- Turkey national football team
Infobox National football team
Name = Turkey
Badge = TFF.png
Nickname = Ay-Yıldızlılar (Crescent Stars)
Association =Turkish Football Federation
Confederation =UEFA (Europe)
Coach =Fatih Terim
Asst Manager =
Captain =Emre Belözoğlu
Most caps =Rüştü Reçber (119)
Top scorer =Hakan Şükür (51)
FIFA Rank = 13
1st ranking date = August 1993
FIFA max = 5
FIFA max date = June 2004
FIFA min = 67
FIFA min date = October 1993
Elo Rank = 17
Elo max = 9
Elo max date = November 2002
Elo min = 82
Elo min date = November 1985
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_turkey|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=D00000|body1=D00000|rightarm1=D00000|shorts1=D00000|socks1=D00000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_turkey_away|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=3FA9A9|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=3Fb9b9|socks2=3Fb9b9First game = Flagicon|Turkey Turkey 2 - 2 fb-rt|Romania (
Istanbul ,Turkey ; October 26, 1923)
Largest win = Flagicon|Turkey Turkey 7 - 0 fb-rt|Syria|1932 (Ankara ,Turkey ; November 20, 1949)
Flagicon|Turkey Turkey 7 - 0 fb-rt|South Korea (Geneva ,Switzerland ; 20 June, 1954)
Largest loss = fb|Poland 8 - 0 Turkey Flagicon|Turkey (Chorzów ,Poland ; April 24, 1968)
Flagicon|Turkey Turkey 0 - 8 fb-rt|England (Istanbul ,Turkey ; 14 November, 1984)
fb|England 8 - 0 Turkey Flagicon|Turkey (London ,England ; 14 October, 1987)| World cup apps = 2
World cup first = 1954
World cup best = 3rd, 2002
Regional name = European Championship
Regional cup apps = 3
Regional cup first = 1996
Regional cup best = Semi-finals, 2008
Confederations cup apps = 1 | Confederations cup first = 2003| Confederations cup best = 3rd, 2003Republic of Turkey and is controlled by theTurkish Football Federation . They are affiliated withUEFA .Turkey has a footballing tradition that features both highs and lows. In World Cup competition Turkey has qualified three times for the 1950, 1954, and 2002 editions. Turkey failed to make an appearance for the
1950 World Cup due to a withdrawal.The team's highest achievement was reaching 3rd place at the
2002 FIFA World Cup . Turkey also reached the knockout round ofEuro 2000 , the semi-finals ofEuro 2008 and finished 3rd in the2003 FIFA Confederations Cup .History
Early years
The Turkish national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923. The most notable thing of this match was that
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was also there to wish the team good luck, Atatürk was known to be a huge fan of the game. In this era the Turkish national team was feared because the players that represented the squad played in Turkish teams that defeated English teams a few years before in every encounter they had.World Cups 1950 and 1954
Turkey qualified very easily for the
1950 World Cup beating Syria 7-0 but they had to withdraw due to financial problems.Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4-1 to Spain but a 1-0 win a few days later initiated a replay. On that occasion they tied 2-2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with
Hungary andWest Germany . However the Turks never playedHungary due to the tournament format, and a 4-1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7-0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7-2.1954 to 1958
The Turkish national team played some nice matches in this period, the biggest one being a 3-1 beating of unbeatable Hungary.
'60s to '90s
Despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. The 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. The Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 8-0 scorelines against Poland and, twice, England. Yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final game.
Euro 1996 and 2000
Turkey qualified for the Euro 96, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2-1 along the way, but then at
Euro 1996 they lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. However, they did go home with an award: the fair-play award, given toAlpay Özalan .Turkey qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against the Republic of Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2-1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0-0, and beat host nation Belgium 2-0, making it the first time in the history of the
European Championship that a host nation had been eliminated in the first round, brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament where Portugal won the quarter-final match 2-0.World Cup 2002
Turkey finished second in their qualifying group, despite starting well and being the favourites to top the group they lost 2-1 to Sweden in the crucial match that would decide the top spot. The Turks were forced to play the play-offs against Austria. They defeated the Austrians 6-0 on aggregate and booked their place at the finals.
