Mehmet Özdilek

Turkish footballer and manager

Mehmet "Şifo" Özdilek (born 1 April 1966, in Samsun) is a Turkish football manager and former player. He is nicknamed "Şifo" after Belgian star Enzo Scifo with whom he shared a similar playing style. Having spent most of his professional career with Beşiktaş, he is regarded as one of the idols of the İstanbul side. Özdilek is one of the most prolific scorers of Turkish football despite playing mainly in midfield. During his Beşiktaş days he has managed to score 130 goals which was a record for most goals scored by a midfield player in Turkish top flight. For 13 years, Beşiktaş has worn his form. In 1991, he won the Footballer of the Year award in Turkey. He took part in the squad which was the "Undefeated Champion" in 1992. With 130 goals It is the domestic midfielder who scored the most points of the Süper Lig in all time. He also scored 100 goals and entered the 100s club. He was captain of Beşiktaş for 4 years. On behalf of Mehmet Özdilek, who won the appreciation of everyone who is impartial with the personality of the example, the Special Jubilee Match was organized by Besiktas with AC Milan on 4 August 2001. Beşiktaş's Milan defeat at the BJK İnönü Stadium led to one of the most spectacular jubilees of the Turkish Football History. The match donated all of its income to the Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) itself. He never saw any red cards in official matches in his career.

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.

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 Turkish football history, beating Adana Demirspor 10–0. Özdilek contributed to this glorius season by scoring a goal in the Cup final against Trabzonspor. In the following year, Beşiktaş became the league champion again without breaking much sweat. The team has lost only one game throughout the campaign but the team managed to improve even more on the next season. In the 1991–92 football season, Beşiktaş became the only undefeated champion of the Turkish top flight while Özdilek netted 12 goals. This record breaking string of results came to an end only in the following season when Beşiktaş was finally beaten by Galatasaray after 48 weeks. 1992–93 season ended bitterly for Beşiktaş when the team did not just lost the Turkish Cup to Galatasaray in the Cup final, but also lost the championship to after 3 years to the same team on goal difference while Özdilek scored 13 goals in the campaign. 1993–94 season was not a successful one. For the first time in 8 years, Beşiktaş finished the league outside of the top two while Özdilek had a quiet year comparing to his high standards and netted 8 goals. The sole consolation of the year was another Turkish Cup added to the club's trophy cabinet. Next year saw the arrival of Christoph Daum replacing Milne, revitalising the team and winning the league again. This was Özdilek's 4. league title with Beşiktaş and he contributed to campaign with 8 goals. In the 1995–96 season Özdilek was in top form again, netting 11 goals while Beşiktaş finished the league at the third place. Mehmet continued to score heavily on the next season and scored 11 goals in the league while Beşiktaş improved comparing to the last season and finishing the league at the second place after Galatasaray. The following season proved to be one of the least successful campaigns of Beşiktaş. The team finished the league at the sixth place. Along with the Turkish Cup title, Özdilek's spectacular performance was a source of consolation. Mehmet scored 16 times in the league, becoming third most scoring among all the players and the most scoring midfield player. He also scored in the Cup final against Galatasaray. This was Özdilek's fourth Cup title with Beşiktaş. Beşiktaş lost against Valerenga and was eliminated from the Cup Winners' Cup. Then a middle aged man was shouting behind the crowd behind the wire looms: "Captaaaiiinnn!". The black and white captain, Özdilek, did not remain indifferent to the man's call, facing the other side of the wire. "When the first half is over I told my son to go to bed because he would go to school tomorrow. What am I going to say to this kid when he wakes up in the morning? How will I say that Beşiktaş is being handed down for God's sake?" Özdilek apologized. In 1998–99 season Beşiktaş once again came very close to a double and prevented by Galatasaray. The Black Eagles lost the league with just one point difference. Özdilek scored heavily in this season, too, and netted 13 goals. In the next year, the scenario remained the same. Galatasaray won the league with four point ahead of Beşiktaş while Mehmet scored 11 goals in the contest. Following season proved to be the last one for Özdilek and he retired from football after playing 14 years for Beşiktaş. He wore the black and white colours for the last time on the pitch in a testimonial honouring his services for his club against the Italian giants, AC Milan. Gathered money was donated to a charity which grants free education to the children in need. With 130 goals under his belt, Mehmet is still, the second most scoring player of Beşiktaş's history after Feyyaz Uçar.

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. In 2013, at a Turkish nightclub, Özdilek was seen having a large beer.