© EuroFootball.com
Having led the team for a year and two months, Ersunas Yanalis was dismissed from his position as head coach of the Turkish national team on Wednesday evening. The reason for the dismissal was poor team performance in the qualification cycle for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
"We parted ways with Yanalis," said the president of the Turkish Football Federation. "The decision was made by mutual agreement, we parted without any anger."
"Such decisions are made without paying attention to personalities," added the federation president.
In April 2004, E. Yanalis signed a four-year contract with the Turkish Federation, and everyone hoped that he would revive the Turkish national team, which had failed to qualify for the European Championship at that time.
However, the Turkish national team currently holds second place in their group in the qualification for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, trailing the leader Ukraine by seven points.
The coach, who also faced criticism for not inviting experienced Hakan Sukur to the team, was replaced by Senol Gunes at the helm, who was dismissed for failing to qualify for the European Championship.
In 2002, the Turkish national team caused a surprise by winning the bronze medal at the World Cup held in Japan and South Korea. Yanalis coached before becoming the coach of the Turkish national team.
