[toot86]

All through the years the World Cup has had 3rd place winners that never come back..

Spain 82 - Poland

US 94 - Sweden

France 98 - Croatia

Korea/Japan 2002 - Turkey


Will this 3rd place curse affect Turkey from going to the next round in the next World cup 2006??

[usain2010]

No. My reasoning is that Turkey could be an up and coming football power, and is a large enough country to find a mass pool of players and develop them. Another reason is that their domestic league is very competitive. Therefore, if enough talent is found year in and year out, this curse will not affect Turkey. However the most important thing to mention are the Turks mentallity. They are very strong minded and have a lot of heart. I think Turkey could be right in there in 2006 and thereafter.

[Excape Goat]

That's no really a curse. You basically name a bunch of outsiders who happened to make it so far in a given World Cup. It's not liked they disappeared from the world scene after WC. Only Sweden failed to qualify for the next WC Finals after finishing 3rd. Italy and France were third place finishers a few times althrough France did not play in a WC Finals until 1998 after finsihing 3rd in 1986.

[olafgb]

I see it similar to Excape Goat. It also depends on what you're understanding as success - reaching the same place again, surviving the group stage or qualifying. The latter two can be reached by Turkey, repeating the success will be difficult.

[k11el]

Forget about the World Cup. Turkey is a cinch to miss qualifying for the next European Championship.

When was the last time a European team that finish 3rd in the World Cup qualified for the next European Championship?

1970 West Germany

Look at this list:

1966 Portugal, 1974 Poland, 1982 Poland, 1986 France, 1990 Italy, 1994 Sweden, 1998 Croatia

all failed to come out of the group stage in the next Euro. What does it mean?

1) the World Cup 3rd place is a fluke, teams just get hot at the right time in a short tournament.

2) UEFA has lots of depth that a 3rd place finish in the World Cup scares nobody

Look for England to emerge from the group stage of the upcoming EC. Look for Turkey to finish 2nd in the group and get eliminated in the playoffs. That's the curse of finishing #3 in the World Cup.

[puma182]

At the risk of sounding like a Boston Red Sox fan I will claim that Turkey will "Reverse the Curse!"

Turkey has a whole generation of players who are emerging from the woodwork that will soon start outclassing the older players in the WC02 squad to retirement.

The world commentators all fell in love with Ilhan Mansiz (super sub who toppled Senegal and Korea) as the future of Turkish football. Yet he is only the elder sibling of a whole new emerging generation of players like Ahmet Dursun, Umit Karan, Serhat, Berkant Goktan etc that were too junior to get their places in the WC02 squad. But they will surely start making their names heard by Euro04 and be peaking by WC06.

These players are all quitely getting their schooling playing for the likes of Galatsaray, Besiktas, Fenerbahce in UEFA club developing their skills against the best clubs in the world.

For the first time in it's history Turkey is sending 6 teams into UEFA club competitions this year. (2 to CL, 4 to UEFA-Cup). Most will probably walk away with a bloody nose, but they will keep coming back in the years ahead competing better and smarter just like Galatasary progressed over the years.

Sure enough the group race for #1 between the English and the Turks will not be a pretty affair over the next 2 years. The key will be consistency rather than brilliance (allthough both teams will need that flash while visiting the boiling cauldrons of Highbury and Ali Sami Yen respectively).

In any event I am sure that both teams will eventually qualify to play in Portugal 2004. That is ofcourse unless the #2 runner-up ends up in a play off against a superpower like Italy or Holland, then things will get really complicated.

[AFCA]

We have a saying "de bal is rond" ... literally this means the ball is round and it comes down to never knowing what will happen.

3rd place in a world cup can indeed be just luck combined with a good form for a relative short time. Anyway, your world cup performance doesn't mean anything for the future. The topteams of 2002 can be crap in 2004 and vice versa.

[kanasai100]

3rd place in a world cup can indeed be just luck combined with a good form for a relative short time. Anyway, your world cup performance doesn't mean anything for the future. The topteams of 2002 can be crap in 2004 and vice versa. [/B][/QUOTE]

Emm... Just like the French team in 2002. Brazil and Germany are the two teams that seem to stand against time sines the 1950 and should continue to do so. But, sometimes flaws do happen in their teams, there is no gaurantee

[silahsiz kuvvet]

Dont worry about Turkey. We have the sufficient potential to be the one of the best in soccer forever.

Everywhere we play in world we have a huge support especially in Europe. Each game is a home game for us. We surely have a threatening supporter potential in Germany 2006.

[Scoey]

Originally posted by silahsiz kuvvet
Dont worry about Turkey. We have the sufficient potential to be the one of the best in soccer forever.

Everywhere we play in world we have a huge support especially in Europe. Each game is a home game for us. We surely have a threatening supporter potential in Germany 2006.

Hmmm...Euro 2004 Qualifying, anyone?