Turkey  |
| Nickname(s) | Crescent Stars |
| Association | Turkish Football Federation |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Captain | Tuncay Şanlı |
| Most caps | Rüştü Reçber (119) |
| Top scorer | Hakan Şükür (51) |
| FIFA code | TUR |
| FIFA ranking | 39 |
| Highest FIFA ranking | 5 (June 2004) |
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 67 (October 1993) |
| Elo ranking | T 15 |
| Highest Elo ranking | 9 (November 2002) |
| Lowest Elo ranking | 82 (November 1985) |
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| First international |
TFF 2 - 2 Romania  (Istanbul, Turkey; October 26, 1923)[1] |
| Biggest win |
Turkey 7 - 0 Syria  (Ankara, Turkey; November 20, 1949) Turkey 7 - 0 Korea Republic  (Geneva, Switzerland; 20 June, 1954) Turkey 7 - 0 San Marino  (Istanbul, Turkey; 10 November 1996) |
| Biggest defeat |
Poland 8 - 0 Turkey  (Chorzów, Poland; April 24, 1968) Turkey 0 - 8 England  (Istanbul, Turkey; 14 November, 1984) England 8 - 0 Turkey  (London, England; 14 October, 1987) |
| World Cup |
| Appearances | 2 (First in 1954) |
| Best result | 3rd, 2002 |
| European Championship |
| Appearances | 3 (First in 1996) |
| Best result | Semi-finals, 2008 |
| Confederations Cup |
| Appearances | 1 (First in 2003) |
| Best result | 3rd, 2003 |
The Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA.
Turkey has a footballing tradition that features both highs and lows. In World Cup competition Turkey has qualified three times for the 1950, 1954, and 2002 editions. Turkey failed to make an appearance for the 1950 World Cup due to a withdrawal.
The team's highest achievement was reaching 3rd place at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Turkey also reached the knockout round of Euro 2000, the semi-finals of Euro 2008 and finished 3rd in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.
[edit] History
[edit] Early years
The Turkish national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923.
[edit] World Cups 1950 and 1954
Turkey qualified very easily for the 1950 World Cup beating Syria 7-0 but they had to withdraw due to financial problems.
Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4-1 to Spain but a 1-0 win a few days later initiated a replay. On that occasion they tied 2-2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with Hungary and West Germany. However the Turks never played Hungary due to the tournament format, and a 4-1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7-0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7-2.
[edit] '60s to '90s
Despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. The 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. The Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 6-0 scorelines against Poland and, twice, England. Yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final game.
[edit] Euro 1996 and 2000
Turkey qualified for the Euro 96, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2-1 along the way, but then at Euro 1996 they lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. However, they did go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan.
Turkey qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against the Republic of Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2-1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0-0, and beat host nation Belgium 4-0, making it the first time in the history of the European Championship that a host nation had been eliminated in the first round, brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament where they were beaten 2-0 by Portugal.
[edit] World Cup 2002
Turkey finished second in their qualifying group, despite starting well and being the favourites to top the group they lost 2-1 to Sweden in the crucial match that would decide the top spot. The Turks were forced to play the play-offs against Austria. They defeated the Austrians 6-0 on aggregate and booked their place at the finals.
The Turkish team started the 2002 World Cup with a 2-1 defeat against eventual winners Brazil.[2] Turkey qualified from the group stage with a 3-0 win against China, after drawing 1-1 with Costa Rica.[3][4]
Turkey then faced home team Japan in the second round, beating them 1-0.[5] The Turkish team continued their run, as they beat Senegal 1-0 on a golden goal to book their place in the semi-finals where a 1-0 defeat against eventual tournament winners Brazil forced them to play the third place match, and a bronze medal was won after a 4-2 victory over South Korea.[6][7][8] Hakan Şükür scored Turkey's first goal in 10.8 seconds, even when the South Koreans kicked off first. It was the fastest goal in World cup history.[9] Tens of thousands of flag-waving Turkish fans greeted the World Cup squad on their return to Istanbul were they joined a massive street party at Taksim Square.[10]
[edit] Confederations Cup 2003 and Euro 2004
In the summer of 2003, Turkey reached third place at the 2003 Confederations Cup. In the group stages they drew 2-2 against Brazil eliminating them from the tournament. Turkey lost to eventual tournament winners France 3-2 in the semi-final match. Turkey defeated Colombia 2-1 to win second place.
