globeandmail.com: EURO 2008 - Soccer: Turkey completes stunning rally - by John Doyle
EURO 2008 - Soccer: Turkey completes stunning rally - by John Doyle
A full hour after Turkey stunned the Czech Republic with a last-gasp 3-2 victory, most of the thousands of Turkish fans were still inside the stadium, celebrating. They could hardly believe it. Neither could anyone else. This was a game for the ages. An epic, come-from-behind victory for an unheralded team that had already dispatched co-host Switzerland from the tournament. For the Turks celebrating in the stands, it was another rebuke to their rude hosts.
Those fans, who had been prepping all day in Geneva outside Turkish coffee houses and kebab shops, knew that every game played in Switzerland, and every goal scored, transcends soccer. The Turks have a complicated, resentful relationship with the Swiss. There are scores to settle, on a sporting and sociological level. It matters that Turkey beat the Czech Republic, but it mattered even more that it happened in Switzerland.
