Euro 2008 Quarterfinal Preview: Croatia vs. Turkey

It’s the underdogs vs. the under-underdogs.

Unless your name is “fan of Slaven Bilic” or “England,” (or perhaps “Kranjcar Fangirl”), you may be surprised to see Croatia in the quarterfinals with the likes of Italy, Spain and Germany. This is their first time to ever make it out of the group stage at Euros. But this is a quality squad, and they came eaway with all nine points in Group B. And three of those points came from a shock 2-1 victory over tournament favorites Germany. It goes without saying that they were the top team in the group.

Croatia comes in with talents like Niko Kranjcar and new Tottenham signing Luka Modric. But their most important asset is coach Slaven Bilic, who’s shown a passionate dedication to this team and an intense desire to take it to the next level. Where he goes, this squad follows. And his plan is to go all the way to the championship.

Turkey’s road to the quarters was a little rockier. They lost to Portugal, 2-0 in the first game. They then fell behind Switzerland 1-0 in a torrential downpour, then came roaring back after the rain let up and won 2-1. (And if you don’t understand why I’m mentioning the rain as if it were an extra player, you didn’t see the game. It destroyed Turkey’s ability to rely on their tactical play — one of their main strengths. When the rain stopped, they came back with a vengeance.) Things were even more challenging in their final group match against the Czech Republic, where they were down 2-0 with just fifteen minutes to play. Yet they somehow managed to come back for an amazing 3-2 win, with key player Nihat Kahveci coming up with a late brace.

Turkey are definitely the underdogs in this match, but their ability to come back from seemingly dire predicaments means you should not count them out, even though they are facing a whole bunch of adversity in this game.

For starters, their goalkeeper, Volkan Demeril, (pictured leaving the Czech match) is serving the first game of a two-game suspension for giving a shove to the Czech Republic’s Jan Koller. Who then went down as if he’d been shot by that invisible sniper who’s been taking out players all tournament long.

But the good news for Turkey is that their #2 goalkeeper isn’t exactly lacking in experience. Rüştü Reçber has 117 caps for the Turks — the most of any Turkish player. He only recently lost his starting spot for the team, and he handled it with class.

“The most important thing is not to complain about things. Your behaviour is even more important if you are on the bench. You can make a very valuable contribution to the team as a player or a substitute. Everyone know Turkish people are proud of their country so it is an honour just to be here.”

That’s the kind of attitude that wins tournaments. Or at least gets you out of the group stage.

Unfortunately for Turkey, a key midfielder, Mehmet Aurelio is also suspended for the game after acquiring a second yellow. And they’ll be missing several players due to injury, including Emre Belözoğlu (hamstring), defender Servet Çetin (knee), and defender Emre Güngör. And midfielder Tümer Metin (groin strain) is doubtful.

On the other side, Croatia won’t be missing any starters. Their only injuries are to reserve defender Dario Knezevic (knee) and reserve striker Igor Budan (foot.)

But don’t expect Turkey to roll over and give up. Their hope is that The Croatians will be overconfident going in, and the plan is to start strong and not have to rely on a comeback this time.

Of course, I don’t think they planned on relying on a comeback the last two times, either.