Euro 2008: Tenacious Turkey

The Turks have always been known to be fighters since time immemorial. But, Euro 2008 has shown us the true tenacity of the Turks.

They fought till the very end of every match that they played and got the requisite results but, unfortunately for them—Germany proved to be too strong or perhaps, just luckier than them on the night.  

Most of us thought that Turkey would go out of the Euros without so much as a whimper. Most of us thought that they were the luckiest team on Earth. These thoughts, especially after last night’s game should be reversed. When Turkey needed their luck the most, it deserted them.  

Let’s not forget that this was a Turkey team shorn of its players due to injuries and suspensions. Their captain, Emre Belozoglu, was unavailable for most of the matches in the tournament. Recber Rustu might have been the first choice keeper in the previous major tournaments, but his ultimate successor Volkan Demirel was banned until the finals.  

But, the likes of Colin-Kazim Richards, Hamit Altintop, Arda Turan, and Nihat showed some real grit and determination to grind out the results at every given opportunity and get to the semi-finals.

It is quite sad that only the former two players mentioned of the four played in the semi finals—showing the extent of which the injuries and suspensions hampered the Turks.  

Their character has to stem from a fighter of a manager and in Fatih Terim, Turkey had a superb man/manager and a great motivator.

He perhaps used all of the 23 players in his squad during this tournament and even used his reserves during the tougher phase, but their performances couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Terim, nicknamed “Imparator” or "Emperor," is one who made his team an organized and disciplined unit and you could very well say that this Turkish team was an embodiment of its manager.  

It was great to see a coach so candid even though his team had lost in such a heartbreaking manner at such a big stage. Terim said after the defeat:  

"I congratulate Germany for their win and wish them success for the final but I am proud of my players. We were able to show the world what a good team we are.

"I never used suspended or injured players as an excuse. I said I'd have 11 players out there and I had 11 players."

Turkey defied all the odds to get to the semi finals and when they got there, they ensured that even if they did leave, they would leave with their heads held high—and for that, we should all take our hats off to them.  

This article was first published on Goal.com by Shyam Parthasarathi.