In qualification Turkey didn’t play so well against their rivals from the group. But apart from the game in Istanbul against Greece, the side did begin to show they have the ability to change the result of a game with great comebacks. This has been repeated and for us Turkey fans the three group games have been like deja-vu. (insidefutbol)

Against Portugal Fatih Terim tried to go down as a hero. He played an attacking line-up starting with Mevlut and Kazim on the wings and Gokhan Zan in the centre of the defence (I expressed my doubts about him in my preview of the squad). For the first 15 minutes Turkey couldn’t find that goal, although our attacks looked quick and dangerous. Even though the attacks of Ronaldo, Simao and Deco were stopped in the first half, the defence forgot about Pepe who was a huge threat from set-pieces. After the Portuguese goal, Kazim made a number of fouls which constantly gave the play back to Portugal. After going behind in this game it was all over.

Going into the game against Switzerland neither team could afford to lose. Fatih Terim learnt from his tactical mistakes in the first game and started with Arda and Gokdeniz on the wings. But, with the heavy rain, the tactics of both teams were washed down the drain. Switzerland found the goal due to adapting better and playing a long ball up field, that with Emre Asik and Volkan’s positional mistakes helped Turkey go behind.

Turkey learnt and began too to play with long balls, in order to play this way Terim brought on Semih to replace Gokdeniz and importantly, Mehmet Topal for Aurelio, to hold the midfield against the Swiss. These substitutions and the change in style helped Turkey to change the game and play around the Swiss 18 yard area.

Crosses coming from the wings allowed Turkey to get the important goal, and though the Swiss did find some goalscoring positions, Volkan was at his best to deny them. His save in the 83rd minute was particularly important and many Turkish fans believe this is the moment when destiny intervened. The rest is history as Turkey threatened more and more and eventually Arda, the young shining star from Galatasaray, got the goal in the 92nd minute. If he continues such displays you have to wonder whether Galatasaray will be able to hold onto him for much longer.

The final group game against the Czech Republic was a final game that deserved its name. If the scores were level then it would go to penalties and neither team really wanted that. Turkey struggled to cope with Jan Koller and the ball stuck to him up. Nothing passed the big man as he held the ball up, he was like a wall. His goal in the 34th minute was not a surprise.

After the first half we again saw Terim change the game. He brought on Sabri who offered much more of an attacking threat. Sabri swapped positions with Hamit. This confused the Czechs as Hamit charged forward at will. The opposition still throught he was a right-back. Through playing closely with Sabri and constantly swapping position, both players were able to attack more effectively. The participation of Kazim too, meant that Turkey were able to own the right wing.

Turkey’s domination of that wing helped the second goal arrive, with the help of Cech and the rain of course! But we should not forget the follow up work of Nihat. He was acting like all good poachers do and waiting for the mistake.

The Czechs were of course puzzled to lose their two goal lead and the incredible through ball from Hamit followed by an amazing finish from Nihat gave Turkey their third and sent the Czechs out.

Looking at the Croatian game, all Turkish fans know they obtained fantastic results against England in qualification. This play has been repeated against Germany, so we all know it was no flash in the pan.

With their players like Modric, Kranjcar and Corluka, they seem to have re-discovered something of the spirit they had in the 1998 World Cup, which brought them third place.

Both Turkey and Croatia will fight hard because both are trying to make a place for themselves between the traditional footballing giants. Croatia coach Slaven Bilic’s admission that he fears Turkey’s ability to play in an unsystematic way (swapping positions constantly) makes many in Turkey believe that they are one step closer to victory.
Turkish fans are sure that thanks to the comebacks against Switzerland and the Czech Republic, the team are sure to go into the game with so much confidence. The feeling is that even if Turkey went a goal behind, it is never over and the players always feel they can win.

Of course the decisions of the managers of each team will be crucial. For Turkey though, the position in which Hamit will play will be very important, and missing Servet for the match is a real blow. But I cannot help but think that the match will in fact be decided by the number 14’s of each team, that is to say Modric and Arda. One will continue their journey in the Euros to become a star, but even if one is left behind, we will not forget their excellent play.

By far the most successful Turkish player to play outside his homeland is Nihat Kahveci. He didn’t achieve this feat easily but his path to success could not have been planned better. He got where he is today step by step. (insidefutbol)

Nihat was born on 23rd November 1979 in İstanbul. He started his career at Beşiktaş in the youth team.When John Benjamin Toshack was manager of Beşiktaş, he brought Nihat into the senior side, having been convinced of his potential by the youth team coach in the 1997/1998 season.

Nihat became the favourite player of Beşiktaş fans very quickly, with his pacey action packed performances on the right wing. In the 1998 Turkish Cup final, Nihat scored the winning goal to defeat bitter rivals Galatasaray and bring he cup back to Beşiktaş . In six successful years at the club he played 144 games and scored 65 goals for the Black Eagles. In 2000 he was first picked for the national side.

Nihat took his chance to move abroad in 2002 to link up with old manager John Benjamin Toshack at Real Sociedad for a fee of  €5 million. This was to prove a milestone in his career.

At Real Sociedad he blended very well with Darko Kovacevic and both helped the club to second place in La Liga, which was a huge achievement for the club and one of its best seasons for years.

In his second season with Sociedad, the duo took the team to the last 16 in the Champions League for the first time. Real Sociedad were Nihat’s first team in La Liga, and he scored more than 50 goals in four seasons, equalling the record Ronaldo had set of being one of a select few foreign players to achieve do this.

Villareal signed him at the start of the 2006/2007 season on a free transfer. He started his career at Villareal with high expectations but in the middle of the season a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the campaign.

After his second big knee injury he return to action with explosive performances and scored 18 goals in La Liga this season. This put him as Villarreal’s leading goalscorer and fourth overall in the Spanish goal charts. Of course this performance opened the doors of the national team.

Nihat has been involved with the national side since 2000 when he was first picked and he has already been involved in some key achievements. Turkey’s biggest successes in the 2002 World Cup and 2003 Confederations Cup both featured an in-form Nihat. With those experiences and the high performance in La Liga he became is a key player for Turkey in the Euros.

Nihat has already played a huge part in getting Turkey to Austria/Switzerland. He scored the winning goals in both games against Norway and Bosnia, which Turkey needed to win to ensure progression.

He hasn’t got any real weakness except his heading ability, because of his lack of height, but this is understandable. It also helps him with a key strength that he does possess. As everbody knows short players are faster than the tall players and that makes him dangerous when Turkey counter-attack.

In his early career he was a right winger at Beşiktaş and that helped him develop his dribbling ability high and Nihat can beat opponents with ease. Added to pace and dribbling ability is the ability to shoot hard from long distance. He can also score from free-kicks like he did in Turkey’s last friendly game against Uruguay.

The skills he possesses make him dangerous all over the pitch, and I believe opposing sides will need to watch him carefully, otherwise in a second he can be in a goalscoring position. At 28 years-old Nihat is probably at the peak of his career, the Euros are his time to show exactly what he can do. He is going to be the most dangerous player in the Turkish team, and Fatih Terim considers him as his “right-hand man” on the pitch.