World Cup Qualifying Preview: Turkey – Armenia

This is when football’s beautiful quality as a bridge across cultural, ethnic, social and political divides is truly exemplified.

This past weekend, leaders from Turkey and Armenia met in Zurich, Switzerland to sign protocols aimed at restoring bilateral ties between the two countries after nearly a century of acrimony and hostility.

Relations between Turkey and Armenia have, in the memories of most, been stained by claims of genocide during the Ottoman Empire, and recently, ties were tested over issues regarding the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

It seems only fitting that after such a momentous occasion in diplomacy, the two countries would meet on the football pitch rather than the field of battle.

With both sides out of any hope for qualifying for South Africa 2010, the outcome of this match has no real significance when it comes to earning points. But given the bloody history between these two nations and the recent milestones that were achieved only days ago, this match has a great deal riding on it in terms of pride and politics.


FORM GUIDE

Turkey

28/03/09 Spain 1-0 Turkey    
01/04/09 Turkey 1-2 Spain    
05/09/09 Turkey 4-2 Estonia    
09/09/09 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-1 Turkey    
10/10/09 Belgium 2-0 Turkey


Armenia

28/03/09 Armenia 2-2 Estonia    
01/04/09 Estonia 1-0 Armenia    
05/09/09 Armenia 0-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina    
09/09/09 Armenia 2-1 Belgium    
10/10/09 Armenia 1-2 Spain

TEAM NEWS

Turkey

Turkey coach Fatih Terim has announced that he will step down from the managerial position after this Wednesday's match. This decision came after his side were unable to beat Belgium on Saturday, a result that meant they could no longer claim a place in the World Cup finals — a sad fate for one of Europe’s most exciting sides to watch and one that reached the Euro 2008 semi-finals with a series of thrilling comeback victories.

The Turkish national side will be handicapped in Wednesday’s match by a plethora of injuries: Sabri Sarioglu of Galatasaray, Mehmet Aurelio of Real Betis and Galatasaray defender Gokhan Zan were all excluded from the squad due to knocks.

The latest blow to the team has been injuries to two strikers, Bursaspor’s Sercan Yildirim and Nuri Sahin of Borussia Dortmund, who will be doubtful for the match. Fenerbahce’s Emre Belozoglu and Galatasaray’s prolific midfielder, Arda Turan, make their returns after being unable to play last weekend due to bans.

Probable starting XI (4-4-2): Volkan Demirel - Cetin, Emre Asik, Turaci, Hakan Balta - Altintop, Tuncay Sanli, Emre Belozoglu, Arda Turan - Nihat Kahveci, Semih Senturk

Armenia

Armenia had to make two changes from the original squad list as both Davit Grigoryan and Edgar Manucharyan were forced to withdraw due to injuries. Youngsters Artak Grigoryan and Artak Dashyan have been called up in their place. Full-back Alexander Tadevosyan is also unavailable.

Probable Starting XI (5-3-2): Berezovsky – Hovsepyan, Mkoyan, Arzumanyan, A. Mkrtchyan, Edigaryan - M. Mkrtchyan, Karamyan, Artavazd Karamian - Goharyan, Pizzelli

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
Turkey

Nihat Kahveci, the Besiktas striker is, at 29-years-old, likely to play in his last World Cup qualifier for his country and he should receive a grateful ovation from the supporters. Bayern Munich’s Hamit Altintop is an inventive midfielder and should be an entertaining player to watch.

Armenia

There are no easily recognisable names in this Armenia squad or even a player who features for any of Europe’s top clubs. The team’s captain, Sargis Hovsepyan, was one of Armenia’s strongest players against Spain in Armenia’s last match and should forge his team on in front of a very loud Turkish audience.

PREDICTION

In light of the weekend’s events in the political arena, this match should be a competitive fixture, but with no meaningful points at stake, has also been underscored by a certain sense of camaraderie. It remains to be seen if governmental accords translate into friendliness on the pitch and in the stands, but in the hours leading up to this match, the general feeling is one of forgiveness and healthy competitiveness.

Turkey 1 – 1 Armenia

Cyrus C. Malek, Goal.com