Vincenzo Montella, the coach of the Turkish National Team, made statements at the press conference held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin after we lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the European Football Championship 2024 (EURO 2024). Montella said that despite being eliminated, his players fought with great spirit and that he was proud of his entire team.
“These players really deserve the love they receive”
Montella said, “We gave everything we had. I think we played a very good European Championship. When you include Holland and Spain in that group, they won one more game than us. We are a team that defends and plays with more enthusiasm. My colleagues and other football professionals also congratulated me for the performance in this championship. We have very young players. 5-6 players were not here. We are the youngest team in the European Championship. We need to be proud of our team. I am proud of my team. They came out and played with a great spirit, Turkish spirit. Even though we lost, Turkish people know us. These players really deserve the love they receive. They should all be kissed on their foreheads. They made us happy with their performance, we were proud. After this championship, Turkey will be looked at in a different way, probably with more respect.”
Praise for Arda Güler
On a question about young star Arda Güler, Montella said, “Arda had a very good championship. He has never played at this level, with such continuity. He showed how valuable he is. He is a player who is not even 20 years old yet. His future is bright, he will be much better.”
“We will set new goals ahead of us”
Speaking about his plans for the next tournament, Montella answered the question “Do you see yourself leading the team in the next tournaments?” as follows “The next tournament is the Nations League in September. Our first target is that tournament. Then we will have a chance to rest. We will set new goals in front of us. We want to qualify for League A in the Nations League and we want to qualify for the World Cup. Why wouldn’t I have the thought to continue. I enjoy working here, I am proud of my team because most of them are very young players. I would like to reap the fruits of our work.”
“The future is on our side”
Emphasizing that all his players played from the heart in the tournament, Montella said, “Maybe what needs to be done now is to underline what went well. I have no regrets and my players should have no regrets. Of course we were disappointed, because we deserved more. We won 3 games in the championship and broke the Turkish record. Now I look to the future with more confidence and clarity. When we look at the football we played in this tournament, what we did, the lessons we learned, the good feelings.” “It is easy to say inexperience, which is true. Because at a key moment in the match, maybe we could have turned the ball a little bit differently. A lot of the players on the pitch today are players who have not shown much continuity in their clubs during the season. This is always forgotten. You get what you call experience when you go out and play. Maybe we lacked this aspect a little bit. Our habit of playing football at this level can increase. The second half could have been a little bit better, if it had been, maybe we would have been a perfect example of a team to be analyzed. Football fans in another part of the world are looking at this team with sympathy and love. I’m proud of that, there is no stopping here, this is the foundation we have laid. We need to keep improving ourselves. Because the future is on our side.”
“I don’t want to add anything more about the referee”
To a question about the referee’s decisions, Montella said: “We were not very lucky, I don’t want to add anything more about the referee.”
Thanks to the fans
Referring to the support of Turkish fans, Montella said, “Our fans have been our supporters until the end. With great pride and passion, they have been behind the team from day one, not only during the game. What really makes me proud is that the fans continued to show their love even after tonight’s defeat. That makes me really happy. We need to continue to support this passion with our performances.”