Erol Bulut became Cardiff City's First Team Manager in June 2023.

Born in Germany, Erol began his playing career at Eintracht Frankfurt having come through the Bundesliga club’s Academy, later winning major national honours playing for the likes of Fenerbahçe and Olympiacos and representing both clubs in the UEFA Champions League. He enjoyed multiple trophy successes as a player, before moving into management in 2017.

After guiding Yeni Malatyaspor to a club-record high fifth-place finish in the Turkish Süper Lig in 2019 and reaching the UEFA Europa League qualifying stages, Erol joined Alyanaspor, leading them to their first domestic Cup Final and, again, the Europa League qualifying stages.

He was approached and recruited by former club and European heavyweight Fenerbahçe in 2020, winning 21 of his 34 matches in charge and securing the club’s highest recorded away win percentage.