Mega blunder by the "Turkish Messi" spreads terror
The 19-year-old Arda Güler has to carry the burden of an entire country - and makes a near fatal mistake in the most important game of his career during the EM. But Turkey loves their "Messi." Gueler's blunder will only be gently punished and ends in a kitschy happy ending.
It's the 65th minute. This is his moment. He just needs to be himself. Arda Güler, who is supposed to make the loud Turkish women and men in Volksparkstadion flip out with a decisive 2:0 against Czech Republic, through a superstar 19-year-old hero from Bosporus, perfecting the group stage at the EM in Germany.
But after Baris Yilmaz runs strongly towards the defender on the right and enters the penalty area, and hits a precise and sharp ball into the middle, Güler slips over the ball. Hits air instead of leather. Just like an amateur player with a pink Toni Kroos jersey on the soccer field in Altona on a Sunday morning at half eleven. Yilmaz's cross goes past the defender and the goalkeeper, but the prodigious talent misses the empty net by four meters. What a blunder. In the most important game of his career. Güler falls into the net, combs his hair, but the ball ends up with the Czechs ...
... and in response, the Czechs score the equalizer that evening. A harsh punishment for Güler's bitter miss. A lightning shock. In front of Captain Tomas Soucek's goal, a long video review by the referee, accompanied by loud boos from the Turkish fans, changes nothing. Güler urges his teammates in the midfield, and for the first time that evening, the Turkish women and men in the stadium fall silent in shock. Another goal and their team is out of the tournament, as Portugal, who were already first in the group, finish off Georgia in the parallel game. Will fan favorite Güler become the tragic villain? Are the many laurels too much for the young man?
"Will Arda Güler start?"
Anxiety spreads in the stadium, it's getting hotter by the minute and the Czechs put up a big fight without their star striker Patrick Schick from German champion Bayer Leverkusen. Above all, they play with a man down from the 20th minute. In the end, Turkey manages to survive the all-or-nothing situation with effort and scores the decisive 2:1 winning goal in the injury time through Cenk Tosun, a former Frankfurt player. The Turkish team, coached by Vincenzo Montella, faces Austria in Leipzig on Tuesday. Güler cannot shake off his missed penalty, which only resulted in a gentle reprimand, but the K.O. does not follow.
Tosun's goal secures Turkey's second place in Group F and their entry into the round of 16. "This is an indescribable feeling of joy. I'm of course happy about my goal," the scorer celebrates after the victory and sends a warning to Ralf Rangnick's team behind him: "This is just the beginning."
Here is the translated text:
Even here, from the beginning. Before the kickoff at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion, everything revolves around a theme. About a man. A teenager. Arda Güler. The Turkish tabloid "Hürriyet" headlines in the online edition hours before the game: "Will Arda Güler start?" The fans in Hamburg, who had already gathered with approximately 20,000 people in two fan marches to the stadium, speak about little else.
The reason: Coach Montella was harshly criticized in the often sensationalist Turkish press from the Bosporus because he kept the Super-Youngster on the bench for 70 minutes during the second group game against Portugal. The criticism was so intense that the President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Mehmet Büyükeksi, felt compelled to support his coach and spoke of a "malicious and dirty campaign." Even a day before the match against the Czech Republic, Montella had to defend himself in the Güler case once again before the media: "He couldn't play from the first to the last minute. That wasn't my decision, that was the doctors' decision."
Güler meets almost by accident
Now everyone is on edge about the Youngster. And he starts from the beginning and receives the warmest applause in Volksparkstadion, which is filled to 75% with Turkish supporters. When Güler receives the ball for the first time in the fifth minute in the center in front of the Czech six-yard box, his fans cheer for him to shoot from a distance. But the teenager dribbles to the left and the chance is missed.
Eight minutes later, he receives the ball near the middle of the field and drives it through the pitch without being challenged. Loud shot calls ring out again, this time Güler responds - but he shoots clearly over the target. Arda-Güler chants echo through the stadium. In the middle of the first half, Hamburg's Arena almost explodes with ecstasy: Güler takes a short chip pass from a beautiful Turkish combination and executes it with a side-volley from the air - but his acrobatic action is just saved by the post (27.).
