September 20, (THEWILL) – Turkey’s Football Federation announced on Wednesday, that it had parted ways with German head coach, Stefan Kuntz, after a troubling period which included the failure of the national team to qualify for last year’s World Cup.
The final straw for the former German international came when Turkey drew 1-1 at home with arch rival, Armenia, in a Euro 2024 qualifying match. Turkey followed that up by losing 4-2 in a friendly against Japan.
The Football Federation said it had decided “to part ways with Mr Kuntz within the framework of goodwill and professionalism”. It thanked him for his contributions to the national team and wished him success in the future.
The dismissal ends a difficult year for Kuntz that began with promise 12 months ago. He had initially expressed delight at returning to Turkey as head coach, having scored nine goals playing for Istanbul-based Besiktas in the 1995/96 season. “It’s like coming home,” the 60-year-old said after signing a three-year contract in Istanbul.
But Kuntz was then subject to unrelenting criticism in the media for failing to achieve his main objective of leading Turkey to their first World Cup tournament since their third place finish in 2002. Turkey currently lies second behind Croatia in Euro 2024 qualifying and is 41st in the FIFA rankings.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
