Croatia-Turkey, Quarterfinals, EURO 2008 [R]

[RobbyRobson]

My prediction for Germany - Turkey
1:0 Ballack 38'
2:0 Podolski 73'
2:1 Altintop 90'+1
2:2 Kuranyi 90'+4

Kuranyi for Turkey?

[NickyViola]

Hit us with your big solution then. Playing indefinitely isn't an option, and tournaments leave no time for replays.

Take off players.

[Zenga18]

Hit us with your big solution then.

He has none. Read all his posts, he never adds anything to the conversation, just complains.

Penalties suck but the other alternatives are worse. Golden goal is the worst idea ever and only people who hate football would support it. And just adding more time would destroy the teams Unlike say hockey or basketball, there are a limited amount of subs. Players can't run for 180 minutes and be expected to perform.

[NickyViola]

He has none. Read all his posts, he never adds anything to the conversation, just complains.

Penalties suck but the other alternatives are worse. Golden goal is the worst idea ever and only people who hate football would support it. And just adding more time would destroy the teams Unlike say hockey or basketball, there are a limited amount of subs. Players can't run for 180 minutes and be expected to perform.

You're the guy who (after I gave a 60 word response to a 400 word argument) said I type too much. Now you say I don't say enough? C'mon Walter.

[Caesar]

Take off players.
Have you seen 'non-official' tournaments where they try this? Everybody just shrinks into a more and more defensive formation the smaller the side gets. Goals become less and less likely.

Same thing that happens when teams get players sent off.

[NickyViola]

Have you seen 'non-official' tournaments where they try this? Everybody just shrinks into a more and more defensive formation the smaller the side gets. Goals become less and less likely.


So they never end? Or do people just start dying left and right?

[Suyuntuy]

They could keep playing in extra mini-matches of 15' + 15', allowing more subs:

- 5 more after first 120 minutes of play.
- 5 more after each hour.
- A player subbed before can return after resting one hour or more.
- Teams can keep all their subs available during the match (that is, the whole 23 player roster).

[NickyViola]

The point is that something could be thought up to replace what is "in effect" a more-gimmicky, drawn-out version of a coin toss.

[cromagnum]

WOW i am devestated..its going to take a long time to get over this devestaing loss..football is a great but cruel sport as well..

[Aziz1970]

Bookings and logic of wiping them clear are not fair.

Arda and Tuncay did not deserve yellow cards tonight. There were many similar fouls before this game without any cards. Two sequential card happy refs and we got so many players banned.

It is not fair to wipe clean the bookings, not suspensions. A player is suspended because of two yellow cards which are cleaned before the semi final match. Either not clean any of them or clean all the yellow cards. This is a contradiction, not just.

[Caesar]

So they never end? Or do people just start dying left and right?
No. The teams play defensively and pass the ball around interminably until there's virtually no players left on the field, and everybody's completely exhausted, and someone flukes a crap goal. It's shit boring, it takes forever, it's basically no less of a crapshoot than penalties.

Also, it completely destroys the players who end up playing 5v5 on a full-sized field immediately after a high-intensity match. There are already enough problems with teams backing up in tournaments after gruelling fixtures.

[besiktasfan]

against who?

switzerland and a way past it czech republic, to compare Croatia to those two teams is a joke

haha:D dont matter the oppenent !!

[glennaldo_sf]

I also have a feeling television companies and stadia staff, etc. wouldn't be too huge on the whole 'play all night long thing' either. At least with extra time and penalties they can roughly estimate a combined extra 45 mins to an hour.

Besides, just not sure how healthy it is.. in the past 5 years or so we've seen three high profile players collapse and die right there on the field! I just don't see the alternative to penalties atm.

[Suyuntuy]

It is not fair to wipe clean the bookings, not suspensions. A player is suspended because of two yellow cards which are cleaned before the semi final match. Either not clean any of them or clean all the yellow cards. This is a contradiction, not just.
I agree. It's unfair, considering how inconsistent the referees are in awarding cards.

They should have been "cleaned" after the group stage, together with all suspensions.

[Suyuntuy]

I also have a feeling television companies and stadia staff, etc. wouldn't be too huge on the whole 'play all night long thing' either. At least with extra time and penalties they can roughly estimate a combined extra 45 mins to an hour.

Besides, just not sure how healthy it is.. in the past 5 years or so we've seen three high profile players collapse and die right there on the field! I just don't see the alternative to penalties atm.
Other things could enter into play after 120 minutes, like ball possession, corners and shots on goal. Maybe that would make more sense.

[1shot1kill]

They should never clear suspensions, players that already have a yellow card should be careful, don't let them think that in the last match before the yellow cards are cleared they can go get another since they will not get suspended for it anyway.

[Aziz1970]

They should never clear suspensions, players that already have a yellow card should be careful, don't let them think that in the last match before the yellow cards are cleared they can go get another since they will not get suspended for it anyway.

Missing the point here. I do not suggest cleaning either suspensions nor yellow cards. It takes only two bookings to suspend, so it is not fair to clean one booking, but not two, causing suspension.

Also if Mehmet is booked and suspended because he protest ref, every player who protest ref should be booked. Do you honestly think that this was the fact?

Some refs book rather easily than others. Also refs generally have more tolerance to some teams' players than other teams'. No matter how careful you are you can easily booked by a card happy ref. Watch again and tell if you really think Tuncay and Arda deserved bookings. If you think they do, then I advice you to rewatch whole game. You will see there were similar fouls made by Croatians, none punished by a yellow card.

Justice is what we need. For a better football and life.

[4evermedi]

The Turks are down to 13 players in all after the cards and the injury (not including th goalie)! But, we are OK with that. You need 11 hearts and bodies out there and we have enough to filed. There are only four defensive guys left! That could be a huge disadvantage, but that's OK , too. I guess Turkey did not do enough in the tournament to impress so many who are already calling Germany the victors. Let's play the game first and then talk.
The last time we played Gremany, we beat them 2-0 in a friendly.

You will see Ayhan for the first time nad more of Gokdeniz and Ugur. They are great players totally capable of replacing Arda and Tuncay. Now, would we have more optioons if thiose two were eligible...for sure.

But, we will show up! Let the better team move on. Go Turkiye. You deserve it if nothing else for adding so much, fun, excitement and fight into this great sport.;)

[catenaccio_L'pool]

I can't believe this - how friggin lucky was Turkey in this match...but they go on - keep on fighting against Germans...if nothing else, you guys sure make it interesting...

[fh 1]

Have no words, shocking finish.

OK, we did play maybe too passively, maybe we had better attacked more before. Nonetheless, the chances were there to win this match within 90 minutes, even if we were not at our best in this game, maybe the pressure was too strong, the fear to lose.

The Turks have a good team, great spirit and fantastic moral, they ran a lot and destroyed our game so good they could, but in fact during 120 minutes hardly had opportunities to score and then this finish .... It's unbelievable.
I hate to find lame excuses for a sportive defeat, but this time it has a lot to do with luck. We knew that Turks will try to come back, but in 120 minutes no chance in front of our goal and then in literally last second the first scoring opportunity and the goal, unbelievable. The more unbelievable, as no one of our players made a fault. It seems to me that we could do what we wanted, we had just to lose this one, maybe there is fate indeed, a divine purpose or something.

Anyway, the Turks deserve this win, because they fought until last second and they have shown again that they're very brave. If they can keep this incredible luck, they'll become European champions, no doubt.

I don't know if I should wish them "good luck", because they have it anyways, so I wish them 11 players who are fit to play, whatever player they take, (could be the grandmother of the coach), they'll win, I think.