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Istanbul: The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced on Monday the immediate departure of Romanian Mircea Lucescu as coach of the national team, who has overseen a slump since taking up the job in 2017. Under the 73-year-old the ‘Milli Takim’ failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and were recently relegated to third-tier League C in the UEFA Nations League. Current Besiktas boss Senol Gunes is being touted as a likely successor and the 66-year-old memorably led Turkey to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. Gunes, widely respected by his peers in Turkey and abroad, is “the first name” on the list of contenders, but the situation can “evolve”, a TFF spokesman told AFP. The TFF said it wanted a fresh start with the 2020 European Championship swinging into view. “An agreement has been reached with national team coach Mircea Lucescu... regarding the termination of his contract” signed in 2017, the TFF said in a statement.
