Levent Eriş

Levent Eriş — Biography

Levent Eriş was born on 17 September 1962 in İzmir. He began in the İzmirspor youth setup and was picked early for Turkey's youth sides (three caps at under-18, two at under-21). He moved to Samsunspor for 1985-86 and helped the team finish third in 1985-86 and 1986-87 and fourth in 1987-88. On 20 January 1989 he was in the squad travelling to the match against Malatyaspor when the team bus crashed, the tragedy remembered as the "20 Ocak Faciası"; he escaped unhurt. He returned to İzmirspor in 1989-90, also played for Alanyaspor, Yeni Sincanspor, Bucaspor, Karşıyaka and Kuşadasıspor, and retired at the end of 1997-98.

He began coaching as an assistant at İzmirspor and some years later took charge of Manisaspor. He has managed many sides, among them Altay, Karşıyaka, Bursaspor, Malatyaspor, Samsunspor, Mersin İdman Yurdu, Adana Demirspor, Kayseri Erciyesspor, Giresunspor, Boluspor and Adanaspor. He led Manisaspor to the Süper Lig in 2004-05 and again in 2008-09, when they also won the First League title, making him one of the coaches to earn promotion to the top flight twice. He holds the UEFA Pro Licence.

Later he worked at Bucaspor, Gümüşhanespor, Fethiyespor, Elazığspor, Kastamonuspor, Diyarbekirspor and Artvin Hopaspor, parting ways with Manisa FK in January 2023 and Kastamonuspor in February 2024. He returned to İzmir Çoruhlu FK in October 2025, left in February 2026 and moved to Artvin Hopaspor in March 2026.