The coach’s future remains open
In the run-up to the test match between Germany and Turkey, the former Turkish national coach Stefan Kuntz commented, among other things, on the circumstances of his dismissal and criticized the association. In addition, the 61-year-old believes it is difficult to attract German-Turkish talents for a future in the DFB team, he told the portal “t-online.de“.
The most valuable players with nationality Germany and Türkiye
“Some people who might like to play for Germany don’t really have a choice because they are just expected to play for their parents’ country to some extent,” said Kuntz, who will coach Turkey between September 2021 and September 2023 and achieved an average point average of 1.95 points from 20 games. In Turkey, the path to the A team is much quicker: “If Toni di Salvo calls a player and invites him to the U21, but at the same time he politely declines because he has an offer from the Turkish A team – there is one “Hands tied,” said Kuntz.
When asked about the recent debut of Turin’s Kenan Yildiz (18), the former DFB coach continued: “The training of youth players in Turkey is not as good as in Germany, especially when you look at football academies or youth training centers. Talents in Germany, like Kenan or Can Uzun from 1. FC Nürnberg, are better trained than Turkish players of the same age. Accordingly, these boys are quickly called up for the senior national team in Turkey, while in Germany they first have to go through the youth teams.”
Meanwhile, Kuntz’s former assistant Kenan Kocak emphasized on the “ran.de” portal that the pressure on the players is high when deciding for or against a national team: “It is a dilemma for many players when it comes to the question of which country they play for , if you grew up as a Turk in Germany. But I’m not a fan of trying to convince players about this. Players should follow their hearts. You shouldn’t try to play two nations against each other, but rather the player has to decide which country he wants to play for. And of course you should respect that.”
11 of 24 tickets awarded: These teams have qualified for the 2024 European Championship
Clubless Stefan Kuntz: No talks with the DFB
Kuntz doesn’t hold any grudges because of his departure as national coach, even though at the beginning there was of course a lot of sadness about missing the European Championships in Germany. Kuntz’s successor Vincenzo Montella secured the latter with two wins against Croatia and Latvia. Next week Turkey will face Wales at the end of the European Championship qualification.
Kuntz, however, had critical words for the Turkish association leadership: “The board that signed me was no longer there after a year. The next president held office for one year before being elected for a further four years. I had the feeling that he didn’t want to succeed with the coach from the previous board, i.e. me, but would rather present his own coach. In the nuances, it was clear to me that this wouldn’t go well for long. Whether it was loyalty, support or respect, I had no support. Then I realized that my time as Turkish national coach was coming to an end. And that regardless of sporting success.”
The clubless coach did not explicitly rule out a future as a DFB coach or women’s sports director, but denied negotiations. “There are no discussions that go in this direction,” he explained and, with a view to possible tasks, added: “I have always said that it has to be a challenge for me. Something where I grow, where I can gain experience as a personality and feel a stimulus. Until now, it was always the case that I knew within a few seconds of making a request whether it was the right thing or not.”
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