The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group.
[edit] World Cup 2006
The Turkish team once again narrowly missed out on the finals after failing to win a play-off, this time on away goals against Switzerland, again after finishing second in their group. There were scenes of violence after the game on and off the pitch where the Turkish team brawled with Swiss players down the tunnel.
[edit] Euro 2008
Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in 6 years by finishing second behind Greece in Group C. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match they played Portugal and were beaten 2-0, but wins over Switzerland (2-1) and Czech Republic (3-2), both secured by late goals, brought qualification for the knockout stages.[11][12][13] Again, Turkey knocked out a Host Nation Switzerland in the group stages, for the second time.[14]
The quarter final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1-0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans, and Croatia's coach, Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. However, this complaint was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey beat out Croatia in penalties 3 - 1.[15]
They went into the semi-final against Germany with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2-2 in the last minute of the match, until Germany scored a third goal in the last few seconds and Turkey were thus eliminated.[16]
[edit] World Cup 2010
Turkey had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 15 points and missing out on a play-off place to Bosnia and Herzegovina with 19 points. Spain won Group 5 to qualify, winning every game in the process. Before Turkey's last game, coach Fatih Terim announced he would be resigning his post after their final game.
[edit] World Cup record
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
1930 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1934 | Withdrew during qualifying | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1938 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1950 | Qualified but withdrew | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1954 | Round 1 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 |
1958 | Withdrew during qualifying | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1962 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1966 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1970 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1974 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1978 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1982 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1986 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1990 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1994 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1998 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2002 | Third place | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
2006 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2010 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 2/19 | | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 17 |
[edit] Confederations Cup record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
1992 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1995 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1997 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1999 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2001 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2003 | Third place | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 |
2005 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2009 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 1/8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 |
[edit] European Championship record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
1960 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1964 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1968 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1972 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1976 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1980 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1984 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1988 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1992 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1996 | Round 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
 2000 | Quarter-finals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
