Ercan tasked with Terim's U17 plan

A year ago Turkey reached the UEFA European Under-17 Championship semi-finals on home soil; having qualified again this season they begin their campaign on 6 May with what will be a well-attended match against hosts Germany in Erfurt. Former Turkey left-back Abdullah Ercan, a 2002 FIFA World Cup bronze-medallist, took over the U17 team ahead of their successful Elite round campaign in March and told uefa.com about the challenges he has faced, and indeed the team will face in the group stage against the hosts, England and the Netherlands.

uefa.com: You were appointed after Turkey qualified for the Elite Round. Did you revamp the squad or change the tactics?

Abdullah Ercan: Turkey coach Fatih Terim requested administrative change to be carried out in order to create a consistent playing style for all the national teams from U15 to seniors. Turkey assistant coach Metin Tekin became the technical director of the U15, U16 and U17 national teams so that there is increased communication between youth sides and the senior side. First thing we did after my appointment was to settle a playing system by using the tactics of the senior team such as 4-3-3, 4-1-4-1 and sometimes 4-5-1. Essentially making midfield and attacking modifications without changing the defensive lineup.

uefa.com: Turkey won the Winter Tournament in Israel, finished second at the La Manga tournament and finally won their Elite Round group. Does that mean you were able to communicate your philosophy to the squad?

Ercan: We were only able to reach the 30 per cent of our targets. It was not easy to do that because they had been playing with a different formation over the last two years. They improved their passing and positioning. However, now we need to focus on finishing touches where we have the biggest problem.

uefa.com: Turkey had to beat Finland in their last qualifier to reach the finals. What made the job so hard for your team?

Ercan: The Elite round is quite stressful because only the group winners can advance to the finals. That makes players nervous during games. That's what happened to us. Secondly, dramatic changes can happen to the performances of young players related to puberty, their family or girlfriend problems. Lastly, if our matches are analysed, we had many chances to score. Against Romania we hit the bar three times and missed five clear opportunities in the last five minutes against Wales. Our final match against Finland could have ended with a score like 7-0. It was all about the finishing.

uefa.com: What do you like most about your team?

Ercan: We are on a nine-game unbeaten run: Five wins and four draws. One of the most important attributes of our team is we never surrender. If we concede, we react immediately. That very important. There is a good friendship within the side too.

uefa.com: How do you see your chances in the finals?

Ercan: I totally believe our players will be more comfortable in Germany. Now that they are among the final eight teams, they will have more confidence. Six or seven of our squad are based in Germany so they are used to the environment and climate which is another plus. I have faith in the quality of my players. Speaking about our opponents, they all play similarly to their senior sides. This team hasn't played our [group] opponents except for the Netherlands. England have always been physically strong but we don't know much about Germany. We attach special importance to opening matches. Our first game will be against the hosts and we expect a lot of Turkish supporters. The first target is to win the opener, then claim a top-four finish and finally to win the tournament. We also aim to reach the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria [by finishing in the top three in their group].