Terim set to stay in charge of Turkey

The 54-year-old coach had suggested that he would be stepping down and taking over a club outside of Turkey, after his side had lost 3-2 to three-time champions Germany on Wednesday. Â

However, Turkish football supremo Hasan Dogan revealed on the federation’s website that Terim - who has coached two Serie A sides in AC Milan and Fiorentina - and he had had a talk on the plane back from Switzerland.

"We spoke on the airplane. Fatih Terim is at this moment in charge of the national side... god willing he will be in 2010 (the year of the World Cup finals in South Africa) as well".

Levent Kizil, who is responsible for the national sides within the federation, also believed that the man known as the Emperor would stay on adding that he had been under a lot of pressure when he had made his remarks about stepping down.

It was a view echoed by several newspapers.

According to Hurriyet daily, Terim repeated his wish to step down at a meeting with the federation on Thursday, but met with a firm refusal from Dogan.

"We are very happy with you, we have confidence in you, our confidence in you has never dimmed and we want you to stay on till 2010," Hurriyet quoted Dogan as saying.

According to the paper Terim had demanded that he be given overall control of all the Turkish national sides and agreed to stay on once the federation acceded to that.

However, according to another paper Vatan, despite the intervention of the Minister for Sports, Murat Basesgioglu, Terim - who guided Galatasaray to become the first Turkish side to win a European trophy when they beat Arsenal in the 2000 UEFA Cup - is still going to take time to decide over his future.

"Terim is going to close himself off with his family in Bodrum (a seaside resort in Turkey where he has a second home).

"And he will decide nothing until after the holidays," wrote the paper.

Photo: AP