Stefan Kuntz has an important vision for Turkey
The national coach of Turkey, spoke with Discoveryfootball about the effort he has started to raise the national team of Turkey, Karim Benzema, Qatar's world cup, Germany's national team and other interesting topics...
Stefan Kuntz (born 30 October 1962) is a German professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the head coach of the Turkey national team from 19/9/2021 Kuntz represented the German national team between 1993 and 1997, reaching the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals and winning UEFA Euro 1996.
He scored six goals from 25 full caps including in the Euro 1996 semi-final elimination of England. Kuntz's playing career lasted from 1983 until 1999. He made 449 appearances and scored 179 goals in the Bundesliga. Kuntz played for Bochum, Bayer 05 Uerdingen, Kaiserslautern and Arminia Bielefeld and also played in Turkey for Besiktas In 1986 and 1994, Kuntz was the top scorer in the Bundesliga.
In 1995, Kuntz joined Turkish side Beşiktaş following request of his compatriot coach Christoph Daum. Kuntz made his 1.Lig debut on 13 August 1995 in an away game against Kayserispor that ended 1–1. On 24 September 1995, he scored his first goal at week 5 home encounter against Istanbulspor which ended 5–2.
In his great career Kuntz played in 600 games scoring 239 goals. In the German national team he played 25 times, scoring 6 goals
From 2006 to 2008, Kuntz was the athletic director of Bochum Between 2008 and 2016, he was the chairman of the board of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
As coach of Germany U21 he won the UEFA European Under -21 Championship twice : in 2017 , his side beat Spain 1–0 in the final, and in 2021 , Germany defeated Portugal by the same scoreline. On 19 September 2021, he was appointed as the new head coach of the Turkish national team.
DF: You took over the technical leadership of the Turkish national team in a difficult period, as hopes of reaching the final phase of the 2022 World Cup were almost completely diminished.
SK: We succeeded to keep our World Cup hopes alive by reaching the play-offs thanks to victories against Latvia, Gibraltar, and Montenegro. Unfortunately, we lost to Portugal in the single-legged play-off game, but we learned a lot from this defeat.
DF: But then we see that with the renewal you tried, things started and work much better…
SK: Yes, the change was noticeable, but we still have a lot of things to improve.
DF: Where do you think Turkish football should be improved, so that the Turkish national team can do better?
SK: This is a complicated matter involving lots of individual structures which are not so easy to change.
DF: In November we have for the first time the World Cup in the middle of the season. How much will this change benefit football and how much do you think big new markets will open up in the East and beyond?
SK: It will be a big challenge for all players who take part in the World Cup. It will also be difficult for clubs who need to manage this break in the middle of the season.
DF: Who are your favourites for the 2022 World Cup?
SK: The top five countries of Europe, together with Brazil and Argentina.
DF: Is the German national team, under the guidance of Hansi Flick, capable of reaching the top, or is there a danger of premature elimination as happened in Russia back in 2018?
SK: They have good chances of reaching the semi-finals.
DF: We all know that so far Lionel Messi has not managed to lead the Argentinian national team to a World Cup victory. Will Lionel succeed this year?
SK: This will be his last try and so I expect him to work harder than ever and his teammates will probably want to give him a final present with a big achievement.
DF: This year the Golden Ball will be given before the top event which is the World Cup. Who do you think will be the big favourites to conquer it?
SK: Karim Benzema
DF: Türkiye had tried to host the final phase of the 2024 European Championship but failed. Maybe it's now Türkiye’s time to organize a top tournament. Besides, its facilities and stadiums are many and modern.
SK: I know that there is a big desire to host the final round of a European Championship. Earlier this year, the Turkish Football Federation announced its candidacy for hosting EURO 2028 and EURO 2032. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin already labelled Türkiye as a ‘strong candidate for EURO 2032’ in a recent interview.
DF: Do you think that Trabzonspor title triumph last season will contribute to the improvement of football in Türkiye?
SK: Not more or less than former champions.
DF: The presence of many foreigners in each national league helps its development. Do you believe at some point it will be needed that FIFA, UEFA and certainly the European Union should introduce certain rules?
SK: That’s up to every federation and they would decide the best for their own country.
DF: We all see that time is relentless and at some point, in the near future Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will retire. Are there successors for those big names or should we be patient?
SK: There are already a lot of potential successors for those names in the word football.
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