‘Away’ Euro qualifier feels like home for German-born Turks

He may have been born and raised in Germany, but Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin says he will have no problem wearing the red shirt on Friday and taking on the country of his birth here in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Around 30,000 Turkey supporters are expected at the 74,244-capacity Olympic Stadium in Berlin for the Group A clash.

With 1.66 million Turks and 700,000 Germans of Turkish origin currently living in Germany, the qualifier between the group’s top two sides will almost have the air of a home match for Guus Hiddink-coached Turkey.

The game has long since been sold out with German chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan set to attend. German police are tightening up security for what will be a hotly anticipated affair.

Having played for Turkey since 2005, Sahin had no problems choosing to play for the country of his ancestors and says it was a matter of personal choice.

“Our third generation of Turks are very well integrated now,” said the 22-year-old.

“And, who knows, perhaps the next German Chancellor can come from the fourth generation.

“The German national football team has set the example, they are a multicultural team, and the whole country cheers when Mesut Ozil scores.”

In the wake of the labour shortage caused by World War II, Germany recruited guest workers from overseas and a flood of immigrants from Turkey mean the country still has a strong Turkish community today.

Just like Real Madrid’s Ozil, one of the stars of the World Cup, Sahin was born in Germany to Turkish parents.

The pair have opted to play for the different national sides, despite both developing their careers with German league clubs.

“Although I am a Turk, I am also more than a little German. This is a very special game for me, “says Sahin, who was born in central Germany.

Germany coach Joachim Loew regrets Sahin’s decision to play for Turkey and the German Football Federation (DFB) are working hard to make sure few other German-born players here slip through the net to play for other countries.

With an estimated 200,000 footballers in Germany eligible to play for Turkey, the DFB are making sure they keep hold of home-grown talent.

“We are fighting for them,” sport director Matthias Sammer told the magazine Kicker.

“It is our aim to integrate those players with a migration background into our talent development scheme.”

Sahin is not the only German-speaker in Hiddink’s Turkey squad: twins Halil (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich) both play in the Bundesliga and were born in Germany. More are sure to follow.

The Turkey Football Association employs 25 scouts across Europe with an annual budget of half a million euros.

Both Ozil and Sahin stress they were comfortable making the decision to play for their respective sides and the figures back up their view points.

There are currently around 24 Germany-based players involved with Turkey’s national sides, while the DFB has 18 players in their different age group teams who were born in Turkey, according to Kicker.

“The most important thing is that the individual feels comfortable with his decision,” said Sahin.