Portugal and Turkey will begin the European Championship trying to prove their worth.
While Portugal are hoping to repeat the successful campaigns of the last Euro tournament and the World Cup, Turkey are looking to show they are back in form after missing the two competitions.
Led by winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal want another good showing this month to solidify their spot in the elite of European soccer. They are coming off a runner-up finish at Euro 2004 and a semi-final appearance in the 2006 World Cup.
But to stay on track, Portugal hope to get off to a good start against the Turks today in Geneva in Group A.
“It’s always fundamental to win the first match,” Portugal midfielder Armando Petit said. “Not only because of the win, but because of the motivation that it gives to the players. It’s determinant for the rest of the tournament.”
At Euro 2004, Portugal lost to eventual champions Greece 2-1 in the opener and had to find ways to recover and advance from the group stage.
“We saw how difficult it was after that loss,” Portugal left-back Paulo Ferreira said.
Portugal have twice beaten Turkey in the finals, first in the group stage in 1996 and then in the quarter-finals four years later. The Portuguese feel they know what to expect from the Turks.
“They changed a lot after missing the last Euro and the last World Cup,” Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo said. “But we have learned a lot about them already. They play well as a team ... very similar to us. We will need to be prepared.”
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari twice faced Turkey when he led his native Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title. The Brazilians won 2-1 in the group opener and 1-0 in the semi-finals.
Turkey coach Fatih Terim has been saying all along that he wants a good performance at the European competition to put Turkey back on the map in world soccer.
‘We have not attended any tournament since 2002,” he said. “We are going to Switzerland to make the world remember us.”
Bayern Munich defender Hamit Altintop praised Portugal, but was as confident as his coach about Turkey’s chances.
“Portugal has high-quality players under an experienced and successful coach. When you look at their recent years, they had good results,” he said. “But to those who see Portugal as the favorites, I’d like to ask: How well do you know Turkey? I don’t think they know Turkey well.”
“They may know some of the players, but they don’t know well enough and that may allow us do something. It’s normal that Switzerland and Portugal see themselves as the group favorites. But to my view, we are advantaged,” he said.
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