The ’dark horses’ are on a one-way trip to the glue factor.
Three games plus three defeats equals an early exit for a Turkey side who, before Euro 2020 kicked off, were being tipped by some to emulate the legendary side who came so close to global domination twenty years ago in South Korea and Japan.
But, after being put to the sword by Italy, Wales and a Xherdan Shaqiri-inspired Switzerland, the hipster’s pick became only the second side to exit the European Championships; a hammer blow to the burgeoning reputation of arguably the most talented crop of players in the nation’s recent history.
Merih Demiral kicked off the tournament with an horrific own goal (start as you mean to go, eh), Yusuf Yazici and Hakan Calhanoglu were anonymous at best, while 36-year-old Burak Yilmaz spent most of the last week-and-a-half chasing shadows and screaming wildly at no one in particular.
And for Ozan Tufan…well to say a golden opportunity has passed him by would be an understatement.
Just three weeks ago, Fenerbahce president Ali Koc was claiming that anyone keen to buy the diminutive, box-to-box midfielder would have to part with a cool £18 million.
Liverpool scouted Tufan as he scored two stunning goals against Norway in March but, as the European Championships got underway, the 26-year-old appeared to suffer from a nasty case of stage fright.
Tufan failed to make any sort of an impression against Italy and Switzerland. In the wretched 2-0 defeat to Wales, he was subbed off at half-time – although you’d have been forgiven for forgetting he was playing in the first place.
And with Liverpool now looking elsewhere – at Yves Bissouma, at Nicolo Barella, at Fabio Vieira and more – Tufan may look back on his Euro 2020 misadventure with a pang of regret.
After he and Turkey collapsed in front of the watching world, Tufan was powerless to prevent a life-changing move to a bona fide European giant slip through his fingers.
“Like every football player, my dream is to prove myself abroad and represent my country there. The place I want to play is the English Premier League,” Tufan said recently.
“I hope this happens as soon as possible.”
Don’t hold your breath, Ozan.
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