With the UEFA EURO 2008 tournament from Austria-Switzerland just days away, the Sportable staff will bring you team previews leading up to the opening match. Group by group, we will discuss team rosters, flaws. and chances of being crowned European Champions.

Group A Matches:
June 7th: vs. Portugal (Stade de Geneve - Geneva)
June 11th: vs. Switzerland (St. Jakob Park- Basel)
June 15th: vs. Czech Republic (Stade de Geneve - Geneva)

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble
I’ll be honest. My knowledge about the Turkey National Team is based entirely on their 3rd place finish in the 2002 World Cup, a tournament full of fluke finishes. None of those flukes are more apparent than Turkey, who built on their ‘02 momentum by failing to qualify for both EURO 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. The Turks can be thankful for their easy qualification draw, which struck them in Group C with Greece and a bunch of European minnows. Nevertheless, the Turks eked out Norway for 2nd place and now have a 1/16 chance of glory.

Attacking
When you first think of Turkish soccer, you probably think of two things: A) Nothing and B) Hakan Sukur, the veteran striker who ranks among the nation’s greatest sports heroes. Sukur has made more than 100 appearances with Turkey and is largely responsible for their qualification, as he scored five goals in just eight qualifying matches. However, Sukur failed to make the roster for the final tournament, leaving the Turks without much firepower up front. His absence places the pressure on Villareal forward Nihat Kahveci, who has scored 18 international goals. Nihat had a strong season for Villarreal, scoring 18 goals for the surprising 2nd place finisher in La Liga. He’ll need to duplicate that form if Turkey are to survive a tough group. A pair of youngsters to watch are Arda Turan and Mehmet Topal, a pair of midfielders who have become vital parts of Galatasaray’s first team.

Defense
Besides Sukur, the one player I vividly remember from 2002 was keeper Rustu Recber. If you don’t know who Rustu is, just think of Ardeth Bey from “The Mummy.” I’ve never seen the two in the same place, so I’m assuming they’re the same person. Unfortunately for us Brendan Fraser, Rustu has since been supplanted as Turkey’s top keeper. That honor now goes to Fenerbache’s Volkan Demirel. The fitness of defensive midfielder Hamit Altintop could determine Turkey’s fate in group play. The Bayern Munich midfielder suffered a broken metatarsal in a March friendly, but has been deemed fit to play in the EUROs. The two most experienced defenders on the squad are a pair of Galatasaray boys, Servet Cetin and Emre Asik. Cetin has already become one of my favorite players in the tournament for his nickname: Ayibogan. Translation? A man who could choke a bear. What a badass.

Outlook
Turkey enters Group A as dark horses, which is nothing new for them. While I think that leaving Sukur off the squad is criminal, it also signals that they must have confidence in their younger players, most notably Nihat. If the Turks can nab a point from the Portugese in their opening match, they can threaten. However, I think that may be asking a bit too much.

Prediction:
- Last place in Group A