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Turkey Erupts With Joy After Beating South Korea
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| Two South Korean children watch a big screen in front of Seoul's City Hall before the start of the 2002 World Cup match for third place Saturday June 29, 2002.
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DAEGU,
June 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Turkey exploded with joy
Saturday, June 29, 2002, after their football team beat South Korea to
take third place in the world cup competition.
Turkey
took advantage of slack defending and scored the fastest goal in World
Cup history on the way to beating South Korea 3-2.
The
South Koreans, who had eliminated Portugal, Italy and Spain on the way
to becoming the first Asian side ever to reach the semi-finals,
flopped on their final showing in the competition they have co-hosted
with Japan, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
And
it meant that Dutch coach Guus Hiddink bowed out with a second
straight loss in the playoff match having been in charge of Holland
four years ago when they were defeated by Croatia.
Hakan
Sukur broke the speed record when he netted after 11 seconds to
shatter the record of 15 seconds set in 1962 by Czechoslovakia's
Vaclav Masek against Mexico. It was his first goal of an otherwise
disappointing tournament.
Lee
Eul-Young leveled after just nine minutes of a frenetic opening but
Ilhan Mansiz scored twice after 13 and 32 minutes to set the Turks
right on course as they took third place for their best ever showing
in only their second World Cup appearance before a late consolation
from Song Chong-Gug, AFP said.
Both
sides linked arms as they headed to salute the supporters at the final
whistle and Korean fans raised an enormous Turkish flag. Some also
raised placards bearing the legend "Again 2006", signaling
their hopes for the next World Cup finals, to be held in Germany.
Hiddink's
players fell to their knees to thank the fans in traditional Korean
fashion - then threw Hiddink and Korean World Cup organizing committee
chairman Chung Mong-Joon into the air to celebrate their efforts.
But
proceedings started on a somber note as there was a minute's silence
in memory of the victims of a clash between the North and South Korean
navies earlier in the day which left five South Korean sailors dead or
missing and 22 wounded.
Despite
Korean pressure in the second half, the hosts showed little accuracy
in front of goal after the break despite the exhortations from the
touchline of Hiddink, whose contract officially ends after Sunday's
final in Yokohama, Japan, between Germany and favorites Brazil.
Meanwhile
in Ankara, thousands of supporters took to the country's streets
waving national flags, and politicians lined up to praise the team,
AFP reported.
The
roads of Turkish towns and cities, deserted during the match, were
suddenly flooded with thousands of fans wearing t-shirts and caps in
the national colors of red and white, yelling for joy or beeping their
car horns.
The
Turkish team had made history by reaching the semi-finals in only
their second appearance at the World Cup, and their first in 48 years,
triggering nationwide euphoria in the football-mad country.
In
the capital Ankara supporters gathered in Kizilay Square, where young
people burst into traditional dance as others played the drums. Some
even waved the South Korean flag.
Turkey's
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer was quick to express his joy. "The
achievement of our national team has contributed to the promotion of
our country and raised the sport to a higher level."
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