Third Turkey term for Galatasaray coach Terim

Fatih Terim has returned for a third spell as coach of Turkey following Abdullah Avcı's decision to step down earlier this week.

The 59-year-old, who will carry out the role in conjunction with his post as Galatasaray AŞ boss, has agreed a 12-month contract with the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).

Terim steered Turkey to their maiden UEFA European Championship appearance in 1996 and repeated the qualifying achievement during his second spell in charge as the side reached the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2008. 

Terim was installed as Galatasaray coach for a third time in May 2011, two years after last cutting his ties with the national team. He has since guided Cimbom to back-to-back Süper Lig titles and the quarter-finals of last season's UEFA Champions League, where their challenge was ended by Real Madrid CF.

"I would like to thank the Turkish Football Federation for the faith they have shown in me and for allowing me to carry on at Galatasaray," said Terim. "You can't escape the responsibility of leading your country. However, without team work nothing is possible. Everyone needs to pull together to help us achieve our goal. I hope to build a team that can qualify for this World Cup and more to come."

Fourth in FIFA World Cup qualifying Group D, Turkey trail the Netherlands by 11 points and second-placed Hungary by four. Terim's third tenure begins at home to Andorra on 6 September before a game in Romania four days later.