Mad Brit Diary

England must beware of the Turks.

(Friday, June 27, 2003) -- All mad Brits out there should be afraid -- very afraid. The Ottoman Empire has risen. The Turks are again at the gates and playing brilliant soccer.

It is very clear that Turkey will be no pushover when England travels to the Balkans for the decisive, and possibly explosive, Euro 2004 qualifying game on October 11. This will indeed be a big game, played at Istanbul's notorious Ali Sami Yen stadium, nicknamed "hell" for its intimidating atmosphere. No one knows how the Turkish fans will react, or if they will be as boorish as their English counterparts, but it's clear the Turkish players on the field have been in fine form lately. (If the Turkish fans aren't careful the game could be played behind closed doors.)

England's coach Sven-Goran Eriksson must be a little worried after watching Turkey compete at the at FIFA Confederations Cup in France. The Turkish players have found the form and confidence that got them to the semifinals of last year's World Cup in Japan. The Turks are playing exciting, fast and productive counter-attacking soccer. Young forward Tuncay Sanli of Fenerbahce, has been a revelation at the Confederations Cup scoring a delightful goal in the 3-2 loss to France in the semifinals.

Then there's Turkey's talented No. 10, Yildiray Basturk of Bayer Leverkusen -- a creative midfielder who is being eyed by the big clubs of Europe.

England beat Turkey 2-0 in April at Sunderland, but the game in Turkey will be a battle. England will be facing the most successful team in Turkish history. The England-Turkey game will decide who wins Group Seven and go directly to next year's finals in Portugal, and who must go the play-off route. Turkey leads England by two points but England has yet to play tiny Liechtenstein at home.

At the Confederations Cup, Turkey earned a 2-2 tie in an end-to-end, fantastic game with Brazil, and then put up a great fight in losing to France 3-2.

It is clear that Turkey's World Cup performance in 2002 was no flash in the pan. The Turks are fighters who never give up. The game against Brazil in the Confederations Cup, eliminating the South Americans, was measure of revenge for the boys from the Balkans. Remember, Brazil was the only team to beat Turkey at the World Cup, 2-1 in the group stage and 1-0 in the semifinals, before going on to capture its fifth title. Turkey, playing in its first World Cup appearance in 48 years, finished third.

Now the Turks are looking to stamp their mark on European soccer. "International success is important -- it's important for our children's dreams and for their future," said coach Senol Gunes. "We have seen this year in many fields that Turkish people can be successful in the world and this must continue. As footballers, we are at the forefront."

Barcelona of Spain, scheduled to play Europeans champ AC Milan at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on July 30, has hired former Dutch star Frank Rijkaard, who played 73 times for the Netherlands. Rijkaard replaces Radomir Antic who stepped in when Louis van Gaal was fired in January.

Barcelona posted its worst finish since 1988 in Spain's La Liga.

English national-team goalkeeper David James trained with the Miami Dolphins this week to promote NFL Europe. The 6-foot-5, 218 pound keeper was watched by a dozen British journalists as he struggled to punt the ball. One British paper said James "looked more Toilet Bowl than Super Bowl" when he tried catching a pass.

A little history could be made at the Women's World Cup in America this fall. North Korea and South Korea could actually end up playing against each other if they do well in their respective groups. Both Koreas qualified for the Cup last week, joining automatic-qualifier China as the three Asian entrants in the 16-team event. Japan will battle Mexico for the final berth.

Here are the finalists so far: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Sweden and the United States.

Maria writes: "Let me just start by saying Becks (David Beckham) is a great middy, but as fans, we won't see his true ability if we keep watching him play in the same environment. I don't necessarily agree that Real Madrid is the best place to do that, but what's done is done and I have no say in it. I don't believe that Real spent a whole hell of a lot of money for just for his playing ability.

"He is a well-known athlete that will put fans in seats game in and game out, no matter where he goes and that means $$$ for Real. Real is not just a team, it's a business and like all businesses, it wants to make money. It has been said you have to spend money to make money and Real spent a lot of money. I wish Becks the best at his new club and I truly believe he prove you haters wrong.

