Abdullah Ercan

Abdullah Ercan — Biography

Abdullah Ercan was born on 8 December 1971 in Istanbul and completed his primary and secondary schooling in Beyoğlu Okçumusa. He was spotted while playing for the amateur club Beyoğlu Yeniçarşı (later renamed Güngören Belediyespor) and moved to Trabzonspor in 1990. Playing as a left-back and defensive midfielder, he spent the longest stretch of his career at Trabzonspor, winning the Turkish Cup twice and the Turkish Super Cup once with the club.

He transferred to Fenerbahçe for the 1999-2000 season and won the Süper Lig title with the club in 2000-01, at times serving as team captain. He moved on to Galatasaray in 2003-04 and then to İstanbulspor in 2004-05, retiring from playing there in 2006. Capped 71 times for Turkey's senior national team, Ercan also represented the country at under-18 and under-21 level, and was part of the squad that finished third at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, an achievement for which he received the Turkish State Medal of Distinguished Service.

After retiring as a player he moved into coaching, taking charge of Turkey's under-17 team from 2007 to 2009, managing Gaziantepspor during the 2011-12 season, and heading Turkey's under-21 team from 2013. In 2015 he was appointed assistant coach to Fatih Terim with the senior national team. In recent years he has continued to appear regularly as a television football pundit, commenting on Süper Lig matches and transfer news.