Turkish footballers, including coach Senol Günes, apologized for the poor performance in Friday’s 0: 3 defeat to Italy in the opening duel of the European Championship in Rome. The Turks want to succeed in the remaining two Group A matches against Wales and Switzerland, which will take place in Baku.
“I was expecting a better match and I’m disappointed. It wasn’t our day. We gave in to the hosts and they were better than us. We apologize,” Günes told the media. “I am proud of my players for fighting, but the Italians completely controlled the match. Even if we won or drew, we would be critical,” the coach added.
The Turks in the first half at the Olympic Stadium still resisted the home favorite with all their might, but after the change of sides they collected three times. First, the defender Merih Demiral opened the score with his own goal, then Azzurri’s lead was highlighted by the attackers Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne.
“Naturally, we are sorry for the defeat with Italy now, but that does not mean that we will not be ready for the next (Wednesday) match with Wales. On the contrary, we will have even more motivation to succeed,” said Günes, who led Turkey to third place at the 2002 World Cup.
His charges spoke similarly. “We are really sorry that we gave such a performance. The Italians were better and more technical. But it’s a tournament and we have to concentrate on the next two matches,” said striker Kenan Karaman.
“We were not able to transfer what we had in our heads to the field. We are sorry. We want to get six points in the remaining two matches of the group,” added defender Umut Meras.
According to Günes, the Turks collapsed after the first unlucky goal in the 53rd minute. “From then on, we became inattentive and lost control of the match. Italy was more dominant, we lost the balls too much and thus gave the opponent an advantage,” said the 69-year-old coach, whose team lost the opening duel on the fifth Euro in history.
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