BBC SPORT | Euro 2008 blog

Thanks for the memories, Turkey

Mark Clemmit
26 Jun 08, 04:10 PM

London, England

Back in the capital for Wednesday's Euro 2008 semi-final between Germany and Turkey, we decided to meet up with some members of the London branch of Fenerbahce FC.

There were plenty of fun and games before the match even began thanks to a late change of venue. We'd originally decided to pitch up at a snooker club in Harrow-on-the-Hill but switched at the last minute, heading for the Fat Controller pub instead.

Then the BBC's coverage was interrupted by a severe thunderstorm in Vienna. Try as I might to talk up the merit of the network's sudden switch to 5 Live's commentary, it soon became clear that, as "the man from the BBC", the entire pub thought I must have personal control over the pictures coming from Austria.

I'm sorry to see the Turks go out. Since their opening-day defeat to Portugal, they've been involved in four games that have made Euro 2008 such a success. The second of those, that rousing three-goal comeback against the Czech Republic, is easily my match of the tournament so far.

Producer Garth and I had been working during the day in the build-up to that one and could watch it like normal human beings without having to interview supporters in the gaps. At 2-2, we were licking our lips at the prospect of penalties and I - not Garth -dashed to get another couple of pints in. Turkey's late winner came before we'd even supped the top off them.

The Turks took their defeat to Germany well. They exceeded all expectations and firmly put themselves on the European football map. And what scenes we were treated to when they scored their two goals against the Germans. Part bear hug, part triple salco and part pirouette, it reminded me of the "mosh pit" at Middlesbrough Rock Garden circa 1978.

Mark Clemmit is a 5 Live reporter. Please check our FAQs if you have any questions.

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1. At 5:23pm on 26 Jun 2008, tugrulbaris wrote:
The champion of our hearts; Turkey, thank you very much!! The substitutes of the selection could have beaten complete Germany, you showed us this fact last night. I'm proud of you!! THANKS A LOT!!!

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2. At 10:52pm on 26 Jun 2008, GerrieO wrote:
Thanks, Turkey.

You played with your hearts.
The Germany team did not.
They played with their heads.

An underdog who seemingly dominates the pitch and plays with heart is bound to be everybody's darling, even if he loses. Understandable.

I do not want our team to be everybody's darling. As Germans, you have no chance anyway.

I want our team to be successful.

Never mind all this ludicrous "Panzer" imagery and all the other stereotypes no matter what the performance was like.

Our Turkish friends have no problems with Germany being successful.

But watch the Italians and the especially Brits - excuse me: the English: our Scottish fiends see these matters veeeeeeeeeeery differently.

It is fun to be envied if success is the reason.

Can't imagine it's much fun for the English to be pitied when poor performance is the reason.

Understandable.

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3. At 10:54pm on 26 Jun 2008, GerrieO wrote:
Wow - c o r r e c t i o n :

Of course it must read :

"our Scottish friends" :-)

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4. At 12:00pm on 27 Jun 2008, mrsingh07 wrote:
gr8 players, gr8 spirit, im sure turkey wudve won that hands down with nihat, arda and tuncay. Ah well, it was a previlige to see all the comebacks, and i agree with mark easily best mach of tournament czech vs. turkey. Wat a comeback, fatih terim is a gr8 manager, sad 2 see him go, i think hes leaving. He wudve been gr8 2 see at the nex big tournament, boy is he a lovable character and a underated manager

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5. At 12:19pm on 27 Jun 2008, baristarim wrote:
The team of the tournament by far. And a pundit on BBC before the match said "oh, Germany will win something like 4-0"! After the match he says "well, some people were expecting Germany to go past the Turks easily". Yeah, "some people", eh??!! :)

But if it weren't for the fact that the goalie was suspended, Turkey would have been in the finals, and with other players returning most probably lifted the cup. But that's for another day. 2 semi-finals in six years is pretty good..

Great matches.. On to South Africa 2010!!!

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6. At 1:31pm on 27 Jun 2008, Jadath wrote:
As a German living in the UK, I knew that this would be special game, because the Turks would play their hearts out and the German team would be afraid to lose the match. With almost 4 million Turks in Germany, this was a match that left almost no one untouched.

If the German team would have gone out, I would have fully supported them in the final. And apart from 3-4 incidents it was a party all over Germany, Turks and Germans together. This did more for integration and friendship then 40 years of politics. Football can be great.

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7. At 1:44pm on 28 Jun 2008, makaryus wrote:
Thanx Mark for your great comments. Euro 2008 has been a classic tournament not only for us (turks) , but also for every football fan around the world. It was an amazing 2 weeks to see our team reaching the semi-finals. Maybe with more European experience and a better system(!) we can achieve more in the future.

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