Turkey sack Mircea Lucescu

The Romanian coach has been relieved of duties by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) have terminated Mircea Lucescu’s contract on Monday, paving the way for a new coach to take over the Turkish national team.

According to the statement released by the TFF, the decision to terminate his contract has been mutual. Lucescu was thanked for his commitment and service during his tenure as coach of the Turkish national team.

In his parting message to the public, the Romanian coach returned the gratitude by thanking the TFF.

“In this journey to renew and rejuvenate Turkey’s national team squad, I believe we have completed our work. In light of this, the TFF and I have mutually agreed on this decision to clear the way for the management and the new head coach before the upcoming qualifiers for the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship,” he said.

His contract was set to expire on June 30, 2019 and despite his success with his previous employers, Shakthar Donetsk and Zenit Saint Petersburg, he failed to replicate the same results with Turkey. He managed four wins, six draws and seven losses since taking over in August 2017.

The TFF will pay him approximately €600,000 in wages as per the remainder of his contract.

Under Mircea’s rule, Turkey struggled to perform and were relegated to League C in the UEFA Nations League after finishing bottom of their group.

Besiktas coach Senol Gunes is widely reported to be the TFF’s favourite to take over the managerial role. Gunes’ deal with The Black Eagles expires on June 30, 2019 and reports suggest he is looking for a new challenge.