Euro 2008: Day 9

"Everybody makes mistakes and I am a human being." -- Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech, who allowed three late-game goals by Turkey.

Day: Sunday, June 15

Location: South

City: Santa Monica

Game(s): Turkey 3-2 Czech Republic

What I drank: Bloody Marys

What we ate: Sharing is caring, as they say, which is why the girl I'm sorta-kinda seeing and I went with a pulled chicken sandwich, which was a last-minute (and mildly healthier) substitute for the always-delicious chicken 'n waffle sliders

Quote of the day: "The Brewers are up 1-nil" -- Girl I'm sorta-kinda seeing, obviously trying to lift my spirits as the Milwaukee Brewers attempted to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins.


Thank goodness for the 'ol DVR: The girl I'm sorta-kinda seeing and I had to leave the comfy confines of South to hop on the 405 and head down to Carson to watch Team USA's tenacious 8-0 victory of hapless Barbados in the U.S.'s opening game of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying (Highlights). That meant we caught just the first half of the Czech Republic-Turkey game. Turns out, Turkey-Czech Republic was an epic for all the ages; U.S.-Barbados was something out of me-as-Manchester United vs. computer-as-Derby County on the FIFA video game on the PS2.


(Just in case you were curious, the eight-goal victory represented the highest in the 92-year history of the U.S. men's national team. The only other time the United States scored this many goals was in an 8-1 victory over the Cayman Islands in 1993.)

Moving on ...

It was fun to watch the Turkey-Czech Republic game later knowing that at some point complete stupid madness was about to intervene. Turns out, it was one of the top three soccer games I've ever seen (a list that will date back to 2002 or so).

Top three soccer games I've ever seen (Editor's note: This isn't by any means at all a well-thought-out list. Proceed with caution) ...

1. Liverpool 3-3 (3-2 on PKs) A.C. Milan, 2005 Champions League final -- Liverpool managed to dig a 3-0 deficit in the first half, but managed to climb out and tie the game within the first 15 minutes of the second half. When a winner couldn't be decided in regulation, the Reds completed "The Miracle of Istanbul" by winning on penalty kicks.

2. Turkey 3-2 Czech Republic -- Recovering for a 3-2 after being down 2-0 in the second half is almost the soccer equivalent to Buffalo Bills over the Houston Oilers in the 1992 AFC wild-card playoffs insane.

3. D.C. United 3-3 (4-3 on PKs) New England Revolution, 2004 MLS Eastern Conference final -- D.C. United prevailed in a wild back-and-forth showdown for a spot in MLS Cup, which United went on to win for their fourth title. The conference final was nuts, and here's the video to prove it.

Matchup of Euro 2008: When forward Jan Koller got the start for the Czech Republic, it meant a mano-a-mano showdown between the 6-foot-7 tower of a man and our favorite, ruffian Servet Çetin, who plays central defense for Turkey (Photos). Koller -- used only as a late-game substitute in the Czech Republic's 3-1 loss to Portugal -- proved to be a dangerous foe for Turkey, and most notably Servet, to contain. Koller's header in the 34th minute gave the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead going into the half. Servet managed to keep Koller in check the rest of the match, but the physical toll may be costly, as the defender is hobbled by injuries and his status for Friday's quarterfinal matchup with Croatia is in doubt.

What lies ahead for Turkey: Croatia, the winner of Group B, in a quarterfinal match in Vienna.

There have been just two games in the entire Euro 2008 tournament that were won by the team which fell behind 1-0. Both of those games were won by Turkey.

However, while Servet's status is in doubt, Turkey will also have to move on without goalkeeper Volkan Demirel, who was red carded after shoving Koller late in Turkey's heroic victory (in a scene somewhat reminiscent of Zinedine Zidane's moment of infamy against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final). Midfielder Mehmet Aurélio will also be serving a suspension, while defender Emre Güngör is out with injury.

Still, a flare for the dramatic has surprisingly made Turkey one of the must-see teams of this tournament.

Euro 2008: Day 1

"It's not easy to play with Portugal. They have world-known players and they're one of the favourites of the tournament." -- Turkey coach Fatih Terim, after his side lost 2-nil to Portugal.



Some day, I may actually get to watch the European Championships, or World Cup, or both, in person. But for now, I must settle for enjoying the action as best as possible from fun locations in the area. This is a running diary of the experience.

Day: Saturday, June 7

Location: The Field

City: San Diego

Game(s): Czech Republic 1-0 Switzerland, Portugal 2-0 Turkey

What we drank: Bloody Marys, which were excellent, thus furthering a hypothesis to conclusion that Irish pubs make the best Bloody Marys.

What I ate: Bangers and eggs, which would be a delighfully delicious recurring theme for the weekend

Player of the day: Servet Çetin, a defender for Turkey who sports a "don't dare meet me in a dark alley" look. Fans of his club team, Galatasaray, call Servet "Ayibogan," which translates appropriately to, "a man who could choke a bear." It didn't take long for Servet to make his presence felt. Just 30 seconds into Saturday's match, the really mean looking Turkish defender gave Cristiano Ronaldo -- the concensus choice for the title "best footballer in the world" -- a healthy shove to the Stade de Genève turf. Prior to the game, ESPN studio announcers insightfully predicted that Ronaldo would be the most fouled player in the tournament.


The scene: Oh, to have the iron tolerance of somebody who just turned legal drinking age. A group of fellas, who wouldn't pass the eyeball test of any bouncer at any bar anywhere, sat through both games. Then, after we spent the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo, only to return to The Field hours later for one more tasty, fermented beverage before embarking off to Petco Park to watch the San Diego Padres eventually beat the New York Mets 2-1 with a walk-off homer in the 10th inning, these young lads were still on hand, in the same seats, continuing to drink pints of beer. It is estimated that this group was there for at least nine hours. The Field had that sort of feel of a place where you could feel at home and hang comfortably for an extended period of time.

Why am I doing this? As is my custom during major international soccer tournaments, I will attempt to view as many Euro 2008 games as possible -- without jeopardizing employment -- from various places, namely sports bars. This is simply a breakdown of the fun for your reading pleasure.