ZAGREB, Nov 16 (Reuters) – The lack of support and
opportunities for young players at clubs lies at the heart of
Turkey’s inconsistency on the big stage and their failure to
reach Euro 2012, coach Guus Hiddink said.

Tuesday’s 0-0 draw in Croatia which completed Turkey’s 3-0
aggregate defeat in their playoff was in all likelihood
Hiddink’s last game in charge and he criticised an “inefficient
system” depriving young players of a chance to develop.

ZAGREB, Nov 15 (Reuters) – A 0-0 home draw on a bitterly
cold night on Tuesday handed Croatia a 3-0 aggregate win over
Turkey in their playoff and a place in the Euro 2012 finals.

The success completed Croatia’s revenge over Turkey for a
painful defeat in their Euro 2008 quarter-final, when the Turks
won on penalties after equalising and making the score 1-1 with
the last kick of extra time.

ZAGREB, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Turkey manager Guus Hiddink is
planning to stay in the coaching business even though Tuesday’s
return leg of their Euro 2012 playoff against Croatia is likely
to be the 65-year-old’s last match in charge.

The Dutchman was blasted by Turkish media and by some of his
players after last week’s 3-0 first-leg home defeat by Croatia
left the Euro 2008 semi-finalists staring at elimination.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Playing in Europe’s top club competition is the ideal way to stay in shape while the NBA lockout continues in North America, Partizan Belgrade center Nikola Pekovic said.

Pekovic is among two dozen or so players from the NBA who joined European teams on a temporary basis due to the labor dispute between NBA owners and a players’ union across the Atlantic.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar demonstrated just how much depth an influx of NBA players has added to the Euroleague when he steered Maccabi Tel Aviv to an 88-82 win over Real Madrid Thursday.

The clash of the titans in Europe’s premier club competition produced an electrifying game in which Farmar, who won the 2009 and 2010 NBA titles with the Lakers, shone with 27 points after making 10 of his 12 shots from the field.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – The protracted talks on ending the NBA lockout have come as a blessing in disguise for Dallas Mavericks forward Rudy Fernandez, the Spaniard said after yet another sparkling performance in the Euroleague.

With most of the NBA’s household names, such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, reduced to exhibitions or individual training sessions during the lockout, Fernandez has thrived on the courts of Europe.

BELGRADE, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Nemanja Vidic has let himself
and Serbia down by quitting international football at the peak
of his powers, former national team coach Ilija Petkovic told
Belgrade media on Tuesday.

Petkovic, who led Serbia and Montenegro to the 2006 World
Cup when they played as a single nation, was quoted as saying
that Vidic “has made a morally wrong decision.”

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Nemanja Vidic has quit the Serbian national team after their failure to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine, the Serbian Football Association (FSS) said on Monday.

The FSS published a statement by the Manchester United defender, who said media and fan criticism over his recent performances for Serbia had persuaded him to hang up his international boots.

BELGRADE, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Nemanja Vidic has quit the
Serbian national team after their failure to qualify for the
Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine, the Serbian Football
Association (FSS) said on Monday.

The FSS published a statement by the Manchester United
defender, who said media and fan criticism over his recent
performances for Serbia had persuaded him to hang up his
international boots.