Montella Defends Position After Turkey’s Heavy Defeat

Despite a demoralizing 6-1 thrashing by Austria, Turkish national team manager Vincenzo Montella remains defiant in the face of resignation calls.

This friendly break, intended to bolster confidence before Euro 2024, has exposed vulnerabilities instead. Following a 1-0 defeat to Hungary last week, Turkey conceded six unanswered goals after taking an early lead through Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty.

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Montella, appointed in September 2023, enjoyed an initial winning streak against Croatia, Latvia, and Germany. However, a 1-1 draw with Wales and these recent losses have cast doubt.

When asked about his future after the crushing defeat, Montella bristled: “I will not answer that question. It’s a provocation. Do you resign for a bad question? It’s unnecessary.”

With a June 4th warm-up match against Italy followed by one against Poland on June 10th, Montella insists these friendlies served a purpose. “Frankly, I got the answers I needed,” he said.

“We’ll strive to bring the best squad to the tournament.”

While acknowledging full responsibility for the unexpected loss, Montella claims it won’t weaken his resolve. “We will learn from this,” he vowed.

Turkey’s Euro 2024 campaign presents a fresh challenge, with Portugal, Czechia, and Georgia in their group stage.

The Turkish national team booked a place in Euro 2024 as group leaders and were tipped to be dark horses. The defeats in the friendlies will serve as a wake up call to Montella and the team.

Montella did give several young players a chance in the friendly games such as Arda Guler, Can Uzun who got his first cap and Kenan Yildiz.