The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2-1 defeat against eventual winners Brazil. Turkey passed the group stage with a 3-0 win against China, after drawing 1-1 with
Costa Rica .Turkey then faced home team Japan, beating them 1-0. The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1-0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals where a 1-0 defeat against Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was the prize after a 3-2 victory over South Korea.
Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World cup history. [Fastest Goals in WC History]Confederations Cup 2003 and Euro 2004
In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 Confederations Cup. In the groupstages they drew 2-2 against
Brazil eliminating them from the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3-2 in the semi-final match. Turkey defeated Colombia 2-1 to win third place.The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group.
World Cup 2006
The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch.
Euro 2008
Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in 6 years by finishing second behind Greece in Group C. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match they played Portugal and were beaten 2-0, but wins over Switzerland (2-1) and Czech Republic (3-2), both secured by late goals, brought qualification for the knockout stages. [ [http://www.fifa.com/confederationcup/news/newsid=804461.html#turkey+edge+czechs+thriller FIFA.com - Turkey edge out Czechs in thriller ] ]
The quarter final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1-0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Senturk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans, and Croatia's coach,
Slaven Bilić , who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. However, this complaint was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey beat out Croatia in penalties 3 - 1.They went into the semi-final against Germany with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2-2 in the last minute of the match, until Germany scored a third goal in the last few seconds and Turkey were thus eliminated.
World Cup record
ECO Cup record
Coaching staff
Past managers
col-4
*flagicon|TurkeyAli Sami Yen 1923
*flagicon|ScotlandBilly Hunter 1924-1926
*flagicon|HungaryBela Tóth 1927-1932
*flagicon|EnglandFred Pegnam 1932
*flagicon|EnglandJames Elliot 1936-1937
*flagicon|HungaryIgnác Molnár 1948
*flagicon|TurkeyUlvi Yenal 1948
*flagicon|EnglandPeter Molloy 1948-1949
*flagicon|TurkeyCihat Arman 1949
*flagicon|EnglandPeter Molloy 1950
*flagicon|EnglandJimmy McCormick 1950-1951
*flagicon|TurkeyRebii Erkal 1951
*flagicon|TurkeySadri Usuoğlu 1952
*flagicon|ItalySandro Puppo 1952-1954
*flagicon|TurkeyGündüz Kılıç 1954
*flagicon|YugoslaviaŽarko Mihajlović 1955
*flagicon|ItalyGiovanni Varglien 1955-1956
*flagicon|TurkeyCihat Arman 1956
*flagicon|HungaryLászló Székely 1957
*flagicon|ItalyLeandro Remondini 1958-1959
*flagicon|HungaryIgnác Molnár 1960
*flagicon|ItalySandro Puppo 1960-1962
*flagicon|TurkeyŞeref Görkey 1962
*flagicon|YugoslaviaLjubiša Spajić 1962
*flagicon|TurkeyBülent Eken 1963
*flagicon|TurkeyCihat Arman 1964
*flagicon|ItalySandro Puppo 1965
*flagicon|TurkeyDoğan Andaç 1965
*flagicon|ItalySandro Puppo 1965-1966
*flagicon|Turkey Adnan Süvari 1966-1969
*flagicon|TurkeyAbdullah Gegić 1969
*flagicon|TurkeyCihat Arman 1970-1971
*flagicon|RomaniaNicolae Petrescu 1971
*flagicon|TurkeyCoşkun Özari 1972-1976
*flagicon|TurkeyDoğan Andaç 1976
*flagicon|TurkeyMetin Türel 1977-1978
*flagicon|TurkeySabri Kiraz 1978-1980
*flagicon|TurkeyÖzkan Sümer 1981
