Quality Time With The Emperor

2009-09-05T15:34:09-04:00

2008-06-25T09:56:03-04:00

2008-09-10T06:38:33-04:00

2008-06-25T17:14:34-04:00

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fernandopm

No City 441360

Well, the germans had to sweat it all the way till the 90th minute. i don't think they ever imagined it was going to be this tough. Good for Turkey that they showed incredible will and heart. Now I'm just hoping for a Germany - Spain final! 2067130

2008-06-25T17:05:54-04:00

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BruinsWin!

San Francisco 172211

WOW! What more can you say about Turkey!?! What heart, what guts! I think it was their amazing willpower that caused the power to be knocked out...they were just defying the soccer gods at every turn. I hope they get a parade in their honor back in Istanbul for the way they nearly shocked the world. 2067052

2008-06-25T15:06:10-04:00

jurgenk

No City 426039

I clearly remember the referee stopping at least two counter attacks by Spain against Italy due to an "injured" Italian player. I've seen similar horrible calls in other games, but those two are the ones I remember most clearly right now. eeerie1 | 06/25/08, 12:53 PM Report Offensive Comment If my memory serves, the Spanish kicked the ball out to bring about the stoppages... if the game is to get rid of some of these moments, wherein an "injured" player requires a trainer and then must leave the pitch, make them serve a period of time (2 minutes?) on the sideline before they can reenter the game. The games I have watched have been officiated equitably and I do not see large problems with the amount of yellow cards handed out. 2065424

2008-06-25T14:33:53-04:00

blue42

Elyria 441379

"Turkey's keeper was given a two game ban because AFTER he got the red card, he went to his team's bench to watch the rest of the game instead of leaving the field. You can't do that and not expect punishment." I'm sure he had a huge impact sitting on the bench those final, what, two minutes? Was he still wearing his gloves? Seriously, tag on a game for that? Come on. Talk about a silly rule that needs to be changed... 2064903

2008-06-25T14:25:25-04:00

Human

Baltimore 445689

Grant, i noticed you mentioned that you were from Baltimore . . . does this mean Claddagh's for kickoff? 2064781

2008-06-25T14:20:20-04:00

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Icon

Hackettstown 413443

Barca- Why are you pullin for Turkey? I hope its not so you have a easier game in the final as a Spain fan!!! Either way they (spain) would lose IMO!!! Germany this game HAS TO get a goal early and then just grind them into submission.....Germany 2-0....finals Germany 3 Spain-0 2064668

2008-06-25T14:07:36-04:00

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BruinsWin!

San Francisco 172211

"Why does the Turkish goalie get suspended for two games for a push, while Schweinsteiger was suspended for only one" Turkey's keeper was given a two game ban because AFTER he got the red card, he went to his team's bench to watch the rest of the game instead of leaving the field. You can't do that and not expect punishment. He did it to himself. 2064522

2008-06-25T14:06:04-04:00

Jazz4life

Orlando 445634

To paraphare Signor Ferrari, For Turkey to beat Germany, it would take a miracle, and the Germans have outlawed miracles. Germany 1 - Turkey 0 2064457

2008-06-25T14:04:46-04:00

Jazz4life

Orlando 445634

Fatih Terim is one of the smartest coaches in world soccer, proving the old adage "a good manager can make a team five percent better; a bad manager can make them up to 30 percent worse" 2064447

2008-06-25T14:04:21-04:00

Jazz4life

Orlando 445634

To paraphrase Signor Ferrari, For Turkey to beat Germany, it would take a miracle, and the Germans have outlawed miracles. Germany 1 - Turkey 0 2064467

BASEL, Switzerland—Now this is more like it. The Euro 2008 Blog is finally on-site, nibbling on some Swiss chocolate and devouring the European dailies as we take you inside the final week of the world’s biggest soccer event of the year. Over a cold bottle of raki last night at the team hotel, Turkey coach Fatih Terim told me ... Oh, who am I kidding? MY COUCH IN BALTIMORE—Okay, let’s imagine that I did share drinks last night with Terim on the eve of today’s semifinal clash between Turkey and Germany (2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Emperor—a sort of Turkish Tommy Lasorda who’s the best Euro 2008 coach not named Guus Hiddink—presumably would have wanted to talk about: • The rules on yellow-card suspensions. I know the Miracle Turks have amassed a tournament-leading 15 cards (14 yellow, one red), but the fact is that soccer fans are being shortchanged today by the yellow-card suspensions of offensive stars Arda Turan and Tuncay Sanli. It’s high time that the rules were changed to require three accumulated yellow cards for a suspension instead of two—especially now that the slate isn’t wiped clean until after the quarterfinals (instead of after the first round, as it used to be). Referees are just too capricious, inconsistent and, well, officious to let two yellow cards in four games determine a player’s fate. We want to see the best against the best at their best. That’s unfortunate for all of us neutrals because ... • Terim may have to pull a Donadoni against Germany. Losing Arda, Tuncay and goal-sniper Nihat Kaveci (who’s injured) may well force Turkey into defensive-minded survival mode (aka, Let’s play for penalties!) in the fashion of Italy against Spain. Yes, the Emperor will have goal-scoring hero Semih Sentürk and Kazim Kazim available to play up top, but his attack-minded mids are likely to be a big downgrade in Ugur Boral, Gökdeniz Karadeniz and Sabri Sarioglu (unless he decides to throw rangy right back Hamit Altintop in as a midfielder). Keep in mind, too, that Turkey only has one fit potential substitute field player, which decreases the likelihood of attackers wanting to buzz around for 120 minutes until penalties. Bottom line: the key to opening up this game will be an early German goal. • Key matchup: Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger vs. Turkey’s Hakan Balta or Hamit Altintop. Much has been made in the run-up to this semifinal of the simpático feelings between Germans and German Turks, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/sports/soccer/25soccer.html?_r=1&oref=slogin" target="_blank">the nation’s largest minority</a>, and both Hakan Balta (a Berlin native) and Altintop (a Gelsenkirchen native) have had good tournaments as Turkey’s outside backs. So we can expect some good German trash-talk when one of them is matched up against the rampaging Schweini, for me one of the tournament’s three best players along with Russia’s Andrei Arshavin and Spain’s David Villa. Schweinsteiger covers a ton of ground, is blessed with a 120-minute motor and has a habit of beating defenders to the ball at important moments (as when he burned Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira to score against Portugal). • Does Turkey have any miracles left? The Emperor can only hope so, because his team is facing its longest odds yet. The Germans have been threatening in the run of play (especially Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack), but they’ve been even more dangerous on set-pieces, which the Turks figure to give up frequently if the ball stays in their defensive half of the field. With Emre Asik out (due to another !@#$ yellow-card suspension) we may see a defensive midfielder (Mehmet Aurélio or Mehmet Topal) moving back into central defense, which may make things unsettled for the Turks. Long story short: For Turkey to win it needs to play an amazing defensive game and hope for penalties or a quick-strike counter-attack (perhaps with Altintop making a full-field jailbreak run and finishing the way Tony Sanneh should have against the Germans in 2002). It could happen, I guess, but it’s not likely. Germany 2, Turkey 0. Who do you like today? Are the Germans the tournament favorite now? And should Joachim Löw invest in a new shirt to replace the white one he wears all the time? Please post your comments below and come back after the game for the latest edition of the Euro 2008 Blog ... 1313 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/194/315/thumb/wahl_grant.jpg 11 MD

Grant Wahl

Baltimore 194615