Europe's governing
football body UEFA proudly announced at the start of the Euro tournament that
for the first time, the organization were itself was responsible for the TV
signal that was being broadcast to the world.
On Wednesday, millions of football fans worldwide were denied the opportunity
of seeing the final act of a fascinating football thriller that took place in Basle, Switzerland, as Germany beat Turkey 3-2 to reach the final of the European
Championships.
The TV signal, thought to have been disrupted by an electrical storm over Vienna, which caused a power outage in the International Broadcasting Centre in the
Austrian capital, was lost shortly before Germany's second goal by Miroslav
Klose.
UEFA said that only news channel Al-Jazeera and Swiss TV were able to continue
their broadcasts.
Germany's other goals were scored by Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger,
while Ugur Boral and Semih Senturk found the net for the Turks.
Turkish coach Fatih Terim, who had seen his side come back dramatically after
trailing in three previous matches, said that he thought his side deserved to
be in the final.
"I am very sad. We were so close, and the players were very good," he
said.
"We have given a lot to Turkey, and we would have liked to have given them
the final. But it was not to be."
German coach Joachim Loew was just grateful that his side had gone through.
"It was a very tense game, but I am very happy that we made it," he
said.
"The goal so late for us demoralized the Turks, and from there, there was
no coming back. Before that, they had put in a fantastic performance, and they
were very strong. They showed a good morale to come back."
Turkey, who had only led for a total of nine minutes in their four matches en
route to the semi-finals, took the lead in the 22nd minute when Kazim Kazim,
who had earlier already blasted the ball against the cross bar, did so again.
This time, though, the ball fell to Ugur, who scored from close range, pushing
the ball through the legs of German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
The Turks, who were playing in their first-ever Euro semi-final, led just four
minutes as Schweinsteiger scored his third of the tournament from a Lukas
Podolski cross.
Far from giving Germany confidence, the Turks continued to dominate proceedings
but failed to create any real chances.
Shortly before the break, German midfielder Simon Rolfes suffered a head injury
after clashing with an opponent, and although the Bayer Leverkusen player
returned to the field after receiving treatment for a bleeding head wound, he
had to be taken off at half-time.
In the second half, Germany played a bit better but certainly failed to take
control of the game.
Klose gave them the lead in the 79th minute, but Turkey, who had managed to
turn around three matches in the tournament with late goals, managed to find
the net again four minutes from time when Semih scored.
But this time, it was Germany who turned things around as Lahm conjured a
dramatic last-minute winner to send Germany into their sixth Euro final.
"This is one of the best moments in my life," said Lahm. "We did
not play very well, but we tried hard. We had to fight until the last minute,
and I am glad that we were rewarded."
Lahm was partly to blame for the second Turkish goal. "I am very glad that
I managed to help the team go through in the end," he said.
The storm over Vienna led to two fans being seriously injured in a
stampede-like flight of around 30,000 people as gale-force winds and lightning
hit the Austrian capital midway through the second half of the game.
Heavy rain continued past midnight (2200 GMT) in Vienna.
The extreme weather also forced the evacuation of the Euro 2008 international
media centre in Vienna.
Late Wednesday, Spain coach Luis Aragones denied having signed a pre-contract
with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, as the club had announced hours earlier on its
website.
"I do not understand it. Luis has signed nothing with anybody,"
Aragones said.
Aragones, 69, had long said he would leave the national team after the
tournament, and before travelling to Austria he noted that he would most likely
move on to coach outside Spain.
Italian coach Roberto Donadoni is widely expected to be given the boot after
his side's quarter-final exit, paving the way for the return of world champion
coach Marcello Lippi, dpa reported.