Despite this, the Youngster is indeed a man for special goals. Just like his first international goal against Wales, a long-range shot, or his first European Championship goal in the opening match against Georgia. A dream goal that catapults the hype around the teenager into new spheres. Even though Güler - who joined Real Madrid from Fenerbahçe Istanbul last summer, where he played with Mesut Özil, for a transfer fee of approximately 30 million Euro, and a total package of six contract years of approximately 130 million Euro - is already idolized in football-crazy Turkey as unreachable and unhealthy heights.
Güler: "Turkish Messi" with balloons
The media of his homeland made him approximately the "Turkish Messi." Once again, one must admit, there is more to it this time than with the former BVB whirlwind Emre Mor, who also received the ungrateful nickname.
Once upon a time, his father told him a story that he had placed Baby-Balloons and Foam Balls under his left foot as a child, so he would become left-footed. He now enjoys meeting this left foot when he makes a move inward from the right wing. The 175 centimeter tall Guler was always underestimated, unable to make it into Real's elite-filled offense due to a meniscus injury last year, and he still managed to score six goals in just 379 minutes (63 minutes per goal) in his ten league appearances for the Royals.
Back in Hamburg, the game took on additional drama when Antonin Barak received a yellow card in the 20th minute, but Kenan Yildiz was shown a yellow card right after for two hard fouls (on the shin and then a headbutt during a header). Despite being a man down, the Czechs had their best chance yet just before halftime, but David Jurasek missed a goal after excellent build-up play and Lukas Provod couldn't convert. The last action belonged to Guler, who received the ball in front of the penalty area but could only shoot weakly with his weaker right foot and hit the ground instead.
The second half began with a Turkish eruption after a multiple chance. Yilmaz dribbled through on the right again, in the middle came Yildiz to finish, but Keeper Jindrich Stanek made an outstanding save. Then it was Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who played for HSV from 2013 to 2014, who hit a flat shot from the background into the far corner.
A Happy End for Two Unlucky Ravens
While the Turkish fans reacted with loud singing, pyrotechnics, and mobile phone lights, Guler was in the midst of the jubilation. Shortly after, the youngster made amends for his mistake with a yellow card in exchange. The fans still loved their "Turkish Messi" despite this. At 10:33 pm, he left the field under applause in the 75th minute.
This time, Guler missed his goal. The goal against Georgia from a distance was the first by a teenager at an EM since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004. His debut in Istanbul was no less spectacular: less than two minutes after his late substitution, he gave an assist as a 16-year-old in August 2021. Since then, Guler has caused excitement throughout the country, the last of which was awarded to Arda Turan for his strong performances at Galatasaray in the 2004/05 season.
Suddenly, Arda Guler pulled off another sprint. Already substituted, the 19-year-old sprinted from the bench because the player who came on to replace him, Tosun, scored the 2:1-deciding goal (94). In the last ten minutes of the game, the Czechs put immense pressure, shot a goal that didn't count due to a striker foul, but were otherwise unlucky. The young star from Real Madrid didn't celebrate with a goalscoring, but with Samet Akaydin. The unlucky raven from Saturday, who had sealed the defeat against Portugal with a slapstick own goal. Beautiful gesture, Guler might be able to identify with Akaydin due to his air shot. A cheesy happy end.
Both of them are in the quarterfinals of the European championship, as after a pack formation, the heated crime has been surpassed. And the highly praised teenager has with his young Turkish team, the second youngest of the tournament, and the fierce fans behind him, still a lot in store.
"Despite the near-fatal mistake during the European Football Championship 2024, the prodigious talent Arda Güler from Real Madrid is set to take the field once more. Turkey's hopes of advancing in the tournament may rest upon the shoulders of their young hero, who some call the "Turkish Messi.""
"During their match against the Czech Republic, Güler will aim to rewrite their shared narrative by finding the back of the net, emulating the likes of Mesut Özil and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have both scored as teenagers in past European Championships."
