Milli Takım head coach Fatih Terim held a press conference today at the Santiago Bernebau Stadium, where Spain will host Turkey in just 24 hours. Terim remarked that tomorrow evening's fixture will be a very difficult match, but stated that his team will play to make history. Turkey's Milli Takım then completed preparations for the first of the two qualifiers against Spain, with a final training session conducted at the Bernebau.
On Friday, the Turkish National Football Team head coach Fatih Terim spoke to Spanish and Turkish journalists at the Santiago Bernebau Stadium, where Turkey will take on Spain on Saturday evening for the first of the two World Cup qualifiers to be played between the two teams this week.
"No matter what the circumstances are, we always have one single philosophy and that is to take to the pitch to win and to play football," said Fatih Terim at the beginning of the press conference. "Win or lose, we won't give up this philosophy," he continued.
"My players and I have the habit of making history," stated Terim. "We will play against a very strong team and it's going to be a very tough match, but the Milli Takım will play to make history once again," he commented.
Fatih Terim then stated that he and his technical staff had analyzed their opponents very seriously. "Spain has won most of the last thirty games they have played; they won the European Championship and now they are Number One in the World Rankings," he explained.
"We will play against an opponent whose performance and game plan we highly respect," said Fatih Terim. "But this doesn't mean we will surrender," he stated. "We can play against any team, anywhere," he remarked boldly.
"It's a normal thing when the Spanish media criticizes the national team, if for example they are eliminated in the quarter-finals of the World Cup or the European Championship," said Turkey's head coach. "But, Turkey coming third in the European Championship is a very important success for us," Terim said.
"Think of us as a child who is growing up. We can fall from time to time, but we're a team that wants to grow even bigger," stated Fatih Terim. "Turkey is a team that every team should be aware of," commented the National Team manager.
Fatih Terim then went on to remark that the fact Spain chose to host this match at the Santiago Bernebau Stadium, clearly signaled that Spain was taking Turkey seriously. Terim stated that there will be a big support in the stadium and that together with the acoustic of the Bernebau, they will try to put his team under pressure.
A Spanish journalist then asked Fatih Terim how he would want the group standings to look like, between Turkey and Spain, after the two games played in Madrid and Istanbul. "Of course I'd like to be two points ahead," replied Terim.
Next up Terim was asked to comment about Spanish forward David Villa's injury. "Villa has scored seven goals in the last five international matches. He's obviously a very good goalscorer," said Fatih Terim. "So of course I'd prefer a Spain without David Villa," replied the head coach.
Terim then reported that defender Emre Aşık was fit to play and that he didn't have any problem. "All of my players are in good shape," said Terim. "We're going to play two important matches in four days and my players aren't afraid of losing," he stated.
"They'll be playing on international level and not in the Turkish league," said Terim, commenting about the general lack of morale in the squad due to recent bad results in the Turkcell Süper Lig. "But when you're playing in the international arena, you can't fall down a certain level of football," he explained.
Milli Takım then held their last training session at the Santiago Bernebau Stadium, after Fatih Terim's press conference. Terim also revealed his starting eleven for tomorrow evening's World Cup qualifier: Volkan Demirel - Gökhan Gönül, Emre Aşık, Hakan Balta, İbrahim Üzülmez - Tuncay Şanlı, Mehmet Aurelio, Emre Belözoğlu, Arda Turan - Semih Şentürk, Nihat Kahveci (captain).
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