He may argue it was not his fault. But, still, a high-profile mix-up in front of the watching eyes of the entire continent certainly did not paint Altay Bayindir in the best possible light.
While Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot have a quarter-final clash to look forward to, while Christian Eriksen proved there is plenty of life left in this old dog and while Kobbie Mainoo threatens to make himself undroppable for England, Altay Bayindir’s Euro 2024 experience is shaping up very differently.
There were unfortunate shades of that Stefan Ortega – Josko Gvardiol blunder which gifted Alejandro Garnacho the opener in last month’s FA Cup final.
Man United’s number two goalkeeper trotted out of his goal to collect a pass from his centre-back. Bayindir, however, made the rather criminal error of not informing Samet Akaydin that he was no longer positioned between his posts.
Akaydin then rolled the ball back to where he assumed Bayindir would be, leaving the shot-stopper helpless as a calamitous Turkey collapse handed Portugal their second of a comfortable 3-0 group stage win.
Disaster moment for Manchester United’s Altay Bayindir
“We made mistakes and were punished harshly,” sighed Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella, via NTV Spor.
“Altay could have come out and taken the ball without Samet having to pass it,” argues former Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demiral, speaking to Milliyet. “But there is a lack of communication.”
Bayindir only started against Portugal due to an injury picked up by Montella’s first-choice, Mert Gunok.
That seems destined to be the Red Devils’ only appearance at Euro 2024 too. And it’s fair to say he will not look back on it too fondly either, Bayindir’s standing in the Turkish picture maybe lower now than it was before the tournament kicked off.
Just to prize Bayindir’s fingers away from the number one jersey further, Gunok could hardly have outperformed his goalkeeping rival more emphatically after returning to Montella’s XI.
If there has been a better save at a European Championship than the one Gunok pulled off to deny Christoph Baumgartner in the dying seconds of Turkey’s 2-1 win over Austria on Tuesday, answers on a postcard please.
“I cannot think of a better game I’ve seen,” former England defender Matt Upson told the BBC, Gunok springing to his right before brilliantly tripping a bouncing ball over the bar in a moment which had every Three Lions supporter thinking back to Gordon Banks’ legendary denial of Pele in 1970.
“Baumgartner thought that was in the back of the net. He does everything right. Off that greasy surface, (Gunok) has done so well.
“It was Gordon Banks, identical. The Turkish fans are going crazy.”
Outperformed by Turkey rival at Euro 2024
It wasn’t just Gunok’s shot-stopping that caught the eye against Austria too in a thrilling battle of the dark horses. The Besiktas veteran impressed with his distribution too, pinging a few pinpoint passes out to the wings.
The same certainly could not be said of Altay Bayindir in that Portugal clash. With nerves spreading throughout the backline, more than a few attempted passes went astray.
Bayindir would have jetted out to Germany hoping to make the first-choice role his own. Instead, like at a Manchester United side who have handed him just one first-team appearance thus far, opportunities between the sticks at Turkey may now prove to be even more seldom-seen going forward.
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