Euro 2012 Qualifiers Preview: Germany v Turkey; Both Sides Face Injury Woes
Group leaders Germany take on Turkey in the group A qualifying match tonight in Berlin, which will be crucial in deciding which side will finish top of the group. Both sides have been successful so far despite being without key
players and both will be looking to carry on their winning form tonight.
Guus Hiddink, the miracle worker, now manages Turkey. Hiddink seems to have the ‘Midas touch’; whichever team he manages improves drastically. Even though he did not do too well with Russia, it should not be forgotten that he was
managing English champions Chelsea simultaneously.
However, with Turkey he has made some progress; Turkey beat Kazakhstan in the first fixture without any trouble, but also proved themselves against a tougher opponent, Belgium. The match was a real nail biter and saw Bayern Munich’s
Daniel van Buyten and Hamit Altintop go up against one another. In the end Turkey emerged victorious.
Hiddink still has a long list of injuries - players that would have been useful in this fixture. Arda Turan is suffering from a groin injury and will not be available for tonight’s match. Turan scored in both of the first two qualifiers,
securing a win for his side. Selcuk Sahin is also out with an injury he picked up in a domestic fixture.
Nuri Sahin is another player who will not be joining the visitors on their trip to Germany; the player is part German and revealed that the match was very special to him. He told reporters, “Although I am a Turk, I am also more
than a little German. This is a very special game for me.” This statement was somewhat of a jibe at the half Turkish Ozil, who chose to play for Germany instead.
Germany have their own problems; captain Michael Ballack is out for another year, which basically means his career is over. Youngster Bastian Schweinsteiger is out with a foot ligament injury and his replacement is said to be Toni
Kroos, along with Sami Khedira. The experimental change could result it attractive football, similar to Germany’s display in the World Cup.
Possible Starting XIs
Germany: Neuer, Badstuber, Mertesacker, Lahm, Boateng, Kroos, Khedira, Muller, Podolski, Ozil, Klose.
Turkey: Mevlut, Emre, Nuri, Tuncay, Hamit, Aurelio, Omer, Servet, Koybasi, Ganul, Volkan.
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