Post by Salem6 on Oct 11, 2003 13:49:06 GMT
No way out -- for who? [/u]
Can Turkey beat England? Undoubtedly the potential is there. Will Turkey beat England? That is entirely another matter! May the best team win. As well as fair play and friendship...
Michael Severn
ANKARA - It is here at last. The big day has dawned. For once it is only a slight exaggeration to say that life in Turkey will come to a halt at 8.00 p.m.
When Turkey meets England in their final Euro 2004 Group 7 qualifier, Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will be packed and there will hardly be a television in the land that is not tuned to TRT1. This is Turkey's biggest test since last year's World Cup and one of its biggest ever. Remember, it has not only never beaten the English, it has never even managed to score a goal against them.
But tonight, if a place at the European Championship finals in Portugal is to be secured, it has to do both. The group is down to the wire. Only these two teams matter. One will finish first and progress automatically. The runner-up will face a home and away playoff in November against one of the other second-placed teams.
Neither wants that. The playoffs this year will not be seeded, meaning that anybody can be drawn against anybody else and there will be some highly dangerous teams in the draw. The position at the top of Group 7 favors England. It starts a point a head and another point this evening will be enough. Turkey must win. "No exit from Sukru Saracoglu" is a phrase being bandied around in the media at the moment. No exit indeed. But who for?
We knew from the moment the draw was made that with England and Turkey head and shoulders above the other teams in the group, the matches between them would prove critical. UEFA has a curious method of arranging fixtures in European Championship qualifying. It gives the nations in each group the dates available and asks them to arrange amongst themselves which game is played when.
Only if agreement cannot be reached are fixtures drawn by lot. Group 7 went to a draw mostly because Turkey demanded the last game in Istanbul today while England absolutely refused because of security concerns at the time. When the draw was made, the English got exactly what they did not want.
Looking good
On the face of it, everything looks good for Turkey. Since England fans have been banned, it will have almost the entire crowd on its side. Coach Senol Gunes's main injury doubt was striker Hakan Sukur's right knee but that cleared up faster than expected and he is fit.
Just for a change, nobody has been forced to withdraw from the squad originally selected. Turkey even has its "lucky" Italian referee Pierluigi Collina on duty. Since Collina is something of a cult figure in Turkey and was even in Istanbul filming TV commercials for a Turkish firm, some might question his appointment, which followed the withdrawal of Denmark's Kim Morton Nielsen. But Collina is internationally recognized as an even-handed official and not one who can be pressured into favoring the home team.
Gunes has a tactical problem tonight. With victory essential, his team has to go forward but it cannot afford to do so, at least not early in the game, at the expense of leaving gaps at the back. The defense has to be kept solid. Here the coach has given himself the central defensive choice between Alpay Ozalan (Aston Villa), Emre Asik (Besiktas) and Bulent Korkmaz (Galatasaray).
All of these are worryingly vulnerable to fast counterattcking play when the team is pushing up. The same is true of Fatih Akyel (Fener) on the right and there is a potential problem on the other wing where England captain David Beckham will be operating. Neither of the left-sided wide men selected, Ergun Penbe (Galatasaray) or Ibrahim Uzulmez (Besiktas) is at his best when called on to defend.
Ergun is not at his best period. He has recently gone through a divorce and his form has suffered. There is even a doubt over goalkeeper Rustu Recber. Although we all know Rustu to be one of the best keepers in the world, he has not been playing for Barcelona and is short of match practice.
If Blackburn Rovers midfield man Tugay Kerimoglu plays this evening we could be witnessing his last appearance in the national colors. He will be winning his 80th cap, equalling the record currently held by Bulent, but has said that he would like to quit the international game after this match to "make way for the new generation."
He later qualified that by saying that he would remain available for the Euro 2004 finals if Gunes wants him However, no decision has been reached and coach and player are expected to sit down and discuss the matter when the position regarding the finals becomes clear. It is likely that Gunes will want him this evening if only for his experience of the English game. Inter Milan's Emre Belozoglu should also be in th mix but as for the rest we are guessing.
