Yanal takes on Turkey task

'I am honoured'
The 43-year-old agreed a four-year contract with the Turkish Football Association (TFF) today. "I am honoured to be appointed to such a prestigious job," said Yanal. "I will work to take Turkish football to the place where it should be in the world. We are especially thinking about the 2006 [FIFA] World Cup qualifiers."

Local knowledge
TFF president Haluk Ulusoy was delighted to have found a Turkish coach capable of taking on the job, saying: "I always favoured a local coach. I believe in Yanal's footballing mentality, his personality and friendship. With the national team, your officials and technical staff should be compatible with each other. That is how it is going to be with Ersun Yanal."

Generous gesture
Ulusoy took time to thank Yanal's predecessors Fatih Terim, Mustafa Denizli and Günes for their efforts. The TFF was also grateful to the board of directors at Gençlerbirligi who agreed to release Yanal from his contract in order to take up the new post.

'National cause'
Club president Ilhan Cavcav held a board meeting today after which he announced: "By a unanimous vote, we decided that Ersun Yanal is free to begin his new duties as Turkish national team coach. We sincerely believe that he will be successful with the national team. It is our great pleasure to say that we will demand no compensation from the TFF as this is a national cause."

Dual role
Yanal, who has also coached Denizlispor and MKE Ankaragücü, will continue to coach Gençlerbirligi until the end of the season after taking them to the fourth round of the UEFA Cup. His first match as national coach will be a friendly game against Belgium on 28 April.