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Turks go home as heroes
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) -- Turkey's unprecedented World Cup run was halted by Brazil on Wednesday just one game short of the final. Despite losing 1-0 to the four-time champion in the semifinal, Senol Gunes and his team will go home as heroes. The Turks played a full part in a World Cup of upsets and their performance here will give much hope back home that they have the talent to be a challenger again. The loss was the second to Brazil in this World Cup. Three weeks ago Brazil defeated the Turks 2-1 on a disputed penalty in the 87th minute by Rivaldo. Perhaps there was an element of deja vu. In Turkey's only other World Cup appearance in 1954, it lost twice to West Germany -- 4-1 and 7-2 although the second was in a playoff. After spending nearly half a century in the world's soccer wildnernes, Turkey recorded a major shock by reaching the semifinals -- much like South Korea did by getting to the semifinals only to lose 1-0 Tuesday to Germany. In 1954, Turkey's only victory was 7-0 over South Korea. Despite that brief moment of joy, it was eliminated in the first round. Turkey now faces South Korea for third place in the World Cup on Saturday -- evidence of the emergence of new nations in a sport dominated by Europe and South America. As Turkey and South Korea stayed around to almost the end, defending champion France and powers like Argentina, Italy and Portugal went home early. In their first World Cup in 48 years, the Turks narrowly lost to Brazil 2-1 in their opener having taken the lead. They tied Costa Rica 1-1 and trounced World Cup finals rookies China 3-0. At the same time, Brazil was beating Costa Rica 5-2 in its final group match to give the Turks the second round on goal difference over the Central Americans. After beating co-host Japan 1-0 in the second round, they defeated Senegal with a golden goal by Ilhan Mansiz in the quarterfinals. The third-place match with South Korea puts the Turks up against the other co-host. The Turks qualified from a weak group for the 32-nation finals after facing Sweden, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Slovakia in European qualifying. They finished second in their group, but still needed a playoff to reach the final 32. They won in style, defeating Austria 1-0 in Vienna and romping home 5-0 in Istanbul. Turkey's success was based on several factors. In 2000, Galatasaray became the first Turkish club to win the UEFA Cup, and the national side reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship for the first time in the same year. That triggered an exodus of talent from Turkish clubs to Parma, Inter Milan, Aston Villa and many others. Those players brought back a better understanding of soccer strategy and team play _ forming the base of Turkey's success in South Korea and Japan. Amid wobbles in the first round, coach Gunes stressed that Turkey was gaining important World Cup experience which it had lacked for half a century. That experience should give an advantage to the Turks in their quest to become regulars in the World Cup. They are determined not to sit on the sidelines of the world soccer for another 48 years. "We were guests here. But we will be the host in Germany," Gunes said referring to the next World Cup in 2006. Germany is like a second home for Turks, where 2.8 million live and work. But the Turks know if they qualify for the 2006 World Cup, they will feel even more pressure to win. "Next time, our job will be more difficult," Gunes said. |
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