Feldkamp to quit as Galatasaray coach

Galatasaray AŞ coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp will leave the post at the end of the season to take an upstairs role with the Turkish club.

Change of role
The 73-year-old German, who rejoined Galatasaray as coach last summer on a two-year contract, has suffered with ill health this winter, having to hand the coaching reins to assistant Ahmet Akca on four occasions. Feldkamp explained the decision, taken after a meeting with new Galatasaray president Adnan Polat, saying: "We talked for hours about the future of Galatasaray. The president has given me the job of reshuffling our team, including the coaching staff. I am tasked with building the squad and selecting a coach. This means I won't be working directly with the first team next season."

Time off
Feldkamp has struggled with a heavy dose of flu and had to abandon the helm temporarily for two games in December, against UEFA Cup rivals FK Austria Wien and also Gençlerbirligi Oftasspor, and for another two matches this month – against Ankaraspor AS and then the Turkish Cup defeat by Gençlerbirligi SK. Despite his frequent absences, Galatasaray sit level on points with Istanbul neighbours Fenerbahçe SK at the top of the Süper Lig. Feldkamp added: "We are reaching the end of the season [with seven games to play] and it doesn't matter how you play at this stage – you just have to win."

Echoes of the past
The coach will hope for a similar finish to his only previous season in charge of Galatasaray, 1992/93, when his side landed the league title in addition to the Turkish Cup. In an echo of Feldkamp's 2007/08 campaign, his first spell at the Ali Sami Yen was cut short when he retired for health reasons at the season's end. A trainer with vast experience gained at clubs such as 1. FC Kaiserslautern, BV Borussia Dortmund, DSC Arminia Bielefeld, KFC Uerdingen 05 and Eintracht Frankfurt, he finally returned to Galatasaray as the replacement for Erik Gerets last June.