Three-time world and three-time European champions, the German national team, which has participated in 10 UEFA finals, played its most difficult game in years against the Turkish national team. It was the Turkish national team that played superior ball for 90 minutes but, unfortunately, it was Germany that won. They wore the lucky hat this time, not Turkey. Yesterday the headlines of all the Turkish dailies pointed out the same thing, conveying the feelings of millions of people from different religions, cultures and ethnicities who had settled themselves in front of their televisions to witness Turkey's success on Wednesday night. Nobody felt any sort of resentment toward the young players of our team. Just the contrary, everybody was grateful toward and proud of our young men, who played so perfectly and with such strength that history will record their names. Despite the unlucky score, there was no trace of the psychological mood normally displayed by defeated players. One paper wrote "You are champions," in its headline, while another said "You did your best." Three daily newspapers headlined "Champions of the heart," which should be a well-deserved source of pride for the team. "Don't worry, we won," "Thanks boys" and "Brilliant farewell" were some of the other banners.
Probably no other defeat could be this pride-inspiring despite the frustration of having been beaten, because before Turkey took on Germany, nine of its players were injured and it was faced with great difficulty in deciding the lineup. We were confronted by the world champion "German panzers." Despite the greatness of the rival, we played much better throughout the full 90 minutes. I don't think the Germans have faced such a tough game in Euro 2008, or even in the years before that.
As if the overwhelming psychological pressure from the tens of thousands of German spectators who filled the stadium was not enough, that ignominy of referees Busacca literally worked for Germany with the partial decisions he made throughout the game. Despite these negative factors, it was the Turkish team that dominated the game, while Germany prevailed with three goals. This game is unfortunately called soccer, and what matters ultimately is not the soccer you play, but the score. And the score just happened to be in favor of the Germans.
Except for the goals, the statistical data of the game reveal that the Turkish national team did deserve to win the game. For example, Turks played with the ball for 56 minutes, while Germans spent just 46 minutes with it. Turks took 20 shots, while Germany took only nine. Of Turkey's 20 shots, 11 made it to the goal, while only three German shots hit the goal; all three just happened to enter it. Another piece of information that proves that the game was played mostly on the German side of the field is that Turkey had nine corner kicks, while Germany had only two. That is, all the stats show that the Turkish national team exerted tremendous pressure on the Germans.
What is left behind with us as the memorable events from the game are, of course, the awesome Turkish soccer and the partial decisions from Busacca and his assistants that enraged us. We will particularly remember how Busacca's assistant Arnetti ended many offensives that could perhaps have resulted in goals. The referees' exaggeratedly partial attitudes were made very clear after Turkey's second goal; although they have to run to the middle of the field in line with the rules, they froze from sadness and stood there watching. This attitude will be included in the list of European referees' shamefully partial matches.
I would like to express my gratitude to all the heroes of the national team, as well as to the directors and the coaching staff, for exciting me to such an extent that I decided to pen an article on sports for the first time in my life, and for making us, the nation, experience such an overflowing of emotions. We are proud of each and every one of them. I sincerely believe that the Turkish team, as well as Turkey, will find itself an important position in a place it deserves in the near future.