Murice Tepe says: "Wow, people do not like Beckham judging by the e-mails. Let's get this straight, the decision by Real Madrid to buy Beckham is 75 percent marketing, 25 percent football. Real sold 350,000 (Luis) Figo jerseys within two months after his transfer. Beckham has the ability to sell 500,000 jerseys in the first six months. He's not like Michael Jordan who has sold tens of million jerseys, but he is capable of selling quite a few. Even if Beckham bombs on the pitch and never sees the light of day again, the $s Real has earned from his image rights and jersey sales will be enough to make a nice profit on their investment.

"I mean the net present value of that $41 million is actually much less because the payments are spread out over four years. It's conceivable that Becks may pay for himself within a year or two. And if he performs well on the pitch, then that is an added bonus that translates into a better team for Real and, in turn, sells more jerseys and makes him more marketable which means cash to the Lords of Real. So Real win regardless!!!"

Darren O'Brien writes: "Enough already! I'm becoming the Mad Oregonian! If there's something worse than loud, irrelevant opinions, it is loud, irrelevant sports opinions. People spout off as if they know exactly what Beckham will or won't be able to do for Real. Get a life. At least UNTIL Beckham has a chance to show whether he can or cannot meet worldwide expectations and prognostications. Then people can put their lives on hold again and talk about the facts. That's right, the facts. Actual, quantifiable results. Until then, it's all nothing but conjecture. Jeez, let's give the guy an opportunity to play some football over there before saying he is a failure or a success. There, I feel better. Now I'm going to get back on with MY LIFE."

Chris Hinderliter is not happy: "Well, I have to say that I am rather disappointed with the lack of a showing that the U.S. put on at the Confederations Cup this last week. I had really hoped that we would do better. I do realize that this was not our best squad of 23, nor was the prize highly-esteemed, yet the potential was there to do better. What were the main factors missing in the U.S. team? I personally think our counterattack system leaves way too much to be desired. It seems that we want to send long balls all day, but don't have any one (besides Brian McBride) of winning them. So we lose possession and go back to playing sloppy defense. When we do have possession in the offensive end, there is no creativity shown to put together solid combinations, and we just end up passing the ball away. That's what we miss when we don't have John O'Brien and Claudio Reyna, the guys who have the guts and ability to take it up the middle and make stuff happen, Landon Donovan seems to have the potential, but not the guts. Is Arena telling him to hold back?

Mark Futrell has joined the Mad Brit in madness. He writes: "Beckham? Beckham sold to Real Madrid. Hmmm, yep, the world has gone mad -- I agree!!! But that seems to be nothing compared to the decision made last night. What decision is that you ask? Well, let me put it to you this way: I looked up and saw the moon, and there was a cow. That's right, a cow was jumping over the moon. Today, I looked out my office and saw turkeys flying by the window -- and I am 12 floors above the ground. I am willing to bet that hell may be freezing over right now. Frankie Hejduk named captain to the U.S. national team. You have got to be kidding, please someone wake me up. What a disgrace; truly, my grandmother can do a better job than this ??? I can't believe he is on the team actually, let alone captain. Oh yeah, he can run alright -- run around like a chicken with his head cut off for no rhyme or reason.

Daniel Barrera says : "The loss to Turkey (in the Confederations Cup) didn't invalidate the U.S.'s showing at the past World Cup but showed an incredible lack of depth. The central defending pair was awful. Danny Califf is not good enough to play at this level and niether is Greg Vanney on the left..Why would he take the free kicks when Landon Donovan is out there makes no sense. He wasted balls all night.. Bruce Arena made a mistake playing DaMarcus Beasley on the right and by not starting Clint Mathis who was the most dangerous U.S. player of the game despite only playing half an hour.

"Tim Howard showed his class and might be Manchester United's keeper of the future if he continues to improve (and is transferred). My question is what is the deal between Mathis and Arena.. The tame U.S. soccer media has failed to address this issue. Arena refuses to start Mathis since the start of the World Cup despite his being impressive when given the chance."

Heard a rumor, have a gripe or a tip? Feeling lonely? E-mail the Mad Brit at themadbrit3@aol.com.