19.07.2026 18:20
Ziya Erdal, former captain of Sivasspor, one of the teams in the Trendyol 1st League, has returned to the red-and-white team as an assistant coach after wearing their jersey for 17 years.
Ziya Erdal, former captain of Trendyol 1. Lig team Sivasspor, has returned to the red-white team as an assistant coach after wearing their jersey for 17 years. Ziya Erdal told AA correspondent that he first came to the Sivasspor PAF team in 2006, played there for 2 years, and then went on loan to Kırşehirspor and Anadolu Üsküdar.
"I THINK I LEFT GOOD IMPRESSIONS"
Erdal, who stated that he returned to the A team in 2010 and regularly wore the Sivasspor jersey with honor and pride until 2025, said, "When I first set foot in Sivasspor, I was a young athlete with dreams. 17 years have passed in this process. In this 15-year professional period, there were successful and unsuccessful times. I always tried to fight. I think I left good impressions and played in good times. This process has come this far. Now we are on a different path."
Erdal thanked club president Burak Özçoban and technical director İsmet Taşdemir, who deemed him worthy of this duty. Erdal also thanked Mecnun Otyakmaz, Bahattin Eken, and Erdal Sarılar, who always have a special place in his heart, and continued as follows:
"When they first called me, I was really happy, very pleased. Because what I wanted most was to play football at Sivasspor and then become a coach for this team. Of course, if I am a coach today, I think the last 17 years have been valuable and I laid the groundwork back then. Especially in the last 5-6 years, I tried to prepare myself by researching training methods and workout details. Today we said 'Bismillah.' Hopefully, I will continue to develop myself under the leadership of our coach İsmet, benefiting from his experience."
"HOPEFULLY WE WILL TAKE SIVASSPOR TO WHERE IT DESERVES"
Erdal stated that he wants to learn practical applications on the field and noted:
"After that, slowly, hopefully, if fate permits, I want to be the coach of this team one day. I express my gratitude to all Sivasspor fans who have not withheld their support during this 17-year period. Without them, we are nothing both individually and as a team. The true owner of Sivasspor is truly the fans. Sivasspor has been going through difficult times for 1-2 years. I want to serve this community regardless of Sivasspor's situation. They said come, and I came. With President Burak and our coach İsmet, we will show a good performance this year. Hopefully, we will take Sivasspor to where it deserves. This team is everyone's team. We say Sivasspor is Sivas's biggest brand value. First, I want to call for unity and solidarity to our fans and community. Once we unite, we can achieve everything on the field."
"COACHING IS A VERY DIFFERENT PATH"
Ziya Erdal expressed the unique excitement of working with friends he played football with.
Erdal, who said they constantly talk about football with his friends outside of training, said, "They also tell me I can really be a coach. This is very valuable because being thought of that way by them is pleasing. Coaching, as I said, is a very different path, and hopefully I think I can achieve it. We are a bit late in this process, but our work is going quite well. Our transfer board is unfortunately closed right now, but the necessary people will take the necessary precautions. It has been a tough period, but there is a trend towards improvement now. If we are united, good days await Sivasspor."