Turkey 3

 

Tugay Kerimoglu (Galatasaray)
vs. Portugal (0:1) | Euros | 1996 in England

The Euros 1996 were the first football tournament I saw at least parts of. I was just 9 years old at the time and didn't really have the nerve to watch full matches, let alone matches without Germany playing. But I saw bits and pieces. I have fond memories of the Quarter final, in which Igor Stimac just kicked into the ribcage of a lying German player, resulting in one of the most deserved red cards in history. I have a few memories of the semi vs. England, which was clearly the most boring of the matches I saw, apart from the penalties. And I definitely remember the final in which Bierhoff, who I found to tbe most overrated player in that squad, eventually won us the trophy.

But, having a Panini book from that tournament, I also remember some of the shirts of the tournament. One that stood out, in my opinion, was the Turkish shirt with the three massive bars running down the shoulders of the players. It looked like someone empties a bottle of red colour over the head of the players, letting it slowly run into an otherwise perfectly white shirt.

Now, almost 30 years later, I finally got this shirt. It cost me about 50€ and it is actually even nicer than I thought, as it has small crescent moons hidden in the fabric of the white part of the shirt. A nice, and typical 90s, touch.