Alpaslan Eradlı

Alpaslan Eradlı — Biography

Alpaslan Eradlı was Fenerbahçe's calm and elegant sweeper from 1973 to 1983 and is counted among the unforgettable liberos of Turkish football. He made 414 appearances for the yellow-and-navy side, scored 38 goals and captained both his club and the national team. Fenerbahçe supporters still regard him as one of the most important players in the club's history.

He began at Cerrahpaşa in the Istanbul amateur league, turned professional with İstanbulspor and moved to Fenerbahçe in 1973. He played as a sweeper and left back in the back four, and his technical, composed style drew comparisons with Franz Beckenbauer, the sweeper star of the day. In his first seasons at Fenerbahçe he won league titles in 1973-74 and 1974-75. He was injured in 1978 and missed a year before returning. When Cemil Turan retired in the summer of 1980 he took over the captain's armband and kept it to the end of his career. He said farewell to football with a testimonial match in 1983, winning both the league and the Turkish Cup in his final season.

He earned 26 senior caps for Turkey, 4 of them while at İstanbulspor and 22 at Fenerbahçe, plus 4 caps at under-21 level. With Fenerbahçe he won four league titles, three Turkish Cups, two Presidents Cups and seven TSYD Cups.