Germany

By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL, June 25 (Reuters) - Central Istanbul resounded to proud chants of "Turkey, Turkey" early on Thursday as Turks waved national flags aloft despite their country's defeat against Germany in their Euro 2008 semi-final in Basel.

After a raucous party atmosphere across Turkey's largest city before and during the match on Wednesday evening, the thousands of fans gathered in bars and city squares were still bitterly disappointed after their team's impressive performance. "We were defeated by our own speciality," said Erkan Teke, a 24-year-old waiter, in reference to the last-minute goal scored by Germany.

Turkey had made their way to the semi-finals through late goals scored against Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Croatia.

The Turks looked to have repeated the feat on Wednesday when Semih Senturk levelled for Turkey in the 86th minute but four minutes later Philipp Lahm turned the tables and scored to give Germany a 3-2 win.

"It is the fate of Germany to win at football," Teke said, adding the common view that if depleted Turkey had a full squad they would have beaten the Germans.

Many said Turkey's performance had reinforced the country's success in the World Cup in 2002 when they reached the semi-finals.

"The Germans are known for their discipline and the Brazilians are known for their technique and now the Turks will be known for their fighting spirit," said 21-year-old university student Faurk Buyukyoran. (Reporting by Daren Butler)