Two Turkey fans stood in the middle of a three-lane carriageway. They held up a Turkish flag so cars on the way to the Olympiastadion could pass under it. A bigger red and white flag was draped over the highway from a bridge further down the road.
Those who didn’t drive were processed towards the ground on the stony outskirts of West Berlin. An estimated 15,000 marched until local police broke up the crowds due to “continued political messages”. Grey Wolf gestures, like those that led to centre-half Merih Demiral receiving a two-match ban that meant he missed this match — a punishment which was described by his Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella as “misunderstood” and his team-mate Ferdi Kadioglu as “unfair.”
Saturday’s quarter-final against the Netherlands was the biggest game for Turkey in 16 years. So big that head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s motorcade sped through the rain to make it in time for kick-off. Erdogan had flown in specially, to see if Turkey could reach the last four of the European Championship for the first time since 2008 when Semih Senturk, now a member of Montella’s staff, scored in extra time of extra time to take Croatia to a penalty shootout, where they prevailed, on an epic night in Vienna, Austria.
Samet Akaydin must have thought he was Senturk for a new generation when he appeared at the far post to head in a cross from Arda Guler that was so delectable, even on his weaker foot, that two of Akaydin’s team-mates were queuing up behind him to score the game’s opening goal if he failed.
But it wasn’t to be 2008 all over again. Turkey could not hold onto their lead as they did against Austria in the round of 16 four days ago. Goalkeeper Mert Gunok had no more miracles left to work. He couldn’t claw out Stefan de Vrij’s equaliser in the same heroic way he did Christoph Baumgartner’s header in Leipzig. He couldn’t stop Mert Muldur’s own goal from trickling past him six minutes later.
“We should have no regrets,” Montella said, running a hand through his slick black hair. “We gave it our all.”
His team looked to have finally found the necessary balance to go far in this competition that night against Austria.
The long balls his centre-backs played were a problem for Dutch defenders De Vrij, Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake as Muldur and Baris Yilmaz threatened to run in behind or win second balls. Perhaps Turkey would have made it through to a semi-final against England in Dortmund on Wednesday had Xavi Simons been sent off for an apparent, accidental stamp on Muldur, or if striker Wout Weghorst hadn’t hooked a loose ball away from Kaan Ayhan in his own penalty area, or if substitutes Zeki Celik and Kerem Akturkoglu had shown more composure in front of goal.
“We weren’t very lucky about that,” Montella said, alluding to Simons’ potential red.
But rather than bitterness, his overriding emotion was pride. Turkey failed to qualify for the Euros in 2012. They didn’t get out of the group in the 2016 edition and lost every game in the most recent one three years ago.
“When I took charge of the national team, there was the fear we would not qualify,” Montella liked to remind his critics. “Not only did we qualify with a game to spare, we topped the group.” Turkey won in Croatia for the first time. They beat Germany away for the first time in more than 70 years. “It’s a year of firsts,” Montella underlined.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s emotional reaction to Turkey’s Euro 2024 elimination (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
The Italian has copped flak for playing a strikerless system, which was perceived as negative regardless of the array of attacking players elsewhere on the pitch. He came in for more criticism for the changes he made against Portugal in the second group game here, particularly the decision to drop Kenan Yildiz and the golden boy Guler, which quickly obtained the same optics as dropping Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal or Lionel Messi for Argentina. But Montella didn’t let the media pull him down. He pushed on.
“I’m proud of my team,” he smiled. “They played with great spirit, the Turkish spirit. We felt the love, in spite of our defeat. The Turkish people loved us.”
They loved Mulder’s opener against Georgia and Guler’s curler later in that same game. They loved Cenk Tosun’s stoppage-time clincher against the Czech Republic, Demiral’s brace against Austria and Gunok’s stunning late save to prevent extra time. They loved the pluck, the fight and the vibrancy of a team personified by rising star Guler, who stood out as much for his character as his class.
“He played a great Euros,” Montella said of the Real Madrid forward. “He hasn’t played regularly at this level. He was born in 2005. He’s not 20 yet. This experience will make him a far better player.” Perhaps one of the best in the world.
This tournament also helped restore Montella’s reputation.
The former Serie A and Italy striker rolled back the years to when he first emerged as a coach: a record points total with Catania, three fourth-place finishes with Fiorentina, plus a Coppa Italia final and Europa League semi-final, AC Milan’s first trophy in five years and European qualification, Sevilla’s win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2018. Would he stay in charge of Turkey beyond this tournament? Or might he use it as a springboard to bounce back into a job with a big club?
“Why should I?,” Montella shrugged. “I worked here. I enjoyed it. I celebrated. I’m very proud of my team because most of them are still young and I’d like to reap the fruits of this experience.”
That begins with the next Nations League group stage in the autumn and then the 2016 World Cup qualifiers start in March. Montella isn’t yet thinking about the next European Championship — or the one after that in 2032, which Italy and Turkey will co-host. “I look at the future with much more confidence and clarity,” he said.
Turkey is a nation of 85 million people. Germany’s Turkish community alone is estimated to be more than seven million more. They are football-mad. But Turkey’s national team have punched below their weight for too long. This summer, they hit much harder, and the hope is that this won’t be another false dawn, as in 2008.
“My opinion after this European Championship,” Montella said, “is that Turkey will be seen with different eyes in the future, probably with more respect.”
(Top photo: Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/Getty Images)
