Gaping wound after Turkey exit
Stefan Kuntz doesn’t want to bother with “his” game in Berlin
November 16, 2023, 6:59 p.m
He is no longer on the bench, but there is still a lot of Stefan Kuntz in the Turkish national team. The international match against Germany should have been his game. But now the pain is still too deep. The 61-year-old will not be going to the stadium on Saturday.
Stefan Kuntz doesn’t do that to himself. When tens of thousands of Turkish fans cheer on “his” team on Saturday, the former coach of “A Milli” would rather sit in front of the television than in the seething Berlin Olympic Stadium. The deep wound of the separation is still too fresh – and hurts him too much. “There are definitely still emotions there,” admitted Kuntz. Because his big dream of coaching Turkey at the European Championships in Germany is “over,” he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “That,” Kuntz added with great regret, “would have been something very special.” Would have, would be, could – isn’t.
Kuntz was dismissed in September after exactly two years in office – and had to watch idly as his successor Vincenzo Montella led “his” team to the 2024 European Championship. “The fact that the team finally qualified shortly after the split with an almost unchanged line-up was emotionally painful,” wrote Kuntz in the “Kicker”. And the 61-year-old still feels this pinch – alongside a certain pride in what he sees as a fairly large part of the Turkish success story. “I’m extremely pleased that the path that began successfully has been successfully completed,” he said and added meaningfully: “My successor has changed very little.”
The international match was his idea
In Montella’s squad for Saturday’s game (8.45 p.m./RTL and in the live ticker on ntv.de) and the final qualifying game in Wales there are still twelve (!) players who made their debuts under Kuntz. His record was anything but bad, with an average points average of 1.95 in his 20 international matches. Why did the separation still occur? “After the board that hired me quit, it was clear that the new leadership was bringing its own people with it,” said Kuntz. And so he can’t reap the fruits of his work either at the European Championships or in Berlin. The international match was even his idea.
“Hansi Flick and I spoke on the phone. The feedback was positive,” reported Kuntz. “Playing against Germany in Germany had a special background with the European Championships. We wanted to spend several days beforehand in Berlin and get in the mood with the fans.” Montella, on the other hand, only arrived with his selection on Thursday afternoon – and with an ailing captain: Hakan Calhanoglu, who, like three other players in the squad, was born in Germany, is suffering from a respiratory infection. The Turks still have big plans.
“We have a young team,” said Montella, “it’s getting better and better.” When he started in October with the surprising win over World Cup third-placed Croatia (1-0), he said it was “easy” for him because of all the quality. Stefan Kuntz knows why.