Turkey Coach Terim Full Of Praise For Greek Rivals

Turkey coach Fatih Terim heaped praise on Greece's coach and players ahead of Saturday's Euro 2008 Group C qualifier.

Greece and Turkey are currently joint group leaders on nine points after three matches, three more than third-placed Norway. Both have yet to concede a goal.

"Greece are a very good team. We know most of the players and they are good," Terim told reporters.

"Who could I mention? All of them..." he said before praising several of the Greek internationals individually.

"It will be a very difficult match."

Terim said he envied Greece coach Otto Rehhagel and the team for winning the European championships in 2004.

"I am jealous. I envy the coach and the players," he said. "We also want to win the European championships one day."

Terim's starting 11, already missing several key players, will also be without striker Fatih Tekke, who has been recovering from a muscle strain but had been included in the team that flew to Greece on Thrusday.

"We hope everything will go well for us ... because we want to go top." he said.

Greece play Malta on Wednesday while Turkey faces Norway in Frankfurt as part of the punishment imposed on them by the authorities following the fracas at the end of their World Cup qualifying match against Switzerland 16 months ago.