Turkiye, Brazil Draw As Tugay Says Hosca Kalin

Turkiye, Brazil Draw As Tugay Says Hosca Kalin

By Nathan L. Redd

Turkiye and Brazil played to a 0-0 draw in Dortmund, Germany on Tuesday before thousands of Turkish fans. The game also marked the end of an international career for Blackburn Rovers star Tugay Kerimoglu.

Turkiye Manager Fatih Terim looked to give some of his younger players some experience on the pitch, as well as correct some crucial mistakes made in the 3-2 loss to Bosnia Herzegovina on Saturday. The starting eleven featured many new faces, and Tugay Kerimoglu was given the opportunity for a final farewell before the fans. Tugay started the game and played ten minutes before Terim brought on a substitution, giving the fans a chance to say thank you to the veteran star. Tugay, making his 94th appearance for the Milli Takim, wore #94 in honor of the game and served as captain.

The game was sloppy at times, but Turkiye also had opportunities to put goals on the board several times. Newly-signed Bayern Munich star Hamit Altintop had several great looks, including a shot that bounced off the crossbar following a free kick. Altintop had another great look that was saved by the Brazilian goalkeeper Doni on a dive. Sabri Sarioglu looked sharp for Turkiye as well, but the Milli Takim was unable to put points on the board. Brazil also started with a lesser squad, but stars Kaka of AC Milan and Ronaldhino of Barcelona came on early in the second half to try to create scoring opportunities. The offense sputtered, however, and the two teams left without a goal.

"It is not easy to play against Brazil. We had chances and I thought we played wonderfully. If we had concentrated better against Bosnia-Herzegovina, we wouldn't have been defeated either," said Terim. Turkiye now will get a long holiday before they return against Romania on August 22. Three weeks later they will face Malta and Hungary in Euro 2008 qualifying.