Arif Erdem is a retired Turkish international football player of Albanian descent and the former manager of İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor.
Education
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 2001-2002 season. He was a part of the Turkey national football team that finished third at the 2002 Fédération internationale de football association World Cup.
Career
He played in the forward position. Starting out with local club Zeytinburnuspor in 1990, Arif had a decorated 15-year professional career. Arif was capped 60 times, scoring eleven goals.
Arif played for Zeytinburnuspor before signing his first professional contract with Galatasaray on 1 June 1991.
He made 29 total appearances in his first season with the club, scoring four goals. The next season, 1993-1994, was Arif"s most successful to date.
His nine goals in the league helped Galatasaray earn another league title. Arif left Galatasaray for Real Sociedad at the start of the 2000-2001.
However, he regretted joining the club, saying "the only thing I wanted was to move to a European team
I didn"t even think about it, I signed the first offer I received." Arif was plagued by injuries during his tenure, and he left the Spanish club after six months, scoring one goal in two appearances. He signed with Galatasaray on 14 November 2000. Arif began his international career with the Turkey national under-21 football team in 1991, scoring one goal in 10 caps.
He participated in the Akdeniz Cup with the Turkish Olympic team in 1993, and earned his first senior team cap in 1994.
His senior international career lasted from 1994 to 2003, where he scored 11 goals in 60 appearances.