大象传媒

Nyon

I have just about squeezed the rain out of my clothes after commentating on the game in Basel on Wednesday. What a night. If it was a league game, it would certainly have been called off.

Second spot in Group A now comes down to the game between Turkey and the Czech Republic, with the winners going through. If it's a draw, it's a penalty shoot-out for a place in the last eight. I'll be there in Geneva on Sunday and I can't wait.

I met London-born at Turkey's training camp in Germany about three weeks ago. The other day, the team's press officer, Yigiter Ulug, rang me to see if I wanted to interview the Fenerbahce player again.

I offered this to , whose editor was keen so long as they were still in the competition. The 2-1 win over Switzerland ensured that they are. However, with Focus already packed full of stuff, something else had to go. Sorry, but the interview with Philippe Senderos has now bitten the dust.

It took us two hours to drive to the Turkish media base in Nyon for the interview with Colin. We set up the cameras on a sunny spot of green space with the mountains in the far distance. Nice. Then the phone rang. It was Yigiter. He told me he and Colin were stuck in traffic 15 minutes away. The bad news was that in 40 minutes they needed to be back for training. Not nice.

Finally, a car pulled up and out got Yigiter and Colin... relief all round. We got about 15 minutes to chat about his background and how he came to qualify for Turkey, his hopes for the game against the Czechs and what it's like for him being away for weeks with a group of people whose language he barely speaks.

He admitted that there are some tough times when boredom and loneliness are a problem, and that he has long since run out of DVDs to pass the time. However, lack of confidence will never be problem for Colin and I get the feeling that he is revelling in the tournament and determined to make a big impact. I hope he does and would not be surprised to see him back in the Premier League next season.

On the domestic front, I am still chuckling about a quote attributed to Tottenham new boy Giovanni dos Santos. According to The Times, it is "" that have convinced him to join Spurs. That's Barcelona he is leaving, by the way, that tiny team from somewhere in Spain that hardly anyone bothers to watch. Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear someone say they are joining a club because of the vast shed loads of cash they are going to be paid?

The interview with Colin Kazim-Richards will be broadcast on Football Focus on Saturday on 大象传媒1 from 12.10 BST