Coach summoned for Wednesday
Turkish association contradicts Kuntz reports
September 18, 2023, 7:11 p.m
After two years, Stefan Kuntz is facing the end as the national coach of the Turkish footballers. The national association contradicts reports that the dismissal has already taken place. But an invitation to speak to the association boss and a statement announced afterwards make people sit up and take notice.
The Turkish Football Association (TFF) has denied reports that Stefan Kuntz is already leaving as coach of the national team. They were “not true,” it said on the association’s website, and the 60-year-old’s contract was still running. The TFF announced that Kuntz had been invited to the national training center near Istanbul on Wednesday to hold talks with association boss Mehmet Büyükeksi. There will then be a public announcement.
Among other things, the government-affiliated news agency DHA reported on Sunday that the contract with the long-time German U21 national coach, which runs until after Euro 2024, will be terminated. Kuntz has not yet commented on this. So it remains unclear for the time being whether this is a turning point in the Kuntz case. The coach is also one of the candidates for the position as successor to national coach Hansi Flick. If this were to become concrete, the Turkish association would have a completely different negotiating position.
The reports of the alleged separation were met with relief by some Turkish commentators. After the Turkish national team’s recent defeat against Japan and the 1-1 draw in the European Championship qualification against outsiders Armenia, the criticism of Kuntz had become significantly louder. According to a report in the newspaper “Sabah”, the 1996 European champion will be compensated around 1.2 million euros for the early termination of the contract.
Kuntz signed a three-year contract as Turkish national coach in September 2021. In Turkey, the media is already speculating about the successor. In addition to the Italian Vincenzo Montella, world champion coach Joachim Löw is considered one of the foreign candidates, according to the DHA. However, there has not yet been any official confirmation of this.