Erol Ates (born 19 June 1993) is a Finnish-Turkish football manager and a former player, currently working as a manager of Superettan club GIF Sundsvall. Ates has completed the UEFA Pro coaching license in 2022.[
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Early life
Ates was born in Konya, Turkey. He was raised in Turkey until 2007, when his family relocated to Finland when he was 13 years old.[ GIF-tränarens tacksamhet till föräldrarna, Sundsvalls Tidning, st.nu, 19 October 2024] They settled in Turku, where Ates started playing football in the youth sector of FC Inter Turku.[ Jälkipeli: FC Interin Erol Ates on paljon vartijana, , aamuset.fi, 31 January 2020]
Playing career
Ates played in youth teams of Inter Turku, Turun Toverit and Turun Palloseura.[ TPS:N A- JA B-JUNIORIT EDELLEEN TAPPIOITTA, fc.tps.fi, 22 May 2012] He played also for VG-62, Pargas IF, and Åbo IFK before switching to coaching.[
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Coaching career
Ates has worked as a youth coach for TPS, Vaasan Palloseura[ Kolme uutta päätoimista valmentajaa VPS Junioreihin, vpsjuniorit.fi, 4 November 2016] and ÅIFK.[ Erol återvänder hem - Erol palaa kotiin!, aifk.fi, 5 July 2017]
Inter Turku
He returned to his former club Inter Turku as a youth coach in 2018. Since the beginning of 2019, he worked as a head coach of Inter Turku II academy team in the fourth-tier Kolmonen.[ FC Inter teki elintärkeän jatkosopimuksen – päävalmentaja José Riveiro jatkaa myös ensi kaudella, suomifutis.com, 25 September 2020][ FC Inter vill att barnen får lysa, Åbo Underrättelser, 15 November 2019] During 2021–2022, Ates was an assistant coach of Inter Turku first team in Veikkausliiga. He left the club after the 2022 season.[ VALMENTAJATIIMIIN MUUTOKSIA KAUDELLE 2023, fcinter.fi, 25 October 2022]
JäPS
On 13 June 2023, after Jyrki Ahola had stepped down due to personal health reasons, it was announced that Ates was named the head coach of Järvenpään Palloseura on a two-year deal, starting in the 2024 season in new second-tier Ykkösliiga. It was also announced that first Ates will work for JäPS as a technical advisor for the remainder of the 2023 season.[ JäPSin valmennustiimiin uusi vahvistus, , 13 June 2023][ Timo Kettunen vetää JäPS:n kauden loppuun – Erol Ates ottaa ohjat vuonna 2024˝, pallotv.fi, 16 June 2023][ Erol Ates odottaa kovia otteluja jo Ykkösliigacupista – JäPS aloittaa Ykkösliigan 13. huhtikuuta Seinäjoella, , 25 January 2024]
Since 2023, Ates has also worked for Naantali-based VG-62 for the coaching development in the club.[ Esittelyssä valmentajien koulutusvastaava Erol Ates˝, vg-62, 12 February 2024]]
GIF Sundsvall
On 12 July 2024, Ates was named the head coach of GIF Sundsvall in Swedish Superettan,[ Erol Ates ny huvudtränare i GIF Sundsvall, gifsundsvall.se] signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the club.[ Turkulaisvalmentajalle yllättävä huippupesti Ruotsista – Interissä pitkään vaikuttanut Erol Ates kriisiseuran vastuunkantajaksi, Turun Sanomat, 12 July 2024] The team were sitting close to relegation zone in the league standings.[ Så ska Erol Ates rädda GIF Sundsvall, Sundsvalls Tidning, 19 July 2024][ Doldisen som ska rädda GIF Sundsvall, Sundsvalls Tidning, 12 July 2024] Ates managed to improve the team's performance and get some positive results, and led them to finish 13th in Superettan. In late November, Sundsvall successfully defended its league spot in the relegation play-offs, defeating FC Stockholm 4–2 on aggregate.[ Gif Sundsvall spelar i superettan 2025, Aftonbladet, 24 November 2024]
Managerial statistics
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| Inter Turku II | | 1 January 2019 | 31 December 2020
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| JäPS | | 1 January 2024 | 11 July 2024
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| GIF Sundsvall | | 12 July 2024 | present
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External links
