Athens- In Euro 2008 Group C Qualifiers actions, Turkey crushed Greece 4-1 before more than 35,000 fans in Athens. Terim fielded a second-string, due to injuries and yellow cards. Greece looked to dominate, slotting from close range in the 5th minute from a deflection by Tuncay Sanli. The early goal sent the Greeks into comfortable bliss, but shocked the Turks into sober concentration. As Turkish pressure built up, Sanli redeemed himself in the 27rh minute, snatching a long shot by Tumer Metin and turning it around into the bottom left Greek nets.
In the second half, the young Turks continued to improve and press, dominating the center field and disbursing the Greeks into disarray. In the 55th minute, a swift counter attack by rookie Gokhan Unal converted into a surprise shot for Unal who slotted into the bottom left corner from 35 yards: to give the Turks a 2-1 lead. Again, in the 70th minute, Tumer Metin's counter-attack concluded with a nasty bullet from 35 yards that curved to elude the Greek keeper who was moving in the opposite direction. Finally, Terim sent in Trabzon striker, Gokdenz Karadeniz in the 80th minute to go for gold against a weary and demoralized Greek side. A minute into play, Karadeniz received a throw-in from mid-left field, and bee-lined for the Greek box, dribbling past three Greek defenders and slotting past the keeper to make it 4-1.
The Turkish victory was its sixth against Greece, since Turkey defeated Greece 3-1 in Athens in April 1948, 2-1 in Istanbul in November 1948, 2-1 in Athens in May 1949, 3-1 in Istanbul in September 1988, and 1-0 in Athens in September 1989. More recently, Greece and Turkey had drawn 0-0 in Athens and Istanbul, in September 2003 and June 2004, respectively.
The Turkish victory also reflected diversifying talent in Turkish soccer, as four separate players scored. Similarly, Turkey had excellent diversity in scoring, as four players scored against Kazakhstan (6-0, Almaty, 2005), Georgia (5-2,Tiflis, 2005), Liechtenstein (5-0, Istanbul, 2002), and Austria (5-0, Istanbul, 2001).
-ATAA Public Outreach Committee