Mehmet Yıldız

Mehmet Yıldız — Biography

Mehmet Yıldız (born 14 September 1981 in Yozgat) is a former Turkish international footballer who played as a striker. He began in small clubs before joining Sivasspor in 2000, and when regular first-team football did not come his way he was sent out to sides such as Çarşambaspor and Türk Telekomspor, where he scored the first goals of his professional career.

A loan spell at İstanbulspor, during which he scored 13 goals in half a season, made his name; back at Sivasspor a header against Beşiktaş brought him wider recognition, and under coach Bülent Uygun he became one of the club's principal goalscorers. He later played for Antalyaspor, Eskişehirspor, Mersin İdmanyurdu, Kardemir Karabükspor and Osmanlıspor, finishing his career at MKE Ankaragücü.

He won a single cap for Turkey, coming on in the closing minutes of an away fixture against Norway. Standing 1.83 m tall, he was counted among the Turkish forwards — alongside İlhan Mansız and Yusuf Şimşek — who came to prominence relatively late in their careers.