Türkiye: Hamit Altintop rejects criticism from Stefan Kuntz

After criticism of the Turkey board

Hamit Altıntop, board member of the Turkish association, rejected Stefan Kuntz’s criticism of his dismissal in September. In an interview at “t onlineThe former Bundesliga professional explained that they separated from the 61-year-old because they wanted “a change” in order to be able to take the next step. We communicated this to him openly.”

Kuntz was fired two months ago after two years in office, despite averaging 1.95 points in 20 games. On Friday he criticized the association’s 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.”

Altintop confirmed that with the new association leadership “expectations had developed in a different direction”, but at the same time the last games under Kuntz were no longer satisfactory. So much so that “as a board member I had to say: There needs to be a little more courage, a new impulse.” After a 1-1 draw against Armenia in the European Championship qualification and a 2-4 defeat in the friendly against Japan Kuntz had to leave and Vincenzo Montella took over.

The criticism came as a surprise to Altintop. “He left an intact team, we give him credit for that, and we told him the same thing. But we also explained to him that our expectations have changed and that we have to bring about a change with a change of coach.”

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