Midfielder Salih Özcan has already experienced a few home games in the Dortmund stadium, all routine, the backdrop can no longer impress him. A home game as an impressive natural spectacle must have been new to him, however. An unusual sight for him was probably the south stand, which had turned into a kind of waterfall due to a cloudburst; the rain had poured down from the stadium roof before kick-off and had to be scrubbed into the sewer by hard-working stewards.
And then of course there were the Turkish fans, dressed in the national color red and with tremendous power in their throats: Özcan has certainly never experienced the Dortmund stadium like this before, the decibel level must have reached heights that even the enthusiastic BVB crowd rarely manages. “We will honor this flag until the end,” announced Vincenzo Montella, the Italian coach of the Turkish national team. And yes, the performance on Tuesday against the Georgians was worthy of all honor at times: the Turks beat Georgia 3-1, an important victory at the start.
Salih Özcan, the home team from Dortmund, took up a place from the start that he has also mostly occupied at his club recently: a place on the substitutes’ bench. In his place, Montella put Kaan Ayhan in the central midfield, as an assistant to captain Hakan Calhanoglu of Inter Milan, the undisputed star of the team. He would be the deciding factor, that much was clear before the tournament began. But of course the Georgians knew about it too, they attacked him aggressively, wanting to throw something important into the spokes of the Turkish machine – and at the same time hope for the moments of their great individual talent: Chwitscha Kwarazchelia, the delicate whirlwind at SSC Napoli, in Italy they call him “Kvaradona”.
Mert Müldür scores a wonderful volley to take the lead
But it is not always the big names that turn games around, and the first half was proof of that. Driven by the power of the masses, midfielder Ayhan fired a low shot that hit the post; shortly afterwards, Georgia’s Ansor Mekvabischwili shot just wide. The game had caught fire, and the estimated 50,000 Turkish fans in the stadium did the rest: shrill whistles when the opposition touched the ball, deafening chants and a cascade of emotions. And the hustle and bustle in the stands initially seemed to give the team a boost: Mert Müldür scored with a volley to make it 1-0, a wonderful goal (25th minute).
But it can also be a burden: after taking the lead, the Turks sometimes seemed scattered, they couldn’t really get into their rhythm, and their attacking play seemed improvised. And the Georgians took advantage of this: Giorgi Mikautadze pushed a cross pass over the line to equalise at 1:1, and shortly afterwards the striker almost scored again. The Turks went into the break with a few whistles. But after they emerged from the catacombs, the slight displeasure was blown away; Montella’s eleven found their way better, their game became calmer and more structured, regardless of whether they had the ball or not. With the ball, attacker Arda Güler can do a lot, as he proved again against the Georgians. Güler, 19, has been playing for Real Madrid for a year; They also made him a royal talent because of actions like in the 65th minute: 20 meters from the goal he put the ball on his strong left foot and flicked it impressively into the top left corner. 2:1 for the Turks, Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had no chance of defending for the second time.
The Georgians didn’t stop fighting back, with a lot of passion, a shot that hit the crossbar and a huge chance, they gave everything they had. But the not-so-secret home team, the Turks, kept their cool. In the seventh minute of injury time, Kerem Aktürkoglu scored to make it 3-1 and the Dortmund stadium exploded. Almost like a natural spectacle.