Official! Turkey sack Montella after four straight Nations League defeats
The Turkish Football Federation has officially parted ways with national team coach Vincenzo Montella. The federation announced on Friday that its executive board had decided not to continue with the Italian, ending a three-year spell in charge.
Details: The TFF's brief statement gave no reason for the dismissal and named no replacement, but the writing had been on the wall for weeks. Montella took charge in September 2023 and enjoyed genuine highlights: he guided Turkey to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals and to their first World Cup since 2002 through the March 2026 play-offs. However, the World Cup itself was a disaster, with defeats to Australia (2-0) and Paraguay (1-0) sending Turkey out in the group stage despite a closing 3-2 win over co-hosts the United States. The new Nations League campaign then proved fatal: four defeats from four, 1-0 at home to France, 4-1 at home to Italy, 3-0 away to Belgium and 3-1 away to Italy again on Tuesday. Across his tenure Montella oversaw 40 matches, winning 21, drawing five and losing 14. His contract ran until Euro 2028 and reports indicate the federation will pay around 915,000 euros in compensation, equivalent to five months' salary.
The manner of the exit is striking because federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu repeatedly backed Montella even after the World Cup humiliation, when fans demanded his resignation. The coach himself refused to walk away, arguing that reaching League A was 'a privilege and not a punishment' and pointing to the team's historic qualification achievements. But four straight defeats, with the team leaking eleven goals in the process and slipping towards relegation from League A before the November fixtures against Belgium and France, finally exhausted the federation's patience. Attention now turns to the succession, with former midfielder Arda Turan reportedly the leading candidate to take over, though the TFF has yet to confirm any appointment.
It's worth noting that Montella's final match in charge, the 3-1 defeat in Bologna on Tuesday, was played without three of his most important players, as captain Hakan Calhanoglu, Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler were all unavailable during the September-October international break, a mitigating circumstance that was evidently not enough to save his job.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
