The midfield served as the brains of the team, directing the game as he wanted, not showing the ball in the opposite direction. He attracted attention with his sportsmanship in the field, approached his fans with love and humility, respecting his opponents.[12]

Coaching career

Mehmet Ozdilek resigned as coach of the Turkey national football team. He then worked in many Turkish clubs. In 2013, at a Turkish nightclub, Özdilek was seen having a large beer.

Career statistics

Club

Sources:[13][14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Turkish Cup Super Cup Continental Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kahramanmaraşspor 1984–85 2.Lig 22240262
1985–86 2.Lig 29600296
1986–87 2.Lig 2429002429
1987–88 2.Lig 3226003226
Total 107634011163
Beşiktaş 1988–89 1.Lig 348101102020499
1989–90 1.Lig 30344102021398
1990–91 1.Lig 2710211020223413
1991–92 1.Lig 3012211121213716
1992–93 1.Lig 2814611020103815
1993–94 1.Lig 259401041103510
1994–95 1.Lig 31810103110379
1995–96 1.Lig 3311300021404212
1996–97 1.Lig 3111510080324714
1997–98 1.Lig 2915521072004219
1998–99 1.Lig 2713600041203914
1999–2000 1.Lig 3311100020003611
2000–01 1.Lig 28521008000386
Total 386130511281487206513156
Career total 493193551281487206624219

International

Turkey national team
YearAppsGoals
199040
199160
199280
199350
199410
199520
199610
199740
Total310

Managerial

Last updated 4 June 2013

Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Malatyaspor Turkey 2004 2004 18 4 6 8 022.22
Antalyaspor Turkey 2008 2013 201 77 48 76 038.31
Gençlerbirliği Turkey 2013 2014 28 13 5 10 046.43
Çaykur Rizespor Turkey 2014 2015 23 6 4 13 026.09
Gençlerbirliği Turkey 2015 5 1 1 3 020.00
Total 219 81 54 84 036.99

Honours

Club

Kahramanmaraşspor

Beşiktaş

Winner: (19 Cups)

Runner-up: (12 Cups)

Individual

  • Turkish 1. League Topscorer: 1986/87, 1987–88
  • Turkish Player of the Year: 1991
  • 100's club member: 130 goals in 386 matches
  • Turkish Cup Topscorer 1990: 4 goals
  • Beşiktaş is the 2nd footballer who wears the most in European Cups: 48 matches
  • Beşiktaş formally scored the most goals in all times in Süper Lig local midfielder: 130 goals[2]
  • He is the domestic midfielder who scored the most points in all time in the Super League: 130 goals[2]
  • 513 appearances with Beşiktaş has been the second footballer since Rıza Çalımbay in the official matches since 1959.[15]
  • Beşiktaş Süper Lig 3 football players who played most matches: 386 matches
  • Beşiktaş has scored the most goals in official matches since the founding of the 4th footballer: 156 goals
  • After Beşiktaş's Feyyaz Uçar, he scored most goals in the Süper Lig, 2nd footballer: 130 goals
  • Beşiktaş J.K. Squads of Century (Bronze Team)[16]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.