Erol Bulut appointed as the new first team manager at Cardiff City

Cardiff City has announced the appointment of Erol Bulut as their new first team manager.

The 48-year-old brings a wealth of experience from top European football leagues, both as a player and manager, and will take over the reins at Cardiff City Stadium.

German-born Bulut's football journey began at Eintracht Frankfurt, coming through the club's Academy.

His playing career later took him to clubs like Fenerbahçe and Olympiacos, where he earned major national honours and represented both clubs in the UEFA Champions League.

His successful transition into management began in 2017.

As a manager, Bulut guided Yeni Malatyaspor to a club-record fifth-place finish in the Turkish Süper Lig in 2019, qualifying them for the UEFA Europa League.

He then moved to Alyanaspor, leading them to their first domestic Cup Final and once again to the Europa League qualifying stages.

In 2020, Bulut took charge at former club and European giant, Fenerbahçe, where he secured an impressive 21 wins from 34 matches, and achieved the club's highest recorded away win percentage.

Club owner, Tan Sri Vincent Tan expressed his confidence in the appointment of Bulut, citing his enthusiasm, hard work ethic, and vast experience as key attributes.

Tan said, "This level of experience is needed at this time and I think will prove invaluable to the squad... His excellent record in European football represents a standard of managerial experience that we have not had at Cardiff City before. His experience in this field, I hope, will allow us to attract a higher profile and standard of player in the coming years."

This appointment follows after Cardiff City's decision not to renew the contract of the previous manager, Sabri Lamouchi, making Bulut the club's third manager in six months.

Lamouchi, who had joined on a short-term deal in January, managed to prevent the club from relegating to League One.