Veteran Turkey striker Hakan Sukur has been left out of Fatih Terim's initial 26-man Euro 2008 squad.
Veteran striker to miss out on Euro 2008
Veteran Turkey striker Hakan Sukur has been left out of Fatih Terim's initial 26-man squad for this summer's European Championships.
Galatasaray's Sukur, now 36, made eight appearances in qualifying but was deemed surplus to requirements by Terim for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
The former Blackburn striker has made over 100 appearances for his country and has scored 51 international goals for the 2002 World Cup bronze medallists.
Another surprise omission was versatile midfielder/defender Mehmet Topuz, who has been in fine form for Kayserispor this season and was recently linked with a move to Valencia.
Terim chose to select Bayern Munich forward Hamit Altintop, who is currently sidelined with a broken foot, and also 21-year-old Sochaux striker Mevlut Erding, who has won just one cap to date.
Kazim-Richards
Also picked for the squad, which will be later trimmed to 23 players, was Fenerbahce striker Kazim Kazim, better known in England as Colin Kazim-Richards.
The former Bury, Brighton and Sheffield United player, 21, has also made only one appearance for Turkey so far but his goal-scoring performance in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea has helped propel him into the squad for Euro 2008.
Newcastle midfielder Emre and Middlesbrough striker Tuncay are also included.
Turkey will play friendlies against Slovakia, Uruguay and Finland in their build-up to the tournament.
They have been placed in Group A and will kick off against Portugal in Geneva (7th June), before meeting hosts Switzerland in Basel (11th June) and finally the Czech Republic, again in Geneva (15th June).
Turkey initial 26-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce), Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor).
Defenders: Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray), Gokhan Zan (Besiktas), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Emre Asik (Galatasaray), Servet Cetin (Galatasaray), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Ugur Boral (Fenerbahce).
Midfielders: Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle), Tumer Metin (Larissa), Yildiray Basturk (Stuttgart), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough), Kazim Kazim (Fenerbahce), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan).
Forwards: Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal), Halil Altintop (Schalke), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Mevlut Erding (Sochaux).
