Turkey's footballers received a hero's welcome Thursday as they returned home after bowing out from Euro 2008 at the semi-finals, but marking the tournament with their never-say-die performance.
The players, led by coach Fatih Terim, nicknamed "The Emperor", mounted a double-decker bus at Istanbul's Ataturk airport that took them to Taksim Square, in the heart of the city, for celebrations. Fireworks greeted the bus at the square, where thousands had watched the team's matches on a giant screen, as about 3,000 joyous fans waved the red-and-white national flag and cheered the players, who joined the chants: "Turkey, Turkey!"
Some held banners reading "Fatih Terim, don't leave us" after the charismatic coach revealed Wednesday he was planning to quit the team and move to a European club he did not name.
But despite the euphoria across this football-mad nation, the crowd was no match to the throngs that greeted the team after their third place at the 2002 World Cup, largely because of the organisers' late announcement of the event.
Pundits had given Turkey little chance ahead of the tournament, but the team reached the semi-finals of a European championships for the first time, winning three of their first four games in a dramatic fashion that earned them the reputation of comeback kings.
In the group matches, they lost 2-0 to Portugal, then beat Switzerland 2-1 and the Czech Republic 3-2 with last-minute goals and knocked Croatia out at the quarter-finals on penalties after equalising with the last kick of the game in time added on.
Hit by injuries and suspensions, the depleted team put up a brave performance in the semi-final Wednesday in Basel, but lost 3-2 as Germany scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.