The question everybody is asking is whether Gunes will restore the Besiktas partnership of Sergen Yalcin and Ilhan Mansiz. He has not recalled them to the squad just for the ride. He is considering using them but how and when is another matter. Back in form again after injury, Real Sociedad's Nihat Kahveci virtually picks himself up front.
The question is whether Gunes will play another man (Ilhan) through the middle or whether he will again use Fener's Tuncay Sanli in a roving role. At 21, Tuncay is a tremendously exciting prospect but he has never played a game of this importance and the coach may decide not to risk him as a starter. Although there is considerable pressure from the media on Gunes to start its darling Sergen, he will not be influenced by that. Starting Sergen would be a risk.
Great passer and opportunist though he is, he is slow these days and cannot last a fast 90 minutes. The final selection is going to depend on how the players have shaped up in training during the week, and since Gunes has been training behind closed doors that is something no outsider knows.
Ferdinand and Owen
As far as the England camp is concerned, attention during the week has centered on the two men who will not be there, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand. Owen is injured and Ferdinand was dropped by order of the English Football Association (FA). for skipping a routine drugs test. Coach Sven Goran Eriksson pleaded long and hard to be allowed to use the Manchester United defender. When he was finally turned down, the rest of the squad, led by Beckham, threatened to boycott today's game.
This has been interpreted as damaging to morale and a plus factor for Turkey. It may not work out that way. The boycott was averted partly because Ferdinand himself asked the others to go to Istanbul and win it for him. He is popular with his England team mates and "win it for Rio" may prove a strong motivational slogan. On the other hand, his likely replacement John Terry has far less experience, especially of playing alongside Sol Campbell. The Besiktas players have recent experience of Terry from their Champions League meeting with Chelsea and will be looking forward with some interest to having another crack at him.
As for Owen, he will probably be replaced by Emile Heskey unless Eriksson decides to put in an extra midfielder and let young gun Wayne Rooney carry the main strike burden alone. Steven Gerrard should be making the plays in the middle and crowd reaction to him could be interesting. He is not universally popular with Turkish fans after being sent off while playing for Liverpool against Galatasaray in a summer friendly.
Can Turkey beat England? Undoubtedly the potential is there. Will Turkey beat England? That is entirely another matter! May the best team win. As well as fair play and friendship...
Michael Severn
ANKARA - It is here at last. The big day has dawned. For once it is only a slight exaggeration to say that life in Turkey will come to a halt at 8.00 p.m.
When Turkey meets England in their final Euro 2004 Group 7 qualifier, Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will be packed and there will hardly be a television in the land that is not tuned to TRT1. This is Turkey's biggest test since last year's World Cup and one of its biggest ever. Remember, it has not only never beaten the English, it has never even managed to score a goal against them.
But tonight, if a place at the European Championship finals in Portugal is to be secured, it has to do both. The group is down to the wire. Only these two teams matter. One will finish first and progress automatically. The runner-up will face a home and away playoff in November against one of the other second-placed teams.
Neither wants that. The playoffs this year will not be seeded, meaning that anybody can be drawn against anybody else and there will be some highly dangerous teams in the draw. The position at the top of Group 7 favors England. It starts a point a head and another point this evening will be enough. Turkey must win. "No exit from Sukru Saracoglu" is a phrase being bandied around in the media at the moment. No exit indeed. But who for?
We knew from the moment the draw was made that with England and Turkey head and shoulders above the other teams in the group, the matches between them would prove critical. UEFA has a curious method of arranging fixtures in European Championship qualifying. It gives the nations in each group the dates available and asks them to arrange amongst themselves which game is played when.
Only if agreement cannot be reached are fixtures drawn by lot. Group 7 went to a draw mostly because Turkey demanded the last game in Istanbul today while England absolutely refused because of security concerns at the time. When the draw was made, the English got exactly what they did not want.
Looking good
On the face of it, everything looks good for Turkey. Since England fans have been banned, it will have almost the entire crowd on its side. Coach Senol Gunes's main injury doubt was striker Hakan Sukur's right knee but that cleared up faster than expected and he is fit.
