Erol Bulut

Erol Bulut (born 30 January 1975) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. He is currently managing EFL Championship club Cardiff City.

Football
Born in Bad Schwalbach, West Germany, During his career as a football player, Erol Bulut achieved notable successes. He represented Turkey in the under-21 international level. His journey began with various German clubs in his youth. In 1995, he transferred from Eintracht Frankfurt to Fenerbahçe in Turkey, where he secured the Süper Lig title in the following season. Afterward, he returned to Eintracht Frankfurt briefly in 1999 before mainly playing on loan for Turkish clubs. Notably, he impressed at Greece's Panionios and was voted the league's best foreign player.

Bulut continued his career trajectory, moving between various clubs. He returned to Turkey in 2003 with Bursaspor, followed by a stint at 1860 Munich in Germany. His move to Greece's Olympiacos in 2005 proved fruitful, as he won the Super League Greece and Greek Football Cup in his initial year. His contract was terminated during the second season. After subsequent trials at European clubs, he played for Ukraine's Metalurh Donetsk in 2007. From 2008–09, he joined Greece's second division club Olympiacos Volos, eventually moving to OFI Crete in January 2011 and securing promotion to the Super League.

Bulut's playing career concluded after a second promotion with Veria in the summer of 2012. He underwent trial periods at clubs like Stoke City, Rangers, and Newcastle United.

Futsal
Bulut played futsal and became a member of the Turkey national futsal team in the UEFA Futsal Championship.

Managerial career
Bulut's coaching journey began in October 2012 as a co-assistant at Kartalspor. He continued in the same role at Yeni Malatyaspor, Elazığspor, and İstanbul Başakşehir.

In September 2017, he became a head coach for the first time at Yeni Malatyaspor, a newly promoted team, successfully ensuring their place in the top-tier league. In the subsequent 2018/19 season, he guided the Anatolian club to the semi-finals of the Turkish Cup, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Galatasaray. In late April 2019, Bulut resigned with five matchdays remaining in the season.

During the 2019–20 season, he took on the role of head coach at Alanyaspor, a prominent Turkish top-tier club. Under his leadership, the team secured a fifth-place league finish and reached the Turkish Cup final. This accomplishment marked the club's first qualification for the Europa League qualification rounds.

In the following season 2020–21, Bulut returned to his initial professional playing club, Fenerbahçe, to assume the position of head coach. However, in March 2021, the club and Bulut decided to part ways. Subsequently, in May 2021, Bulut signed a three-year contract with Gaziantep, another Turkish top-tier club. However, they parted ways in January 2023.

On 3 June 2023, Bulut was appointed manager of Championship club Cardiff City. During his time at the club, he has led Cardiff City to 3 derby victories, including a 2-0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium against fierce South Wales rivals Swansea City. On 4 June 2024, he signed a new two-year contract extension.

Player
Fenerbahçe
 * Süper Lig: 1995–96
 * Atatürk Cup: 1998

Olympiacos
 * Super League Greece: 2005–06, 2006–07
 * Greek Football Cup: 2005–06

Olympiacos Volos
 * Football League Greece: 2009–10

Manager
Alanyaspor
 * Turkish Cup Runner-up: 2019–20