Expecting more

Turkey returns to finals after half a century

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- For Turkey, reaching the World Cup finals after half a century away is already an achievement. But, with what looks like a friendly draw, Turks expect their team to do more than just make up the numbers.

It could be the last bow, too, for a generation of players who have turned Turkish soccer from fall guy to international force.

Coach Senol Gunes has largely stuck to the squad that reached the quarterfinals of Euro 2000, the national team's best ever performance. He can also field several graduates of Galatasaray's UEFA Cup champions in 2000 -- the high point of Turkish club soccer history.

In its first World Cup finals since 1954, Turkey is up against China, Costa Rica and four-time champion Brazil in Group C. Second place looks like a realistic target.

"Our goal is to emerge from the group, we'd count that as a success, and then -- we'll see," Gunes said. "We're going to the World Cup for the first time in 48 years, and we have to use this chance well."

Turks are serious about their soccer, and millions would have watched the World Cup avidly even if their team hadn't qualified.

"For years, we've supported other countries in the World Cup," said Mehmet Kulaksizoglu, the national team's goalkeeping coach. "For the first time, people of my age won't have to wonder which country they should support. It's a great pride and excitement -- and most Turks have never felt it before."

The gloom is palpable in Turkey's major cities when the national team or one of the top clubs loses a big match. After a win, the euphoria can be dangerous as guns are fired in the air in celebration.

Gunes's critics, however, doubt there will be many street parties in Turkey this summer. They say the coach has been slow to identify his ideal lineup, and has undermined competition for places by being too loyal to a core group of veterans.

Gunes's job hasn't been made easier by injury worries to the talismanic defender Alpay Ozalan, and to midfielders Okan Buruk and Sergen Yalcin -- though the coach hopes that the former two, at least, will be fit for his side's opener against Brazil on June 3.

Another, perhaps bigger, concern is that key players like the dynamic Okan, striker Hakan Sukur and midfielder Emre Belozoglu aren't getting much first team action at their Italian clubs.

All three are former Galatasaray players who were part of an exodus that saw several Turks move to Europe's major leagues in the wake of the team's success.

But the dynamic Okan and Emre rarely even make the substitute's bench at Inter Milan. Hakan, who is Turkey's all-time top scorer and still the likeliest source of World Cup goals, is no more than an occasional starter, despite leaving Inter for Parma earlier this year in search of a first-team place.

Gunes, who is expected to play Hakan as a lone striker in front of a packed midfield, believes Turkey will require three different game plans in the group stage to cope with "three very different matches."

"Brazil is very different, very experienced and full of star players experienced in the World Cup who play very fast," Gunes said.

"China is a fast-running team which disrupts the game and upsets their opponents. Costa Rica is in between, we are more like Costa Rica."

Turkish fans will be expecting the team, criticized for a dour style of play at Euro 2000, to be more like Brazil.

"People don't just want the team to win, they want it to win with some style," said Bagis Erten, who hosts a soccer show on an Istanbul radio station. "We have the players to win over fans everywhere."

But in a squad short on flair -- especially if Sergen doesn't recover -- Gunes may find he looks increasingly to the young Yildiray Basturk to offer the spark of individual skill that can turn a tight World Cup game.

Comfortable in central midfield or further forward, Yildiray has been one of the main creative influences in a strong Bayer Leverkusen side that has challenged for the German title and reached the later semifinals of the Champions Cup this season.

Gunes is clearly more concerned with teamwork than individual flair.

"We have to settle down team discipline and establish cohesion within the team between individual players," he said. "There is no space for mistakes in the World Cup."

Turkey's defenders have been guilty of a few mistakes in the past, sometimes letting their concentration lapse. But they are quick and combative.

"We're aggressive and itching for action," said one of them, Galatasaray's Bulent Korkmaz. "We're ready to take on our opponents."

Behind them, Gunes is fortunate to have a highly rated goalkeeper in Fenerbahce's Rustu Rencber -- possibly the most indispensable member of Turkey's squad, since his deputies are erratic and inexperienced.

Amid a deep economic crisis, it's unlikely that many Turks will make the pricey trip to the Far East, whose stadiums will be spared the ear-piercing din that makes Turks among the noisiest of all soccer fans.

The intensity reflects a feeling that Turkey is a rising force in soccer.

"To do well in the World Cup, our players just have to believe in themselves and fear nothing," said Necati Zengin, 43, a taxi driver. "They can play great when they're not afraid."

 

Related information
Stories
Turks pray keeper Rustu stays healthy Hakan carries heavy burden for Turkey
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.