Permanent fixture

Turks pray keeper Rustu stays healthy

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- Ask a thousand Turks to name the country's ideal World Cup lineup and you'd likely get a thousand different answers. But one name would be on every list.

Goalkeeper Rustu Recber is rated by many judges as one of the finest in Europe. The 28-year-old has been a fixture in the national team for six years and is probably the first name coach Senol Gunes writes on the teamsheet.

So great is the gap between Rustu and his rivals that an injury to the keeper would deal a massive blow to Turkey's hopes of progress at its first World Cup finals for half a century.

"Rustu saved Turkey again," wrote Devrim Sagiroglu in daily Hurriyet after a lackluster Turkish 0-0 draw with South Korea in a World Cup warmup in March.

"There's still no proper substitute," Sagiroglu wrote. "Let's all pray together: please don't let him get injured, don't let anything happen to him..."

A recent injury scare over the Fenerbahce goalkeeper provoked national panic. Rustu himself is aware how much he matters to the Turkish team and says he's ready for the pressures that the spotlight of the World Cup will bring.

"I'm ready for this and I'm going to do my best, I think I can deal with it," he said.

Rustu nominated the giant Dane Peter Schmeichel as the keeper he admires most and there are some similarities of style between the two.

The Turkish net-minder is agile, a good shot-stopper and a vocal organizer of the defenders in front of him.

"I'm pretty good at dealing with low shots, and I'm sure of my timing," Rustu said of his own goalkeeping strengths. Against that, he showed a tendency earlier in his career to lose concentration at key moments.

With question marks hanging over Turkey's defensive organization, Rustu is likely to get plenty of chances to display his skills -- especially when Turkey takes on Brazil in its opening game in Group C.

Ronaldo and Rivaldo, plus the explosive set-piece threat from fullback Roberto Carlos, are guaranteed to ask testing questions of any keeper.

Rustu was the only Fenerbahce player to emerge with any credit from a dismal European campaign in the past season, which saw the Turkish champion become just the second team in Champions League history to fail to take a single point from the tournament's group stage.

Aware of the value of their most precious asset, Fenerbahce directors have recently said they'll be looking to tie Rustu to a long-term contract after the World Cup.

If the Turkish keeper performs to his undoubted potential, Fenerbahce might face competition from all over Europe.

 

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