2004 | Did Not Qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2008 | Semi-finals | 5 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 8 | 9 |
 2012 | | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 3/13 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 18 |
- *Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- * Turkey advanced to the semi finals via a 3-1 win over Croatia in a penalty shootout.
[edit] ECO Cup record
[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
[edit] Current squad
Caps and goals are correct as of October 14, 2009.
The following players are the 22-man squad who were called up for the World Cup qualifiers against Belgium and Armenia.
| Name | DOB | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
| Goalkeepers |
| Volkan Demirel | 27 October 1981 (1981-10-27) (age 28) | Fenerbahçe | 59 (0) | v Belgium, 28 April 2004 |
| Sinan Bolat | 3 September 1988 (1988-09-03) (age 21) | Standard Liège | 0 (0) | N/A |
| Serkan Kırıntılı | 15 February 1985 (1985-02-15) (age 24) | Ankaragücü | 0 (0) | N/A |
| Defenders |
| Servet Çetin | 17 March 1981 (1981-03-17) (age 28) | Galatasaray | 42 (3) | v Czech Republic, 30 April 2003 |
| Gökhan Zan | 7 September 1981 (1981-09-07) (age 28) | Galatasaray | 36 (1) | v Czech Republic, 1 March 2006 |
| Sabri Sarıoğlu | 26 July 1984 (1984-07-26) (age 25) | Galatasaray | 28 (1) | v Hungary, 7 October 2006 |
| Hakan Balta | 23 March 1983 (1983-03-23) (age 26) | Galatasaray | 25 (1) | v Azerbaijan, 12 April 2006 |
| Gökhan Gönül | 7 January 1985 (1985-01-07) (age 24) | Fenerbahçe | 17 (0) | v Norway, 17 November 2007 |
| İbrahim Kaş | 20 September 1986 (1986-09-20) (age 23) | Beşiktaş | 7 (0) | v Norway, 17 November 2007 |
| Önder Turacı | 14 July 1981 (1981-07-14) (age 28) | Fenerbahçe | 3 (0) | v Estonia, 5 September 2009 |
| İsmail Köybaşı | 10 July 1989 (1989-07-10) (age 20) | Beşiktaş | 2 (0) | v Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 September 2009 |
| Midfielders |
| Tuncay Şanlı (c) | 16 January 1982 (1982-01-16) (age 27) | Stoke City | 72 (22) | v Italy, 20 November 2002 |
| Emre Belözoğlu | 7 September 1980 (1980-09-07) (age 29) | Fenerbahçe | 66 (6) | v Norway, 23 February 2000 |
| Hamit Altıntop | 8 December 1982 (1982-12-08) (age 26) | Bayern Munich | 52 (3) | v Denmark, 18 February 2004 |
| Arda Turan | 30 January 1987 (1987-01-30) (age 22) | Galatasaray | 36 (5) | v Luxembourg, 16 August 2006 |
| Colin Kazim-Richards | 26 August 1986 (1986-08-26) (age 23) | Fenerbahçe | 18 (0) | v Brazil, 5 June 2007 |
| Nuri Şahin | 5 September 1988 (1988-09-05) (age 21) | Borussia Dortmund | 12 (1) | v Germany, 8 October 2005 |
| Ceyhun Gülselam | 25 December 1987 (1987-12-25) (age 21) | Trabzonspor | 4 (0) | v Belarus, 26 March 2008 |
| Strikers |
| Halil Altıntop | 8 December 1982 (1982-12-08) (age 26) | Schalke 04 | 29 (8) | v Georgia, 30 March 2005 |
| Semih Şentürk | 29 April 1983 (1983-04-29) (age 26) | Fenerbahçe | 20 (6) | v Norway, 17 November 2007 |
| Sercan Yıldırım | 5 April 1990 (1990-04-05) (age 19) | Bursaspor | 4 (1) | v Azerbaijan, 2 June 2009 |
[edit] Recent call-ups
| Name | DOB | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut | Most recent callup |
| Goalkeepers |
| Tolga Zengin | 10 October 1983 (1983-10-10) (age 26) | Trabzonspor | 2 (0) | v Azerbaijan, 12 April 2006 | |
| Serdar Kulbilge | 7 July 1980 (1980-07-07) (age 29) | Gençlerbirliği | 1 (0) | v Romania, 22 August 2007 | |
| Ufuk Ceylan | 23 June 1986 (1986-06-23) (age 23) | Galatasaray | 0 (0) | N/A | v France, 5 June 2009 |
| Defenders |
| Emre Aşık | 13 December 1973 (1973-12-13) (age 35) | Galatasaray | 52 (2) | v Poland, 27 October 1993 | |
| Eren Güngör | 2 May 1988 (1988-05-02) (age 21) | Kayserispor | 3 (0) | v Austria, 19 November 2008 | |
| Emre Güngör | 1 August 1984 (1984-08-01) (age 25) | Galatasaray | 2 (0) | v Slovakia, 20 May 2008 | |
| Çağlar Birinci | 2 October 1985 (1985-10-02) (age 24) | Denizlispor | 1 (0) | v Belgium, 10 September 2008 | |
| Midfielders |
| Gökdeniz Karadeniz | 11 January 1980 (1980-01-11) (age 29) | Rubin Kazan | 50 (6) | v Czech Republic, 30 April 2003 | |
| Ayhan Akman | 23 February 1977 (1977-02-23) (age 32) | Galatasaray | 36 (0) | v Israel, 18 February 1998 | |
| Mehmet Aurélio | 15 December 1977 (1977-12-15) (age 31) | Real Betis | 31 (2) | v Luxemburg, 16 August 2006 | |
| Mehmet Topuz | 7 September 1983 (1983-09-07) (age 26) | Fenerbahçe | 16 (0) | v Czech Republic, 1 March 2006 | |
| Selçuk Şahin | 31 January 1981 (1981-01-31) (age 28) | Fenerbahçe | 17 (0) | v United States, 19 June 2003 | v Austria, 19 November 2008 |
