Turkish soccer team snatches last-minute win from Czechs

Squad’s 3-2 win over Czech Republic results in late-night celebrations

A fan of the Turkish team shouts out during the public viewing in Hamburg, Germany, of the Euro 2008 championship Group A match between Turkey and the Czech Republic on Sunday. Turkey won the match 3-2.

By Thomas Grove - Reuters

ISTANBUL – Turkey savored a last-gasp win over the Czech Republic at Euro 2008 and then poured praise on its national team as fans celebrated late into Sunday night and looked forward to a quarterfinal match against Croatia.

Turkish fans turned out in force back at home, across host nations Austria and Switzerland and in Germany to celebrate the sensational 3-2 victory over the Czechs in Group A, which saw the team finish runners-up behind Portugal.

Turkey coach Fatih Terim, heavily criticized after their opening 2-0 defeat by Portugal for his squad selection and especially for having left long-serving striker Hakan Sukur at home, was back in favor and told the country to enjoy the moment.

“Go out and celebrate; go out on the streets and savor this feeling,” he told the fans, who obeyed by dancing, singing and driving around the streets of Istanbul, Berlin and Geneva, where the match was played, until the early hours.

“Terim came out onto the field with the right players, he made the right substitutions and he never gave up,” said daily newspaper Milliyet after Nihat Kahveci’s late double snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on a dramatic night.

Czech newspapers lambasted their team for a “total collapse” after a howler by keeper Petr Cech, who dropped a cross, allowed Nihat to score Turkey’s second goal before adding a third. “A Czech explosion – Collapse against the Turks,” was the headline in the main daily Mlada Fronta Dnes, while the Sport said “Horrible finish.” “Turkish execution,” added the front-page headline on business daily Hospodarske Noviny.

Galatasaray’s Arda, who has lit up domestic soccer in recent years, got the most attention in yesterday’s Turkish papers despite Nihat’s inspired performance, including a superb winning goal that left the diving Czech merely grasping at air.

“This game saw the emergence of a man who held the game when everything else last night was going wrong, someone who is in another league,” the daily Milliyet said of Arda, who had started the comeback that brought delight to millions of Turks.

Cheering revelers filled up central Istanbul, dancing and singing well into the night and thousands of the 2.5 million Turks living in Germany joined noisy car convoys and spontaneous street parties in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg and other cities.

“It was a gigantic party,” said a Berlin police spokeswoman, after thousands of honking cars covered in Turkish flags packed the central Kurfuerstendamm boulevard. Fireworks were still being launched at 3 a.m. in some parts of the city.

Hopes for a victory over Croatia on Friday are now high and the historical significance of Turkey’s advance to Vienna, where the match will be played, was not lost on the fans who recalled the Ottoman Empire’s repeated attempts to capture the city. “Just wait Vienna, we’re coming again,” said Turkish newspaper Vatan.