Volkan Demirel (Turkish: [voɫkan demiɾel]; born 27 October 1981) is a Turkish football coach, pundit and former international goalkeeper who's the current head coach of Bodrum. For many years, he was the starting goalkeeper of Fenerbahçe and the Turkey national team.

Volkan Demirel
Demirel with Fenerbahçe in 2014
Personal information
Full name Volkan Demirel[1]
Date of birth (1981-10-27) 27 October 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Istanbul, Turkey
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Bodrum (head coach)
Youth career
1999–2000 Kartalspor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 Kartalspor 51 (0)
2002–2019 Fenerbahçe 396 (0)
Total 447 (0)
International career
2001 Turkey U20 5 (0)
2001–2003 Turkey U21 17 (0)
2004–2014 Turkey 63 (0)
Managerial career
2019–2021 Fenerbahçe (assistant)
2021–2022 Fatih Karagümrük
2022–2024 Hatayspor
2024– Bodrum
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Demirel was born in Fatih, Istanbul to a family from Artvin with Georgian and Laz roots. He joined Kartalspor as an 18-year-old in 1999 and became the starting goalkeeper the following year.[2] Demirel played in 51 matches over the next two seasons, earning a transfer to Fenerbahçe at the start of the 2002 season.[2][3]

Originally backing up Rüştü Reçber and Recep Biler, Demirel made his debut for the club on 26 April 2003.[4] After Reçber's transfer to Barcelona, Demirel competed in 19 league matches, splitting time with Biler (who played in 14 matches). He also featured in three Turkish Cup matches and won the 2003–04 Süper Lig title with Fenerbahçe.[2][5]

Following season, Demirel won another Süper Lig title, but was relegated to the bench after Rüştü Reçber returned to the club at the start of the season.[5] Demirel was the starting goalkeeper at the start of the 2005–06 season, but was benched halfway through the season. At the start of the 2006–07, Demirel was the first choice keeper, but was supplanted by Reçber for a second time. After Reçber suffered an injury, Serdar Kulbilge took over as starting goalkeeper in favor of Demirel for the rest of the season.[6] Demirel played in 25 league matches the following season, with Kulbilge playing the rest.[2][6] Demirel was the starting goalkeeper for the Fenerbahçe squad that progressed past the group stages of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. In the Round of 16 tie with Sevilla, Demirel made several mistakes, costing two goals. However, he went on to save three penalties in the penalty shootout, helping the club progress to the quarter-finals, the first time in club history.[7] Fenerbahçe went on to face Chelsea, losing 2–3 on aggregate. Following Kulbilge's transfer to Kocaelispor, Demirel took over as starting goalkeeper.[2] Demirel signed a four-year contract extension at the end of the 2008–09 season.[2]

International career

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Demirel, playing for Turkey in 2011

Demirel was called up to the Turkey U-20 squad in 2001, being capped four times. He was capped by the Turkey U21 national team 21 times between 2001 and 2003, and earned his first call up to the Turkey national team in 2004.[2] He made his debut for the national team on 28 April 2004 in a friendly against Belgium. Demirel came on as a substitute in the second half.[8]

Demirel was the starting goalkeeper for the Turkey national team at the UEFA Euro 2008 championships, reaching the semi-finals for the first time in team history. He started all three group stages matches, but was suspended for two matches after receiving a red card against the Czech Republic for viciously pushing Jan Koller to the ground after Jan for unknown reasons ran and shouted at him.[9]

In 2014, just before the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Kazakhstan, Volkan Demirel left the Turkey national team after a dispute with a fan. After Demirel's refusal to play with the national team, Volkan Babacan took over as the starter for the UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifiers.

Managerial career

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On 2 September 2019, Fenerbahçe announced that Demirel was retired and would continue his career as an assistant coach in the team.[10] He worked under Ersun Yanal, Tahir Karapınar, Erol Bulut and Emre Belözoğlu respectively.

On 14 July 2021, it was announced that he ended his assistant coaching career at Fenerbahçe in a press conference he held with Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç.[11]

Fatih Karagümrük

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On 17 December 2021, Demirel signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Fatih Karagümrük[12]

His first match as manager was a 1–0 away win over Göztepe on 19 December.[13]

Hatayspor

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On 21 September 2022, Demirel signed with Hatayspor for one season with an option to extend.[14]

