Onay puts onus on long term
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
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Turkey coach Gündüz Tekin Onay believes the U19 finals are a vital point in player development.
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By Mark Chaplin in Jongny
Having defeated Poland 4-3 in an exhilarating encounter in the opening round of matches in Group B, Turkey are well placed to qualify for the latter stages of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Coach Gündüz Tekin Onay, however, has a longer-term objective in mind.
Improvement in quality
"I've been following recent Under-17 and Under-19 tournaments, and I know that one of the major aims of events like this is to help improve the quality of European football," the Turkey coach told uefa.com "Let's hope that we discover new stars, because we need them in world football – I hope this tournament will play a part in this."
Individual exuberance
With Gençlerbirligi SK striker Ali Öztürk having scored a hat-trick against the Poles, it is clear what Onay had in mind when he said: "I hope that we will see a lot of skills at this tournament. We are taking part in these finals with the aim of developing the quality of the players – we know it's important for some to win such tournaments, but improving quality is our main objective."
Senior success
Despite missing out on UEFA EURO 2004™, the senior Turkish side have made considerable strides forward in the last decade, most notably the remarkable third-placed finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Onay believes that a vibrant youth policy is crucial in order for this success to continue, saying: "A considerable number of players have come all the way through our youth level to play in the senior Turkish national team in recent times.
Youthful progress
"Twelve of the players who represented our national team at the 2003 [FIFA] Confederations Cup in France came through the youth system. Our goal at this level isn't to win cups, but to prepare players who might win more important cups with the national team in the future.
'Tactical concepts'
"We have worked together for some time with these players, we have worked together with their clubs, and we think that they're at an age now where they have sufficiently developed their personal technique," Onay continued. "They have reached a time now when they are ready to be given tactical concepts. So we give them the important things, and now we expect them to be able to find the solutions. We've given them the key, it's up to them to open the door."
