Arif Erdem

Arif Erdem strikes me as the kind of forward whose numbers quietly do the talking. A 15-year career, 106 league goals in 341 matches, and a shared Golden Boot in 2001-02 tell me he was a finisher who stayed sharp deep into his thirties rather than a flash-in-the-pan talent. What I find most telling is the climb from a modest Istanbul club to the top of the Süper Lig, and then the pivot into coaching. That move suggests a player who thought about the game beyond his own goal tally. He feels like one of those understated pillars of Turkish football's strongest era.

Arif Erdem (born 2 January 1972) is a Turkish retired football manager and former professional player who played in the forward position. Starting out with local club Zeytinburnuspor in 1990, Erdem had a decorated 15-year professional career. He scored 106 goals in 341 league matches and finished joint top scorer (Gol Kralı) of the Süper Lig with İlhan Mansız at the conclusion of the 2001–02 season.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

Arif Erdem

Name (Japanese)

アリフ・エルデム

Reading

ありふ・えるでむ

Born

January 2, 1972 (age 54)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Rat

Origin

Istanbul, Istanbul Province, Turkey

Blood type

Private

Height

178 cm

Agency

Private

Occupation

association football player / association football coach

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AA%E3%83%95%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AB%E3%83%87%E3%83%A0

Tags

• Istanbul Province
• association football player
• association football coach

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.