Just for a change, nobody has been forced to withdraw from the squad originally selected. Turkey even has its "lucky" Italian referee Pierluigi Collina on duty. Since Collina is something of a cult figure in Turkey and was even in Istanbul filming TV commercials for a Turkish firm, some might question his appointment, which followed the withdrawal of Denmark's Kim Morton Nielsen. But Collina is internationally recognized as an even-handed official and not one who can be pressured into favoring the home team.
Gunes has a tactical problem tonight. With victory essential, his team has to go forward but it cannot afford to do so, at least not early in the game, at the expense of leaving gaps at the back. The defense has to be kept solid. Here the coach has given himself the central defensive choice between Alpay Ozalan (Aston Villa), Emre Asik (Besiktas) and Bulent Korkmaz (Galatasaray).
All of these are worryingly vulnerable to fast counterattcking play when the team is pushing up. The same is true of Fatih Akyel (Fener) on the right and there is a potential problem on the other wing where England captain David Beckham will be operating. Neither of the left-sided wide men selected, Ergun Penbe (Galatasaray) or Ibrahim Uzulmez (Besiktas) is at his best when called on to defend.
Ergun is not at his best period. He has recently gone through a divorce and his form has suffered. There is even a doubt over goalkeeper Rustu Recber. Although we all know Rustu to be one of the best keepers in the world, he has not been playing for Barcelona and is short of match practice.
If Blackburn Rovers midfield man Tugay Kerimoglu plays this evening we could be witnessing his last appearance in the national colors. He will be winning his 80th cap, equalling the record currently held by Bulent, but has said that he would like to quit the international game after this match to "make way for the new generation."
He later qualified that by saying that he would remain available for the Euro 2004 finals if Gunes wants him However, no decision has been reached and coach and player are expected to sit down and discuss the matter when the position regarding the finals becomes clear. It is likely that Gunes will want him this evening if only for his experience of the English game. Inter Milan's Emre Belozoglu should also be in th mix but as for the rest we are guessing.
The question everybody is asking is whether Gunes will restore the Besiktas partnership of Sergen Yalcin and Ilhan Mansiz. He has not recalled them to the squad just for the ride. He is considering using them but how and when is another matter. Back in form again after injury, Real Sociedad's Nihat Kahveci virtually picks himself up front.
The question is whether Gunes will play another man (Ilhan) through the middle or whether he will again use Fener's Tuncay Sanli in a roving role. At 21, Tuncay is a tremendously exciting prospect but he has never played a game of this importance and the coach may decide not to risk him as a starter. Although there is considerable pressure from the media on Gunes to start its darling Sergen, he will not be influenced by that. Starting Sergen would be a risk.
Great passer and opportunist though he is, he is slow these days and cannot last a fast 90 minutes. The final selection is going to depend on how the players have shaped up in training during the week, and since Gunes has been training behind closed doors that is something no outsider knows.
Ferdinand and Owen
As far as the England camp is concerned, attention during the week has centered on the two men who will not be there, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand. Owen is injured and Ferdinand was dropped by order of the English Football Association (FA). for skipping a routine drugs test. Coach Sven Goran Eriksson pleaded long and hard to be allowed to use the Manchester United defender. When he was finally turned down, the rest of the squad, led by Beckham, threatened to boycott today's game.
This has been interpreted as damaging to morale and a plus factor for Turkey. It may not work out that way. The boycott was averted partly because Ferdinand himself asked the others to go to Istanbul and win it for him. He is popular with his England team mates and "win it for Rio" may prove a strong motivational slogan. On the other hand, his likely replacement John Terry has far less experience, especially of playing alongside Sol Campbell. The Besiktas players have recent experience of Terry from their Champions League meeting with Chelsea and will be looking forward with some interest to having another crack at him.
As for Owen, he will probably be replaced by Emile Heskey unless Eriksson decides to put in an extra midfielder and let young gun Wayne Rooney carry the main strike burden alone. Steven Gerrard should be making the plays in the middle and crowd reaction to him could be interesting. He is not universally popular with Turkish fans after being sent off while playing for Liverpool against Galatasaray in a summer friendly.