Montella under pressure 3-1 loss, nil after twelve, Nations League

While Turkish fans in Bologna are shouting for the departure of Vincenzo Montella, the coach defends his team after the 3-1 defeat in Italy and a zero from twelve in the Nations League. The growing pressure contrasts with Montella's own analysis of the match and the team performances.

The defeat in Italy marked a fourth consecutive loss, a record that had not been seen since 1988. Frank Dekeyser of Sport noted that the Turkish supporters in Bologna point to the Italian head coach as the main culprit. The fans shouted again for Montella's dismissal, just as during the home match against Italy.

Montella responded after the match in a positive tone: “Nevertheless, I want to congratulate my players,” he said. He emphasized that Turkey won more duels than the Italians and that the team had played good matches in recent weeks, despite the absence of, among others, Güler, who was suspended.

Increasing criticism

On the media platform SporOn, former striker Ümit Karan harshly criticised Montella. He called the match “the worst Italy ever” and criticised the fact that Montella only introduced attackers in the 90th minute. Karan cynically added that a foreign head coach would not simply step down without a severance payment of five million euros.

Fanatik also came with sharp remarks: “His behavior towards Turkish football is astonishing” and “We need to become a more compact team”. The critic argued that Montella shows an inability to shape a squad, even with the most talented generation in Turkish history.

Upcoming clash with Belgium

On 12 November, Belgium will play Turkey in Izmir, and it is uncertain whether Montella will still be in the dugout then. Turkish supporters are already shouting “Montella, istifa” a few days before the clash. Head‑coach Niels Poissonnier noted that Mark van Bommel, the Belgian head coach, would “review the last quarter once or five more times”, which further increases the pressure on Montella.

The combination of a string of defeats, zero points after twelve Nations League matches and the growing call for a new head coach puts Vincenzo Montella’s future under a sharp magnifying glass.