İsmail Atalan

İsmail Atalan — Biography

İsmail Atalan was born on 1 April 1980 in Turkey. Of German-Turkish background, he moved from a playing career into football management, taking charge of several clubs in Germany's lower divisions.

He is best remembered for guiding Sportfreunde Lotte to a memorable German Cup upset over Bayer Leverkusen. On the strength of that run, he was appointed head coach of VfL Bochum in 2017, though he departed the role before the year was out. Having also worked with clubs in Austria, Atalan has built a reputation as both a former player and a coach within German-Turkish football circles.