2) Turkey in Euro 2008
Euro 2008 was an iconic championship, as it kick-started the Spanish revolution with their first trophy in the tiki-taka era. But the Euros of that year was not only great for Spain, it was also for Turkey. The Turkish national team reached the Euros ranked 15th in the ranking table, with only Russia below.
They were in a table that consisted the likes of Portugal and the Czech Republic, which should have been extremely tough for them but they showed great strength in powering their way to the quarter-finals of the championship, where they beat Croatia on penalties.
The Turkish team met Germany in the semi-finals of the Championship, but could not continue their superb winning form and they were brought back to reality when the Germans beat the Turkish 3-2, courtesy a 90th-minute winner from Philipp Lahm. The Turkish team had to play the game with just 14 outfield players as the rest were suspended or injured.
What was even more heartbreaking was that Turkey had taken the lead through Ugur Boral, but was soon equalised by Bastian Schweinsteiger. Their fairy tale had to end in a disappointing fashion, but it was still quite an achievement as the Turkish team had never reached the semi-finals of a major tournament before.
