Turkey

FOOTBALL IN TURKEY The Turkish team relies on several key players with experience outside their domestic game. The star player is Inter Milan striker Hakan Sukur, whose impressive international career began in 1989/90, just as Turkeywas opening up to theworld by issuing the historic Decree 32 guaranteeing repatriation of profits from its stock and bond markets. Sukur’s career boomed in the mid-1990s, taking Turkey to their first-ever UEFA European Championships in 1996. He then headed to Torino, in Italy‘s Serie A, where his performance slumped along with that of the Turkish economy. It wasn’t until early 2000 that, back with Galatasaray, his form returned and he secured a UEFA Cup winners medal. Then Sukur returned to Italy, joining Inter Milan. Another key international is AstonVilla’sAlpay Ozalan, whowas the star of Turkey’s qualifier against Macedonia with a trio of goals. STATE OF THE ECONOMY Economic success is also reliant on those with outside experience, including ex World Banker and now Economy Tsar Kemal Dervis. Under his watch, the TRL is stabilizing, inflation is falling but growth remains disappointing. We hope that the national team and the national economy will have more success than two ofTurkey’s top local teams had with their IPOs earlier this year – Galatasaray has fallen by more than a third and Besiktas has fallen by more than a half since their listings. STATE OF THE NATION Manager of Turkey’s Cup squad Can Cobanoglu said in March that “financial help was not an issue” but complained of “insufficient public and political backing”. Thesewords could just as easily have been heard from the lips of EconomyMinister Dervis. The amount of official financial assistance to the government is totally unprecedented, but at times, the program has had little support from members of the ruling coalition. By the time of the next World Cup, the three parties in the coalition are unlikely to be in charge – the next election is due by April 2004 and none of the parties has even reached the minimum threshold for parliamentary representation (let alone victory) in any poll since the devaluation! Partly to convince the team’s sceptics, additional friendlies with South Korea, Netherlands and Hong Kong have been arranged. Turkey’s economy has also needed to prove itself - after numerous failed reform programs, Turkey has had to implement difficult fiscal and structural (especially banking) reforms up front to unlock the IMF cash and satisfy markets. Friendly is not, however, theword to use for a match in March between Galatasaray and Roma, which led to a mass brawl and accusations of brutal treatment of the Turks. For the local press, this was a reminder ofWestern Europe’s treatment of Turks in the post-World War I break-up of the Ottoman Empire. It also flared just as Turkish generals were raising doubts about the benefits of Turkey’s pro-EU accession strategy. Other recent nasties include the mid-March bribery allegations against Turkish super league coaches and referees for match fixing – a stark reminder of how endemic corruption remains in Turkey. THE 2002 WORLD CUP Both Galatasaray and the national team have delivered sporadic successes in recent years, much like Turkey’s economy, which is probably the most boom-bust story in Europe. Turkey reached their first European Championship finals in 1996 and the quarters four years later, but hasn’t been seen in the World Cup for half a century. Turkey left it late to qualify for this year’s World Cup, getting through via a play-off against Austria, hardly surprising those accustomed to watching Turkish politicians delay essential reforms until taken to the brink by the IMF or the market. The team’s position in the Cup draw helps its chances of advancing to the second stage, and the country’s position in a region of intense US focus has helped it obtain enoughIMFmoney to continuing playing in global debt markets. Previous Appearances: 1 1954 Odds 50 - 1