“Now finally all resign and go!” Vincenzo Montella responds to vehement calls for him to resign as Turkey national team coach
The pressure is mounting on Turkey national coach Vincenzo Montella. The domestic press are vehemently calling for the dismissal of the once-celebrated coach.
Montella reacted with demonstrative calm to the criticism coming his way and the growing calls for his dismissal. "I do not want to pay too much attention to the current criticism. With these players we went to the World Cup again after 24 years and were promoted to League A," said the 52-year-old Italian after Turkey's 3-0 defeat against Belgium in Liège on Friday evening.
After three matches against strong opposition, Montella's side sit bottom of Group 1 with zero points and a goal difference of 1:8, having previously lost 1-0 to France and 4-1 to Italy.
"Statistically, it was an even game. At this level, you must not make mistakes. If you make them, the opponent does not forgive them," said Montella, who described belonging to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League as a "privilege and not a punishment" and as an incentive for further development.
Who was Montella without in the Nations League?
In Belgium, Montella's team were nowhere near as inferior as the result suggests. Turkey had more shots, more touches in the opposition penalty area, more corners and only a marginally lower xG value than the victorious Belgians, for whom Kevin De Bruyne (2) and Romelu Lukaku scored. They had also matched France and Italy for long spells.
Yet the results make grim reading for Montella, especially as a pattern from the World Cup last summer has carried on without a break: Turkey do not play bad football, but they are alarmingly wasteful in attack and too often lose matches through individual mistakes.
On top of that, two absolute top players, Hakan Calhanoglu and Kenan Yildiz, have not been able to feature at all in the Nations League so far. In Liège, Eintracht Frankfurt's Can Uzun was another high-calibre absentee.
What are the Turkish media demanding and which names are being discussed?
Regardless, the Turkish press are calling for Montella to go. "Montella should now be parted with immediately. And now finally all of you resign and go!" wrote Hürriyet after the latest defeat, for example. "Montella has nothing more to give this team. Turkish football is in crisis."
"Arrivederci Vincenzo Montella!" was the message from A Spor, while Fotomac had already demanded after the Italy game last Monday: "Go home!"
Meanwhile, Hürriyet has already put forward Eddie Howe and Thomas Frank as two potential successors. The influential daily had already described the decision to stick with Montella after the group-stage exit at the World Cup as a mistake.
What is Montella's record as Turkey national coach?
Almost exactly three years ago, Montella took over as Turkey national coach. He began with three wins, including a much-noticed 3-2 victory in Berlin against Germany.
At Euro 2024 in Germany, Turkey reached the quarter-finals, while the early exit at this year's tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada was judged a major negative surprise. Of 39 matches under the Italian, Turkey have won 21 and lost 13.
