Chapter 185: Sadness Czech
The Geneva Stadium, after 90 minutes of noise, is finally quiet, the scimitar star and moon flag is still waving in the stands, the Turks' faces are full of joy, and the Czechs are full of pathos.
Cech sat on the pitch, buried his head between his legs, and still couldn't believe what he had fallen for, as one of the top three goalkeepers in the world, he actually collapsed in front of the Turkic Iron Horseman.
Rosicky was lying on the ground, looking up at the Geneva sky, with tears on his face, his European Championship was over, it was over.
In the stands, in front of the TV, people who love Czech football are equally disappointed, a game, witnessing the end of an era.
Back then, the Czech team that was born in England in 1996 has now become a memory, the Czech team that died in the group stage in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2000 has declined, the Czech team in Portugal in 2004 had the last passion, and now in the 2008 European Cup, the aging Eastern European iron horseman is no longer invincible, when the Turks squeeze the old Czech Republic out of the quarterfinals with a Jedi counterattack, the former Czech golden generation will also completely bid farewell to the historical stage, The rain falling at the Geneva Stadium may be a sad song for them.
Although the four cold summers of time can change a lot of things, but when Brückner led the almost identical Czech team from Portugal to Switzerland and Austria, people have to lament that the Czech Republic is really old, facing the imposing host Switzerland in the first round, when the old coach Brückner sent a defensive 451, when the 35-year-old Jankole wasted good opportunities in the game, when the 35-year-old Galasek made two big mistakes in a row in the game, people have to lament the old age of the Czech team, and have to sigh that the years are unforgiving.
The 35-year-old Galasek and Jankoller are the last representatives of the Czech golden generation, and in the 2007/2008 season, the two veterans played for Nuremberg in the Bundesliga, their sluggish form has been visible, but due to Nedved's withdrawal from the national team, the old coach Brückner has to pin a lot of hopes on the two, their experience is the key to the Czech team can come out of the group, and in the battle against Turkey, they did have a youthful time. It's a pity that in the end, the old body still fell under the scimitar of the Turks.
Before the start of this European Cup, Jankoller had admitted that he would hang up his boots and retire after this Cup, and he was looking forward to drawing a perfect end to his career in Switzerland and Austria.
With a height of 202cm and a weight of 103kg, Jankoller is definitely the first giant in football in the past 10 years, and the Czech team's attack strategy today is also quite clear, that is, to grasp the counterattack of the Turkish team, and use the speed of the wings to hit Jankoller on the head.
In the 33rd minute of the game, Galasek broke the ball at the back and passed a long pass to Grigra on the right wing, who burst into the right side of the penalty area and crossed, although the ball passed behind Kohler, but the Czech giant still jumped high in front of the small penalty area, and pressed Altentop to head the goal, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced into the net, which was the third goal of the 35-year-old veteran in this European Championship and the third goal of the Czech team in this European Cup.
In the 60th minute of the game, the Czech team launched an attack with a long pass at the back, and after Jankoller successfully countered offside, he formed a heads-up with Demirel in the penalty area, but the Czech giant's shot was slightly wide.
However, Prahil's goal a minute later was a brief reminder of the chance that Jankohler had wasted, but it was destined to be repeated at full-time.
Would the result have been different if Jankoller had been able to score that goal?
If Kohler proved his legacy with a goal in the game, Galasek's ageing image is too poignant.
If Turkey's first two goals had nothing to do with Galasek, then part of the blame for the Czech Republic's third goal must be borne by the 35-year-old.
In the 89th minute of the game, the Turkish goalkeeper kicked the goal kick to the front, Galasek was completely at a disadvantage when he competed with Tunchay, and when Altentop advanced from the middle, Galasek, who was only three meters away from him, was unable to make a quick return, the 35-year-old veteran was indeed very tired, and his legs were exhausted at this time, and Galasek could only watch Altentop send a wonderful through pass, and then killed his beloved Czech national team.
2:1!
The Czechs won the game, but they could only accept the fate of being out of one group, just because of the goal conceded at the last moment, the Czech, Belgium and Turkey teams also won two and lost one, but a goal difference was enough to kill them.
The Czechs' European Championship is over, after the summer of 2008 in Switzerland and Austria, a large number of Czech internationals will say goodbye to the national team, and Brückner will lead the golden generation to bid farewell to the stage of history, from 1996 to 2008, they have created countless classics and miracles on the green field, but there is always a time for heroes to part.
