Istanbul (AP) – The German U21 success coach Stefan Kuntz is in negotiations about a possible engagement as national football coach in Turkey. “There are talks, but no agreement,” said the 58-year-old of the German press agency.
Previously, he had spoken to the “Bild” newspaper about an interest from Turkey and “contact”. Turkish media had reported that, at the request of the Turkish association, Kuntz should succeed the last failed Senol Günes. The Turkish newspaper Hürriyet reported that talks had also been held with the former German world champion and national coach Jürgen Klinsmann.
After two European Championship titles and a total of three finals with Germany’s U21s, Kuntz had left his future at the German Football Association open beyond the end of the year. After moving months and the early Olympic exit of the German U23s supervised by Kuntz, there has been speculation for weeks about the future of the 58-year-old, who had meanwhile also been traded as a candidate for the national coaching post, now held by Hansi Flick.
Last week the Turkish Association and Günes ended their collaboration. With this, the association reacted to the most recent failures. Turkey lost 6-1 to the Netherlands in qualifying for the World Cup. Before that, the European Championships had been disappointing for the third place in the 2002 World Cup: After three defeats against eventual European champions Italy, Wales and Switzerland, the team under Günes had already failed in the preliminary round. The 69-year-old coach and the players were then exposed to a lot of criticism.
Kuntz’s contract with the DFB runs until 2023. The 1996 European champion was once a professional in Turkey. In the 1995/96 season he ran for Besiktas Istanbul. In the European Championship qualification, the German U21s will continue against Israel on October 7th in Paderborn.