TURNING A NEW PAGE

Turkey, who failed to qualify for the 2004 European Championship finals and 2006 World Cup finals, turned a new page for the 2008 European Championship finals. Now, foreign national players holding a Turkish passport have the opportunity to play for the Turkish National Team. The first example is the Brazilian midfielder Marco Aurelio of Fenerbahçe. Aurelio, who now holds a Turkish passport and changed his name to Mehmet, was called up by Turkey's head-coach Fatih Terim for the first time to line up during the friendly match played against Luxemburg. Determined to qualify for the 2008 European Championship finals, the Turkish National Team are continuing their efforts towards that goal.