Everything to play for, Armenia hosts Turkey

In the buildup to the 2010 World Cup qualifying Group Five game between Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan this evening, there was plenty of talk about how sports and politics do not mix, talk about friendship, rapprochement and unthawing relations.

Reason and common sense say sports and politics are two separate entities and should remain that way. But it has not been so throughout history, especially in soccer, which at times can be a very politically sensitive issue. The reason being that the emphasis nations and fans put on winning is so enormous that losing is what they do not expect, nay accept. Every fan believes that if his team wins that victory is his as well, because each fan identifies himself with the team.

Hence the political and sports leaders of both Turkey and Armenia have been working very hard, ever since the 2010 World Cup qualifying draw was made, to ensure that friendship and common sense prevail in this evening's game.

President Abdullah Gül flew to Armenia on Friday for this match in a major diplomatic step for the two states with no diplomatic ties. Turkey broke diplomatic relations with Armenia in protest of Yerevan's control of the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh region, over which Armenia fought Turkish ally Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s.

The Turkish national team, coaches and officials also flew to Armenia on Friday. Turkey coach Fatih Terim held a press conference to respond to questions on the political importance of today's game and the pressure to win due to national pride and prestige. "This is not a war; quite the contrary, it is a sport. We are going to Armenia for a soccer match, that is it," he said.

"Soccer is a fast game, politics is very heavy. If we think about anything else, it will slow down our game. Armenia is always a very tough opponent at home. There will be 50,000 fans at the stadium and I think it will be hostile and intimidating atmosphere. But our players, my players, are experienced and of good quality, so we aim to garner 12 maximum points in the next four matches," Terim added.

Turkey, the 2002 World Cup semifinalist and also the Euro 2008 semifinalist in June, is more experienced than Armenia and is used to playing under pressure. Terim is very likely to capitalize on this as he is determined to start his 2010 qualifying campaign on a winning note.

With keeper Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe) in goal; Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe), Servet Çetin (Galatasaray), Gökhan Zan (Beşiktaş) and Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray) at the back; Kazım Kazım (Fenerbahçe) and Arda Turan (Galatasaray) on the flanks; Mehmet Aurelio (Real Betis) and Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray) in central midfield; and Semih Şentürk (Fenerbahçe) and Tuncay Şanlı (Middlesbrough) upfront, Terim's side is capable of taking Europe's best, let alone Armenia. But surprises abound in soccer and so deductive reasoning has no place in the beautiful game.

To prove the importance Terim attaches to this evening's match, training sessions in İstanbul on Thursday were held behind closed doors, meaning the Turkey coach wants his game plan and tactics to remain secret.

Terim's opposite number, Jan Poulsen, also echoed the Turkish coach's plea for common sense. But the Armenian trainer also added that Armenia has a good team and Armenian soccer has a great future -- maybe, just maybe, a euphemism for "we can give any opponent as much as we get."

In a nutshell, there is much more to the "beautiful game" than 22 players kicking a piece of leather around a grass field or synthetic turf. So much is at stake in the Armenia-Turkey clash today -- nationalistic fervor, rivalry, precious points, pride, prestige, history, bragging rights, you name it.

But as Terim warned, this is only a soccer match, not a war. And this is not the last time Turkey and Armenia will be playing as long as they continue competing in Europe; in fact, there is still a Turkey leg to play for.

In civilized Europe, it is unthinkable for nations to go to war over soccer. For the record, though, this happened in Central America. On July 14, 1969, Honduras and El Salvador went to war. The 100-hour war claimed 6,000 lives, 12,000 were wounded and 50,000 people were rendered homeless. The cause was ostensibly the World Cup qualifying matches for Mexico '70 between Honduras and El Salvador.

On this note we urge the Armenians to show the utmost hospitality and respect to the Turks this evening and we promise they will receive a red-carpet reception when they come to Turkey. The other teams in Group Five are Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium and Estonia.