EURO | The ball didn’t fall from my hand with the Turks! Bear in mind essentially the most painful Czech elimination from the Euro – Sport.cz

Hamburg (from our correspondent) – The reminiscence offers me chills concerning the sport on Wednesday. There are a lot of similarities. European Championship, identical opponent, final sport within the group. Even the identical significance. Loss equals elimination. Which occurred then sadly.

It was bitter, merciless, painful. He had nothing to rejoice. Koller et al. they had been aiming for promotion, they had been nonetheless main 2:0 within the 74th minute. I had completed marking the gamers, I used to be slowly sending it to the editorial workplace. Very excessive grades, from seven and above (within the grade at the moment, 10 was the very best, one was the worst). Goalkeeper Petr Čech had eight.

I used to be 100% certain it was carried out. All Czechs within the stadium with me. As well as, Jan Polák additionally hit the stick. Instantly afterwards, the Swedish referee forgave the Turks when the Turkish defender tore the Pole’s head open along with his kick.

My editorial colleague and I had been already wanting ahead to the quarter-finals. However our plans had been destroyed by a three-goal Turkish inferno, wherein goalkeeper Petr Čech was concerned in a giant mistake. Earlier than the equalizing aim, he didn’t hold a lightweight cross from the suitable aspect, the ball fell on to the ft of the captain Nihat Kahveci – 2:2.

Because the end result modified to the drawback of the Czech staff, I needed to decrease my marks. I bear in mind like immediately how I seemed up from my laptop computer to the garden within the 89th minute. Kahveci was simply getting a cross for the Czech protection. He moved the ball and shot at Čech from the sting of the penalty space. The ball ran out of bounds a great distance. In the long run, it bounced off the crossbar and landed twenty numbers behind the aim line…

The Turks had been in ecstasy, the Czechs and we, Czech journalists, had been in shock. We could not say a phrase, simply one another with our colleagues in disbelief and shaking our heads. After the ultimate whistle, many of the Czech gamers fell to the grass and hid their heads of their fingers for lengthy minutes.

I ended up sending the analysis to the editors, wherein the very best stage was three. I even needed to give one to Cech. The unhappy hero got here out of the sales space an hour after the sport and went to us, the journalists. Cech stood as much as the whole lot and took the elimination himself. On the finish of the Euros, Czech followers gave “soda” above all to the outgoing nationwide staff supervisor Vlastimil Košťál. On the time, he responded to criticism with a memorable sentence: The ball didn’t fall from my hand.

That unhappy image from Geneva remains to be in my head. On the one hand, Turkish euphoria, alternatively, Czech frustration and melancholy. I do not need to expertise one other drawback with the Turks…