Gunes - playing down revenge talk (Allsport).

By Ian Parkes, PA Sport, Saitama

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Turkey coach Senol Gunes showed himself to be a master of diplomacy on the eve of his side's World Cup semi-final showdown with four-times champions Brazil.

Less than a day after centre-back Alpay fanned the flames of what promises to be a hotly-disputed encounter in Saitama on Wednesday, Gunes was at pains to express his "love and peace" towards the Brazilians.

Alpay vowed action would accordingly be taken against both Brazil, and in particular Rivaldo, following a controversial clash between the two sides earlier in the tournament when Turkey suffered an agonising group defeat.

The culmination of which saw Aston Villa central defender Alpay dismissed for two bookable offences, the second being for a shirt tug on Luizao outside the area only for Korean referee Kim Young Soo to award a penalty which Ronaldo duly converted.

In injury-time Rivaldo's unsportsmanlike play-acting after Hakan Unsal had kicked the ball against his legs led to the Blackburn defender also being shown a red card, following which a storm of protest followed.

It appeared as if there was only one thing on the mind of the Turkish squad going into the eagerly-awaited return - revenge.

But while Gunes still does not condone the actions of Rivaldo, he is eager to ensure a showpiece game does not degenerate into an all-out war.

"Rivaldo is one of the best players in the world, but his antics in the first game had nothing to do with fair play," asserted Gunes.

"We know that players can make mistakes on the field during the game, and they can also make some mistakes regarding fair play.

"Of course, for such a great player, making such a mistake does not look good. We are not expecting him to make the same mistake twice and I do not want my own players following his example.

"There was another mistake by another person (referee Soo) which led to Brazil winning that game. This doesn't mean Brazil are not a good side, but they did not deserve to win the first game.

"Although, so far, we have had no mistakes from the referees go in our favour, I'm not expecting any similar mistakes tomorrow.

"As I have said before, we see football as the object for peace, love and friendship. Revenge is a job for lesser people. Football will not let this happen.

"We love Brazil. We have watched and cheered for them in every World Cup in the past.

"The first game, football wise, was a good game. Brazil won. We lost, but we never gave up and now we are here.

"Tomorrow we will go out on the field with passion for football. It will not matter whether it is us or Brazil who emerge victorious and the players will leave the field by embracing each other."

One aspect of the game Gunes does share with his players is the unshakeable belief they will beat Brazil to reach Sunday's final in Yokohama in what is only their second competition, 48 years on from the first when they were knocked out in the first round.

"This World Cup has shown there are no longer any small teams. Teams which look inferior on paper can now beat anyone," he said.

"Although we are facing the four-time world champions who have won all their games in this tournament so far, and who beat us in that first group game, that has been our only loss in the tournament so far. Now we are going to see Brazil lose one game.

"Both teams have star players who are technically gifted and very creative so what is the difference? The difference will be the will to win.

"We will use our hunger for success. The one who wants it the most and performs on the field will gain success - and that will be us."