Personal life

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Volkan Demirel is married to former Miss Belgium Zeynep Sever.[15][16][17] They have two daughters named Yade (born in February 2014) and Yeda (born in September 2017).[18]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Turkish Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kartalspor 2000–01 TFF First League 22 0 22 0
2001–02 TFF First League 29 0 29 0
Total 51 0 51 0
Fenerbahçe 2002–03 Süper Lig 1 0 1 0
2003–04 Süper Lig 19 0 3 0 22 0
2004–05 Süper Lig 6 0 1 0 1[a] 0 8 0
2005–06 Süper Lig 18 0 7 0 6[a] 0 31 0
2006–07 Süper Lig 16 0 2 0 5[b] 0 23 0
2007–08 Süper Lig 25 0 4 0 12[a] 0 0 0 41 0
2008–09 Süper Lig 29 0 0 0 10[a] 0 39 0
2009–10 Süper Lig 32 0 6 0 12[c] 0 1[d] 0 51 0
2010–11 Süper Lig 32 0 0 0 2 0 34 0
2011–12 Süper Lig 38 0 1 0 39 0
2012–13 Süper Lig 28 0 2 0 15[e] 0 1[d] 0 46 0
2013–14 Süper Lig 29 0 0 0 4[a] 0 33 0
2014–15 Süper Lig 26 0 2 0 1[d] 0 29 0
2015–16 Süper Lig 32 0 1 0 7[f] 0 40 0
2016–17 Süper Lig 28 0 4 0 10[c] 0 42 0
2017–18 Süper Lig 25 0 3 0 2[c] 0 30 0
2018–19 Süper Lig 12 0 2 0 2[a] 0 16 0
Total 396 0 36 0 88 0 3 0 523 0
Career total 447 0 36 0 88 0 3 0 574 0
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b c Appearance in Turkish Super Cup
  5. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, thirteen appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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As of 12 November 2014[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Turkey 2004 3 0
2005 6 0
2006 3 0
2007 6 0
2008 12 0
2009 10 0
2010 7 0
2011 7 0
2012 3 0
2013 5 0
2014 1 0
Total 63 0

Managerial

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As of match played 2 March 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Fatih Karagümrük   17 December 2021 27 May 2022 24 12 5 7 33 27 6 050.00
Hatayspor   21 September 2022 19 6 5 8 18 35 −17 031.58
Total 43 18 10 15 51 62 −11 041.86

Honours

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Fenerbahçe

Turkey

References

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  1. ^ "Volkan Demirel" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g VOLKAN DEMİREL tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 23 August 2010
  3. ^ VOLKAN DEMİREL'İN PERFORMANSI Archived 11 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine turkfutbolu.net (in Turkish), accessed 23 August 2010
  4. ^ FENERBAHÇE 1–1 SAMSUNSPOR tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 23 August 2010
  5. ^ a b SPOR TOTO SÜPER LİG ŞAMPİYONLUKLARI tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 23 August 2010
  6. ^ a b SERDAR KULBİLGE tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 23 August 2010
  7. ^ Volkan the hero as Turkey's Fenerbahce beats Sevilla hurriyet.com.tr (in English), accessed 24 August 2010
  8. ^ BELÇİKA 2–3 TÜRKİYE tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 24 August 2010
  9. ^ Volkan Suspended For Two Games, Turkey Fined goal.com (in English), accessed 24 August 2010
  10. ^ "Volkan Demirel ile Omuz Omuza Yeni Bir Yolculuğa". fenerbahce.org (in Turkish). 2 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Bir Volkan'dır Fenerbahçe". fenerbahce.org (in Turkish). 14 July 2021.
  12. ^ @karagumruk_sk (17 December 2021). "Türk futbolunun önemli isimlerinden, eski milli futbolcu Volkan Demirel ile teknik sorumlu pozisyonu için 2,5 yıllık sözleşme imzaladık. Volkan Demirel'e ve ekibine başarılar dileriz" [We signed a 2.5-year contract for the managerial position with Volkan Demirel, an important name in Turkish football and ex-national team footballer. We wish Volkan Demirel and his staff success.] (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Karagümrük, Volkan Demirel'le kazandı!". sporx.com (in Turkish). 19 December 2021.
  14. ^ "ATAKAŞ HATAYSPOR'UMUZA HOŞ GELDİN VOLKAN DEMİREL" (in Turkish). Hatayspor. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Volkan Demirel dünya evine girdi" (in Turkish). fenerbahce.org. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  16. ^ "Kaleci Volkan evlendi". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 22 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  17. ^ "Ex-Miss België Zeynep Sever in verwachting". Het Nieuwsblad. 2 July 2013.
  18. ^ "İşte Volkan Demirel'in kızı Yade". www.hurriyet.com.tr. 9 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Volkan Demirel - International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Regulations of theUEFA European Football Championship" (PDF). UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Germany-Turkey | Line-ups | UEFA EURO". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  22. ^ "UEFA EURO 2008™ squad lists announced" (PDF). UEFA.com. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
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