Turkey 1 Czech Republic

[Laurence]

Turkey 1 Czech 2

I have just returned to Scotland from Istanbul

I have been in Museums, Mosques , Roman ruins, Sultan's Harems, trips to Black sea Islands , and know 30 degrees C. day in and day out. But the hottest place I went was Fenerbahçe stadium on the Asian side of the Bosporus

The match kicked off at 20.00 hours , which was a problem because the trams were scheduled to stop running at midnight. Getting into the stadium was a nightmare the crowd was unbelievable, I was searched at least 3 times. On entering the stand it was mental the fans were sitting on the steps and you could not get to the seats we had booked. When the players came out it was absolutely deafening, I have watched football at most major stadia in the UK and in France , but nothing like this. Eventually we got to our seats , where 5 big Turks were in occupation, my daughter who is fearless said " move" and they did.

The National anthem was dynamic to say the least, I thought the Yanks overdid the jingoism but this was beyond anything I have ever known.

After about 8 minutes the Turkish centre forward scored a nice header, and the crowd including my group went mental again.

The Turkish crowd sang and sang without stopping , they were never quiet even when Czech team equalised and then scored the winner in the second half.

Both teams seemed to play the modern formation of a back 4 with two holding midfielders in front at times Czechs had 7 at the back

The Turkish tactics to me were not good and I thought the Czech team were more composed and better drilled. Turkey have some brilliant players but they are like loose canons at times , they really need leadership.

Istanbul is around 4 times the size as the whole of Scotland with many teams you would think they would be a force in world football. They really play for the shirt.

I travelled last Sunday so missing the Highland firm derby match, one wonders if I saw the better game.

Life goes on now I have returned to the Tolkien like "Shire, haven, of the big bad world", one seems rather very relaxed.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Laurence