Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Game 10: Slip and Slide

In the most dramatic and exciting game of the tournament thus far, Turkey pulled off a stunning win against the Swiss with some last minute magic courtesy of Arda Turan. The Turks seemed to be a completely different team after the first half that saw Switzerland dominate most of the match and scoring opportunities and with a 1-0 lead in the rain drenched pitched, it seemed that the Swiss were in control of the match. Fatih Terim must have inspired (or threatened) his players at half-time, and with the rain slowing, and pitch drying out a little bit, the Turks were able to get back into the match and re-establish a rhythm that saw them equalize thanks to Semih Senturk's header. For the next half hour the action was back and forth with both sides exchanging blows offensively, and as the match wore on it was clear that Turkey was going to be happy with a draw, as they began to slow play and stall at every possible moment. Then in the 93rd minute Turkey experienced pure ecstasy while the Swiss were absolutely shocked to find themselves the first official casualty of the European Championships. Meanwhile somewhere in Switzerland Luiz Felipe Scolari is not only celebrating his appointment as new manager of Chelsea, but with a Turkey victory, his Portuguese side is now officially the first team to get through to the quarter-finals.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I say Scolari doesn't make it til Christmas with Chelsea...he'll be begging for a national team job after working under Roman.

farris said...

Sooooooo...

About those Croats refusing to play well against the less skilled teams but showing up for the big games...