Turkey target world triumph

By Türker Tozar

Runners-up in the 2003/04 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Switzerland, Turkey travel to the Netherlands for the FIFA World Youth Championship boasting an exciting young team and a coach raring to go in his first finals tournament.

Playing career
Having succeeded Gündüz Tekin Onay in September last year, 43-year-old Senol Ustaömer is hoping to lead Turkey to glory. A defensive midfielder who won three caps for his country, his playing career peaked with an eight-year spell at his hometown club Trabzonspor between 1980 and 1988.

Coaching credentials
A neat dribbler who was unusually proficient going forward, he retired in 1994 and went into coaching, taking charge of second division sides such as Dardanelspor AS, Batman Petrolspor, Kartalspor and Sariyer. More recently, he was Oguz Çetin's assistant at Kayserispor in 2003/04.

Exciting side
The Under-20 team he inherited upon his appointment by the Turkish Football Association is one that bristles with talent and experience, as personified by 18-year-old Gençlerbirligi SK striker Ali Öztürk, who impressed at last summer's U19 finals with four goals.

Good goalkeeper
His Gençlerbirligi team-mate, defender Hakan Aslantas, is another regarded as a hot prospect and is being tracked by a number of clubs. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Serkan Kirintili proved that he too was a man in demand by agreeing a move from Adanaspor AS to MKE Ankaragücü during the winter break.

Promising pair
Ozan Tahtaisleyen also made a January transfer suggesting better things, joining Gaziantepspor, while Fenerbahçe SK duo Olcan Adin - renowned for his pace and creativity - and Kerim Zengin will come to the finals reinvigorated after season-long loan spells at Antalyaspor and Mersin Idman Yurdu respectively.

Useful right-back
Another Fenerbahçe midfielder, Gürhan Gürsoy, has started to make a name for himself, while strikers Burak Yilmaz and Gökhan Güleç have both had good seasons. The same goes for 17-year-old right-back Serdar Kurtulus who appeared 19 times for Bursaspor this term and scored a goal into the bargain.

Match practice
Turkey have played three games under Ustaömer, starting with a 3-1 victory against World Youth Championship hosts the Netherlands in January. They subsequently won 1-0 in Malta thanks to an Ali Öztürk goal and drew 0-0 with Syria in a fixture arranged to provide experience of playing non-European opposition.

Growing in strength
In the Netherlands, they will face fellow Europeans Ukraine, with China and Panama making up the competition in Group B. With the U19 side exceeding expectations at their finals last summer, and the U17s triumphing at the European Championship in Italy at the start of May, Turkish youth football is enjoying one of its brightest spells. Ustaömer will hope his team can make another big impression, this time on a world stage.