Mehmet Topal

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Personal information
Mehmet Topal
Full name	Mehmet Topal
Date of birth	March 3, 1986 (1986-03-03) (age 22)
Place of birth	Malatya, Turkey
Height	1.87 m
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Galatasaray
Number	14
Youth clubs
1999–2002	Malatya Belediyespor
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–2006 2006–present	Çanakkale Dardanelspor Galatasaray	42 (4) 35 (1)
National team
2008-	Turkey	5 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Mehmet Topal (born 3 March 1986) is a Turkish football player currently playing for Galatasaray. His position is defensive midfielder and he wears the number 14. He signed in September of 2006 from Çanakkale Dardanelspor on the same day Galatasaray also signed Junichi Inamoto. He played only sporadically in his first season as he tried to make the adjustment to his new team.

Handed a chance to impress in the Galatasaray first team because of a rare pelvic condition which has afflicted Swedish international Tobias Linderoth, the 21-year-old defensive midfielder has been a big hit. As it was, Linderoth was ruled out in October, prompting German coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp to install the youngster as the first choice. It was a successful experiment, though Topal is grateful for the help the Swede gave him, saying: "He helped me a lot, told me about the areas I should improve and how to do so. Sadly, I got my chance through his injury but I want him to recover in the shortest time possible."

Capable of playing as a central defender or on the right side of midfield, Topal is talented with both feet, calm under pressure and possesses a fierce shot from distance.

He has been nicknamed Örümcek (Spider) for his ability to use his long legs to win loose balls or cut out passes.

In April 2008 he extended his contract with Galatasaray for five years until 31 May 2013

He won Turkcell Super League 2007-08, with Galatasaray.

[edit] Honours

Galatasaray
- Turkish League: 1 (2007-08)

[edit] External links

v • d • e

Galatasaray S.K. – current squad

1 Aykut • 2 Emre • 4 Song • 6 Linderoth • 7 Okan • 8 Barış • 9 Hakan Şükür • 10 Lincoln • 11 Hasan • 14 Mehmet Topal • 16 Carrusca • 18 Ayhan • 19 Bouzid • 20 Nonda • 21 Emre Aşık • 22 Hakan Balta • 27 Özcan • 33 Uğur • 35 Necati • 54 Orkun • 55 Sabri • 61 Serkan • 66 Arda • 74 Volkan • 76 Servet • 87 Mehmet Güven • 88 Fırat • 99 Ümit • - Ferdi • - Aydın • - Yaser •

Manager: Alain Perrin

v • d • e Turkey squad - Euro 2008

1 Rüştü • 2 Servet • 3 Hakan • 4 Gökhan • 5 Emre Belözoğlu • 6 Mehmet • 7 Aurélio • 8 Nihat • 9 Semih • 10 Gökdeniz • 11 Tümer • 12 Tolga • 13 Emre Güngör • 14 Arda • 15 Emre Aşık • 16 Uğur • 17 Tuncay • 18 Kazım • 19 Ayhan • 20 Sabri • 21 Mevlüt • 22 Hamit • 23 Volkan • Coach: Fatih Terim