After a dramatic game, Turkey had the last laugh on goal difference, with the man who scored the goal for the Czechs in the game, Prasil, only to watch from the bench as his opponent scored the fatal goal in the final moments.
Taste the bitter taste of elimination with the team, I am afraid that the Czech coach Brückner, who is standing next to Prasier, will also regret the adjustment of replacing the Czech iron waist in advance.
Prasil did not disappoint today, as he was one of the hardest performers on the pitch tonight and the most dangerous player in the Czech squad, instigating a number of dangerous attacks that kept the Turkish in front of goal.
Of course, Prashier's best moment was when he received a clever pass from Sionco and fired into the net at the back post to help the team extend the score to 2:0. Prashir's goal seemed to show that qualification was within reach.
However, Prahil was substituted in the 80th minute, which became the turning point of the game, and Brückner replaced Prahil with Kadlek at this time, intending to strengthen the defense and at the same time, but also to better preserve Plathil's physical strength.
But he didn't want his opponent to score that goal at the end, and what Brückner didn't expect was that perhaps because of a goal difference, he and his team would have to say goodbye to the European Championship.
At the last moment, a very important reason why Turkey dared to attack was the departure of Plathir, which led to the sudden reduction of the pressure on their defense, and the inexperienced Kadlek was unable to intercept the opponent's attack as effectively as Plathir, and finally was unable to stop the opponent's goal and was defeated from the group.
This European Cup is the second European Cup that Prahil has participated in, and compared with the newcomer who was still immature in the last European Cup, he has experienced the baptism of the two major competitions of the Portuguese European Cup and the German World Cup, and now Prasil has become more mature, and he is known as the "new Nedved", and he has also secured the main position of the team.
The ferocious and aware Prasil has also become increasingly important to the Czech national team, and he has further established himself in the team after his impressive performances at this European Championship.
It's a pity that Prashier left the pitch too early, and if he could have stayed on the pitch, maybe the result would have been completely different.
With the tears of the Czechs, the Turks had the last laugh, and the Star and Moon Army were two goals behind, and with Nihat's goal at the last moment, although they still lost the game 1:2, they got the right to qualify.
After the game, the Turkish coach Trim was very happy: "I am very proud to have such a group of players, they understand that football matches are always over when the referee blows the whistle, we have shown the fans all over the world what kind of team we are, we have said that we are here to fight until the last moment, and we are now working hard for this dream to be realized." ”
Compared to Trim's brief statement, it was the Turkish captain Altentop, who plays for Bayern Munich, who was more talkative: "To be honest, we had a terrible first half, even when the team was 2-0 down, no one believed that something else was going to happen, we just continued the game on the pitch, but you have to admit that the manager made great changes, he put me in the midfield and our organisation started to be very efficient. Then we had a turnaround, mainly thanks to the resurgence on both wings, we played more crosses, which I think was decisive, and then we noticed that the confidence of the Czech team was crumbling and we managed to take advantage of it. ”
One of the things that people often say is that if there is a 1% chance, 100% of the effort must be made.
But this phrase is just on the lips and nothing more.
But in this game, the Turkish team did this, they were 0-2 down, staged a shocking comeback in the last moment, and stayed, and the presence of the Turkish team is a blessing for the European Cup.
Another heavy rain, another incredible game, a few days ago, in a heavy rain, Turkey scored two goals in stoppage time to complete the final stunner and eliminate hosts Switzerland. Today's game was even more dramatic, with a late goal that knocked the Czech Republic out of the tournament.
The Czechs had the upper hand for most of the game, and the first half belonged to Jankoller. The 202CM giant has proven his worth with aggressive defensiveness, wide range of movements, and unrivalled heading skills to keep opponents at bay. Grigra's assist and Jankoller's header replicated the goal against the United States in the opening World Cup game two years ago.
Although the Czech Republic is without Nedved and the midfield is less impactful than two years ago, with excellent defense and two big men in front and back, Jankole and Petr Cech, their steady style of play still prevails. Prahil's goal seemed to put the final 15 minutes out of suspense, but the Turk didn't think so.
Turks have never lacked passion, but they often survive in times of adversity, and it is not just passion that they rely on. During the game, Nihat made a big impression on people with one detail.
