Turkiye press to Montella: ‘Take a severance package and stay in Italy’

Vincenzo Montella’s future as Turkiye coach is in serious doubt after Monday’s 3-1 defeat to Italy in Bologna, with the country’s press openly calling for him to go.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, the result made it four Nations League defeats from four. Turkiye were beaten 4-1 by the Azzurri in Bursa eight days earlier and also lost to France and Belgium, leaving them bottom of Group A1 without a point and facing relegation to League B.

BOLOGNA – OCTOBER 05: Riccardo Calafiori of Italy scores his team’s second goal past Ugurcan Cakir of Turkiye during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Turkish media demand Montella exit

Fanatik led the charge with a blunt editorial: “I think it’s better for you to leave… Take a severance package and stay in Italy.” Hürriyet was just as damning, insisting “his mission ended long ago” and criticising the federation over the cost of sacking him.

The mood in the stands is no better. Chants of “İstifa” (“Resign”) rang out at the end of their most recent home game, and federation president İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu is also under fire.

BOLOGNA – OCTOBER 05: Vincenzo Montella, Head Coach of Turkiye, looks on before the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Italy and Türkiye at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on October 05, 2026 in Bologna. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Montella has hit back, calling much of the criticism “illogical” and pointing to his two years in charge, which include promotion to the top tier of the Nations League.

It is a sharp fall for the coach who ended Turkiye’s 24-year wait for a World Cup and became the first foreigner to take them to both a European Championship and a World Cup. He has been without Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Kenan Yildiz this month, though, and Arda Güler has not always been fully fit.