| Mehmet Topal | 3 March 1986 (1986-03-03) (age 23) | Galatasaray | 15 (0) | v Sweden, 6 February 2008 | v France, 5 June 2009 |
| Uğur Boral | 14 April 1982 (1982-04-14) (age 27) | Fenerbahçe | 11 (1) | v Czech Republic, 1 March 2006 | |
| Selçuk İnan | 10 February 1985 (1985-02-10) (age 24) | Trabzonspor | 3 (0) | v Moldova, 13 October 2007 | |
| Serdar Özkan | 1 January 1987 (1987-01-01) (age 22) | Beşiktaş | 3 (0) | v Hungary, 12 September 2007 | |
| Caner Erkin | 4 October 1988 (1988-10-04) (age 21) | Galatasaray | 6 (0) | v Ghana, 25 May 2006 | |
| Strikers |
| Gökhan Ünal | 23 July 1982 (1982-07-23) (age 27) | Trabzonspor | 14 (4) | v Czech Republic, 1 March 2006 | |
| Mehmet Yıldız | 14 September 1981 (1981-09-14) (age 28) | Sivasspor | 4 (0) | v Norway, 28 March 2007 | v Ivory Coast, 11 February 2009 |
| Batuhan Karadeniz | 24 April 1991 (1991-04-24) (age 18) | Beşiktaş | 2 (0) | v Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11 November 2008 | |
[edit] Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
| Manager |  |
| Assistant Manager | Müfit Erkasap |
| Assistant Manager | Oğuz Çetin |
| Assistant Manager | Metin Tekin |
| Team Doctor | Mehmet Candan |
| Masseur | Yusuf Calik |
| Masseur | Metin Kalemci |
| Masseur | Muammer Balik |
| Goalkeepers Coach | Eser Özaltındere |
| Administrative Responsible | Şükrü Hanedar |
[edit] Player history
- As of 14 October 2009.
[edit] Most capped players
[edit] Top goalscorers
[edit] Past managers
| Manager | Turkey career | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Win % |
Denizli, MustafaMustafa Denizli | 1996–2000 | 31 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 38 | 35.5 |
Güneş, ŞenolŞenol Güneş | 2000–2004 | 50 | 23 | 13 | 14 | 72 | 50 | 46.0 |
Karaman, ÜnalÜnal Karaman | 2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 00.0 |
Yanal, ErsunErsun Yanal | 2004–2005 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 14 | 53.3 |
Terim, FatihFatih Terim | 2005–2009 | 54 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 76 | 66 | 37.7 |
- As of 14 July 2009.
[edit] National stadiums
| City | Stadium | Capacity | Most recently used: |
| Istanbul | Atatürk Olympic Stadium | 81,283 | 8 October 2005 |
| Istanbul | Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium | 52,509 | 10 September 2008 |
| Istanbul | Inönü Stadium | 32,145 | 11 October 2008 |
| Istanbul | Ali Sami Yen Stadium | 22,500 | 1 April 2009 |
| Ankara | 19 Mayıs Stadium | 21,250 | 20 August 2003 |
| Izmir | İzmir Atatürk Stadium | 58,008 | 11 February 2009 |
| Bursa | Bursa Atatürk Stadium | 19,700 | 14 October 2009 |
| Trabzon | Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium | 29,500 | 4 September 2004 |
| Gaziantep | Kamil Ocak Stadium | 14,325 | 18 February 2004 |
| Denizli | Denizli Atatürk Stadium | 15,000 | 18 August 2004 |
| Kayseri | Kadir Has Stadium | 32,864 | 5 September 2009 |
[edit] Trivia
- Hakan Şükür scored the fastest goal ever in (10.8 seconds after kickoff) a World Cup finals match during the third-place game of the 2002 World Cup against South Korea.
- Turkey's highest FIFA World Ranking was 5th place. (June 2004)
- Nuri Şahin is the youngest player ever to have played and scored for the Turkish national team, ironically scoring against Germany, as he has both Turkish and German citizenship.
- Turkey has now won four consecutive matches against host nations in major tournaments, after beating Belgium in UEFA Euro 2000, both Japan and South Korea in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and Switzerland in UEFA Euro 2008.
- Semih Şentürk scored the latest goal (time was 121.04) in European Cup history in Turkey's Euro 2008 quarterfinal match against Croatia.
- The most goals scored in a match was in 1967 when Turkey played against Pakistan. Turkey won the match 7-4.
- Sadri Usuoğlu was the first and only black manager of the national team when he coached the team in 1952.
- Turkey won the world cup for military teams in 1952.
[edit] Cups squads
World Cups squads
Euro Cups squads
Confederations Cup squads
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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| UEFA Euro 2008 finalists | | | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Eliminated in semi-finals | | | | Eliminated in quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in group stage | | |
| 2002 FIFA World Cup finalists | | | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | Turkey | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in group stage | | |
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