A stunner

I’ll make no bones about it, Germany was outplayed by Turkey and were a bit lucky to win it. When you hear a phrase like that coming from a guy that is still wearing his Michael Ballack Euro 2008 jersey, that’s saying something. 63-37 possession is a telling statistic to aid that argument.

Germany may have come out strong but the Turks really proved they were better than anyone could have anticipated. Rapping shots of the crossbar early on sent a shiver of fear down my spine and a sense that the game wouldn’t be the cake walk I expected. I’ll never take the Turks for granted with a “thanks for coming out,” statement. They’ll be even better when Nuri Sahin joins the team in the not-too-distant future.

A few quick notes: While Turkey was playing well in their own third of the field, Germany’s passes weren’t crisp and it caused a lot of problems for Ze Germans to generate a real attack. Also, the Turks seemed very undisciplined when frustrated; a fact that goes in stark contrast to their first four games. You have to applaud their performance without several of their key players due to injuries. And how about my boy Bastian Schweinsteiger? He’ll earn a king’s ransom in league play by putting up stunning international performances.

Which do you think is more stunning though, the play of this game, Turkey’s dominance yet lack of finish or the fact that there were sections of the game that were blacked out worldwide? Simply hearing that Klose had scored the Germans’ second goal was disheartening at best, hearing that the Turks had tied it up minutes later was even worse. I’m just glad I could see Philip Lahm’s stunning run and finish before the final black out hit. While announcers said it was due to a power outage, it brings to question how prepared the host were for this game, let alone tournament. Austria and Switzerland had been great up until now but this “mishap” will leave tarnish on their ability to hold an upper-echelon event. There should have been a backup plan in case of this event. And how odd was it that a thunderstorm was blamed yet the game featured no rain?