Greece, Turkey play for Group C lead in Euro 2008 qualifier
ATHENS, Greece: Greece hosts Turkey in a European Championship qualifier
a day before celebrating 186 years of independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Neither team wants to head into Saturday's match thinking about politics,
however.
"If we don't view this game as a national issue and focus on the
soccer, that will help our performance," Turkey coach Fatih Terim
said on Thursday.
Greece and Turkey are tied for the lead in Group C with a perfect nine
points each. Both teams achieved stunning success on the soccer field
in this decade, with Greece winning the 2004 European Championship and
Turkey reaching the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup.
Now, both are looking good to claim the two qualifying spots from the
group ahead of Norway, Bosnia, Hungary, Malta and Moldova.
A win Saturday will be a big step toward that goal for one of the teams.
"If we win, there's a 99 percent chance we'll make it to the finals,"
Greece defender Giourkas Seitaridis said.
The Greek soccer federation promised a bonus of ?2.7 million (US$3.6 million)
to the team if Greece reaches the final tournament in Switzerland and
Austria.
Saturday's match will be played at Karaiskakis Stadium, and all 33,000
tickets - available to home fans only - sold out in a single morning.
"I told my players to play with their hearts as well as their minds,
what we call controlled attack," Greece coach Otto Rehhagel said.
"We always count on the support from the fans but fans react to what
they see in the stadium."
Greece has several options up front for the match.
Angelos Charisteas, who scored the winning goal against Portugal in the
Euro 2004 final, is hoping to overcome injury in time to play. But Rehhagel
also has Manchester City forward Giorgos Samaras and Bochum striker Fanis
Gekas, who is tied for the scoring lead in the Bundesliga with 13 goals.
Greece will also have defenders Traianos Dellas and Michalis Kapsis back
from injury.
"I want my players to show the same mentality they had in the game
with Norway," Rehhagel said. "That was difficult to coordinate
then but the players were mentally strong."
Turkey, however, will be missing six injured players, including goalkeeper
Rustu Recber.
Despite the injuries, Terim is looking only for a win.
"We have no such strategy that says a draw is good," Terim said.
"We'll play for three points, that's what we are aiming for."
Greece formally gained independence from Ottoman rule in 1832, after declaring
war on March 25, 1821.
