Usain Bolt flashed over the line in the 4×100 metres. “37.04 seconds!” yelled the commentator. “Finally a world record has been set in Daegu.”
A world record had, however, already been set in the southeastern Korean city. It wasn’t in the final event of the final day of the 13th IAAF World Championships, but in the penultimate event of the penultimate day of the 17th FIFA World Cup™.
Hakan Sukur went into Korea/Japan 2002 as the golden boy of Turkish football, having scored 36 times in 73 internationals. Despite Türkiye’s heroics – they KO’d a co-host and Golden Goaled Senegal – their 30-year-old captain had failed to find the target in eight hours and 22 minutes of action. There was talk Sukur would be dropped for the third-place play-off against Korea Republic, but Senol Gunes handed him one last shot.
One shot is all ‘The Bull of the Bosphorus’ needed in Daegu – and it took him just a second longer than it would take ‘Lightning Bolt’ to sprint the last leg of that historic relay some nine years later.
Curiously, Guus Hiddink’s side kicked off. When they passed the ball back, however, Ilhan Mansiz pounced, burgling current Korea Republic coach Hong Myungbo and flicking it to Sukur, who took a touch and beat goalkeeper Lee Woonjae.
“Eleven seconds,” yelled the commentator. “It’s one of the earliest World Cup goals of all time.”
It was actually 10.8 seconds. And it was actually the earliest, breaking the record Vaclav Masek had set by scoring for Czechoslovakia against Mexico at Chile 1962. Sukur then provided two assists for Manzis as Türkiye won 3-2 to bag bronze.
“We really wanted to get the medals, but I also really wanted to score,” said Sukur. “Scoring in the World Cup is something very special, and I hadn’t managed to do so. Everyone was talking about it.
“It all happened so quickly. It was a feeling of relief, of great joy. I went home having scored a World Cup goal and with a medal.”