*flagicon|TurkeyFethi Demircan 1982
*flagicon|TurkeyCoşkun Özari 1982-1984
*flagicon|TurkeyCandan Tarhan 1984
*flagicon|TurkeyYılmaz Gökdel 1984-1985
*flagicon|HungaryKálmán Mészöly 1985
*flagicon|TurkeyCoşkun Özari 1985-1986
*flagicon|TurkeyMustafa Denizli 1987
*flagicon|TurkeyTınaz Tırpan 1988-1989
*flagicon|GermanySepp Piontek 1990-1993
*flagicon|TurkeyFatih Terim 1993-1996
*flagicon|TurkeyMustafa Denizli 1996-2000
*flagicon|TurkeyŞenol Güneş 2000-2004
*flagicon|TurkeyÜnal Karaman 2004
*flagicon|TurkeyErsun Yanal 2004-2005
*flagicon|TurkeyFatih Terim 2005-National stadiums
*In
Istanbul ;
**Atatürk Olympic Stadium (capacity: 81,283) - "last match against Germany on 8 October 2005 with 2-1 result"
**Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium (capacity: 52,509) - "last match against Belgium on 1-1 result"
**Inönü Stadium (capacity: 32,145) - "last match against Sweden on 6 February 2008 with 0-0 result"
**Ali Sami Yen Stadium (capacity: 22,500) - "last match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 21 December 2007 with 1-0 result"
*InAnkara ;
**19 Mayıs Stadium (capacity: 21,250) - "last match against Moldova on 20 August 2003 with 2-0 result"
*InIzmir ;
**İzmir Atatürk Stadium (capacity: 58,008) - "last match against Czech Republic on 1 March 2006 with 2-2 result"
*InBursa ;
**Bursa Atatürk Stadium (capacity: 19,700) - "last match against Macedonia on 6 June 2001 with 3-3 result"
*InTrabzon ;
**Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium (capacity: 29,500) - "last match against Georgia on 4 September 2004 with 1-1 result"
*InGaziantep ;
**Kamil Ocak Stadium (capacity: 14,325) - "last match against Denmark on 18 February 2004 with 0-1 result"
*InDenizli ;
**Denizli Atatürk Stadium (capacity: 15,000) - "last match against Belarus on 18 August 2004 with 1-2 result"Trivia
*Hakan Şükür scored the fastest goal ever in (10.8 seconds after kickoff) a World Cup finals match during the third-place game of the 2002 World Cup against South Korea.
*Turkey's highest FIFA World Ranking was 5th place. (June 2004)
*Nuri Şahin is the youngest player ever to have played and scored for the Turkish national team, ironically scoring against Germany, as he has both Turkish and German citizenships.
*Turkey has now won four consecutive matches against host nations in major tournaments, after beating Belgium inUEFA Euro 2000 , both Japan and South Korea in the2002 FIFA World Cup , and Switzerland inUEFA Euro 2008 .
*Semih Şentürk scored the latest goal (time was 121.04) in European Cup history in Turkey's Euro 2008 quarterfinal match against Croatia.
*The most goals scored in a match was in 1967 when Turkey played against Pakistan. Turkey won the match 7-4.
*Sadri Usuoğlu was the first and only black manager of the national team when he coached the team in 1952.Cups squads
External links
* [http://www.turkishsoccer.com Turkish soccer(Football) latest news]
* [http://www.tff.org Official Site of Turkish Football Federation]
* [http://www.turkfutbolu.net Turkish Football Statistics]
* [http://www.turkish-soccer.com Unofficial site with extensive national team information]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/tur-recintlp.html RSSSF.com - Caps and goals leaders for Turkey]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/tur-coach.html RSSSF.com - Turkey national team coaches]References
* [http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=tur/ranking/gender=m/index.html Fifa.com Rankings - Turkey]
* [http://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=3 Turkish Football Federation] tr icon
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