Coach Fatih Terim said he would decide whether or not to quit after talking to the chairman and executive board members of the Turkish Football Federation.

"This is what I could do, I hope my successor would make our team the champions," Terim told a press conference in Basel, Switzerland after Turkey-Germany semi-final.

Turkey and Germany played a Euro 2008 semi-final in Basel on Wednesday. Turkey were defeated 2-3 by the German team and could not qualify for the final.

Terim said he had earlier announced that he would not be the coach of a Turkish team.

"I would probably return to Europe, but it will be wrong to make a statement before I meet the chairman and the executive board members," he told reporters.

The coach said that he told his players in the changing room that he was proud of them because they played sincerely.

"We have made every one in the world know about and remember us with this championship," he also said.

Terim said that Turkey would always be in the World Cup and Euro finals.

Also speaking after the match, the coach of Germany, Joachim Low, said that Turkish team played excellent in the mid-field, and the second goal Turkey scored was really dangerous.

"I was very uneasy since Turkey did not give up the match till the end," he said.

Low said that Turks should never be ignored because they were playing with a perfect technique and never gave up.

The German coach congratulated Turkish team for their excellent performance.

One of the most successful football players and managers of Turkey, Fatih Terim's coaching career began when he was appointed as the coach of Turkish team MKE Ankaragucu in 1987. He was appointed as assistant to Turkey's national coach Sepp Piontek in 1990, where he also coached the U21 team.

After serving as assistant coach for three years, he was appointed as Turkish national team coach in 1993. Three years later, the Turkish national team succeeded in qualifying for the final tournament of the Euro '96 for the first time in their history under his management.

After Euro 1996, Fatih Terim signed a contract with Galatasaray. Under his management Galatasaray won the championship in the Turkish league for four consecutive years, crowning his achievements by winning the UEFA Cup in 2000, making Fatih Terim the most successful Galatasaray manager in its history.

He coached Fiorentine and AC Milan of Italy. In the summer of 2002 he returned to Galatasaray. He signed a contract with the Turkish Football Federation to coach the national team in the summer of 2005.

On May 8th, 2008, Fatih Terim was honored with the rank Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana (2nd Class / Commander of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity) by the Italian state at a reception hosted by the Italian Embassy in Ankara.

AA