Stefan Kuntz will be presented as Turkey’s national coach on Monday and only then will the question of who should assist him be clarified. The DFB is determined to keep his current successful team at the U21 level.
Kuntz travelled to Istanbul this Sunday for the final talks surrounding the envisaged three-year contract as the new Turkish national coach. On Sunday afternoon, the Turkish Football Association confirmed that an agreement had been reached – but the contract still needs to be signed at a ceremony on Monday at 3pm.
For Hamit Altintop and the Turkish Football Association, the head of the team has priority, and only then will the appointment of Kuntz’s future coaching team be discussed – although there are of course already plans to do so. One obvious thought is that the 58-year-old will take his successful U21 team with him, or at least parts of it.
“We are doing everything we can to keep the rest of the U 21 coaching team, who have done an outstanding job in recent years, at the DFB. “
JOTI CHATZIALEXIOU, SPORTING DIRECTOR NATIONAL TEAMS
It was not until Friday evening that this combo came together again. Kuntz, together with his assistants Antonio di Salvo and Daniel Niedzkowski as well as goalkeeper coach Klaus Thomforde, accepted the “Golden Hen” in Leipzig on behalf of the entire, current U-21 European Championship. Germany’s biggest audience award in the sports category is of course also an honour for this remarkably successful coaching team.
In 2017 and 2021, the quartet, which is completed in the inner circle by video analyst Jannis Scheibe, led the German U-21 team to the European Championship title, in 2019 to the European Championship final and this year they also coached Team D at the Olympic football tournament in Japan. Now, however, they could part ways – at least if the DFB has its way. “We are doing everything we can to keep the rest of the U21 coaching team, who have done an outstanding job in recent years, at the DFB and we are confident that we will succeed,” Joti Chatzialexiou, sporting director of national teams, stressed in an interview with kicker that the DFB’s release of Kuntz does not mean a green light for his coaching colleagues.
Niedzkowski’s retention is most likely
At least in the case of Niedzkowski, who also holds the important post of head of the football coaching course, a stay at the DFB is considered quite certain according to kicker information. In the case of the remaining trio, the situation seems to be more open, but the DFB also seems to have a good card. Irrespective of this, Kuntz and Altintop are looking for at least one assistant coach who speaks both German and Turkish and knows the local football culture well.
The personal details will also depend on the terms of the contract, which will only be finalised after Kuntz has signed it.
