Mehmet Özdilek

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…

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

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.

Mehmet Ozdilek resigned as coach of the Turkey national football team. He then worked in many Turkish clubs.