At that time, after a round of Turkish attack, the teenager Kachim hurriedly got his feet. Kachim had high hopes for Trim but lacked tournament experience and came off the bench today like a flustered fawn, squandering a lot of chances.
But at this time, Nihat did not lament or shout, but made a two-handed downward motion to Kachim, meaning, don't worry, little brother, we still have time, stay calm.
The calmness of the Turks and their belief in victory gave them the last laugh.
Yes, Cech's low-level mistake was the turning point of the game, but when Altentop passed the ball, Nihat was already behind Ujfarusi and the opponent was on his feet, but Nihat still insisted on rushing forward, and it was only then that he seized the opportunity, and if he had given up early, there would have been no fatal blow.
In fact, the Turkish team did not play well most of the time, and the midfield playmaker Aurelio did not play well and did not organize any decent attack. But the Turk's performance showed the world that football is won not only by technique, stars, tactics, but also by mentality, perseverance and spirit.
They have proved with their actions that as long as there is 1% hope, 100% effort must be made.
Football is a man's sport, and the Turks' fighting spirit proves that they are real men. Now, who else would underestimate them?
Turkey had the last laugh with iron and blood, and the Czechs could only say goodbye sadly, because in another match played at the same time, the Belgians had won.
Before the start of the game, the Swiss team had publicly stated that they would do their best to defend the dignity of the hosts in the last game even if they were eliminated early, but the Belgians did not give them that chance.
Fellaini returned to the pitch after his suspension, flanked by captain Gul and Naeng, who had performed well in the previous game, with Antienes giving up two wings and playing in a two-striker formation, with Milaras and Bolaite making their first appearance.
The first half of the game belonged to the hosts, they did fulfill their pre-match promises, did their best, and created a lot of scoring opportunities, but unfortunately in the face of the united Belgian backline, the lack of a decisive key figure has become a tough injury for the Swiss team.
At half-time, it was 0-0 with the Czechs ahead of Turkey on the other pitch, and Belgium would not be able to avoid being eliminated if the game ended like this.
This time Digan was also in a hurry, and at half-time, he went straight into the dressing room, grabbed Gul's collar and shouted at the Belgian football hero.
Gul was not angry, he could understand Degan's feelings, and he knew very well that the young superstar did not want to be a spectator on his first trip to the European Championships.
"We're going to win!"
This is a man's promise to a man, which makes Deegan calm down instantly.
"I'm sorry, I just hope you guys can give me a chance to play!"
At this moment, Deegan regretted for the first time, he made a move in the face of the escort provocation, if he could have calmed down at that time, he would not have everything now, he has confidence, he can lead his team to sweep any opponent in the group, but now, he can only give this trust to his teammates.
Belgium scored at the start of the second half, with young Mirallas netting his first goal for his country with a header from inside the box that opened the door to victory for Belgium.
In the next game, it was time to enter Belgium, and although the Swiss team, which had exhausted their efforts in the first half, still resisted desperately, the gap in strength made them unable to withstand the ravages of the European Red Devils.
On the other pitch, Marouane Fellaini's strike extended Belgium's lead to two goals after Platier scored the second goal for the Czech Republic.
Then, when the Turks began to fight back, a goal from veteran captain Gul sealed the win for Belgium.
In the next game, there was no suspense, the Turks completed a shocking comeback, and Belgium miraculously climbed to the top of the group.
After three rounds of the group stage, except for the Swiss team that was out of the tournament in advance, the other three teams also had two wins and one defeat, and in terms of goal difference, Belgium won the last big win and got three goal difference, two for Turkey and one for the Czech Republic, and was finally eliminated.
"I want to thank all the players!" At the press conference after the match, Antienes couldn't even suppress her excitement, her voice was a little choked, "We won, yes, we won, after a difficult period, now Belgium is back on track!" ”
Everyone knows what Antienes means, getting back on track, yes, Degan is back, and he's back with the responsibility of leading the Red Devils to the top of Europe.
Belgium without Digan, the Turks can go wild in front of them, and the Czechs can push them into a corner, but what about when Digan returns?
Perhaps the most important thing to worry about now is Croatia and Germany in Group B, no one wants to face Belgium with Digan, even the arrogant Germans, and the only way to avoid it is to finish first in Group B and then challenge Turkey.