The Turkey and Armenia youth national teams will play a match one day before the two countries’ senior national football teams meet in Bursa on Wednesday. Although some of the young players desire to play for Turkish clubs, they are worried about pressure from the public.



YOUTH: Members of Armenia's national youth football team pose with Danish Coach Flemming Serritslev.

There are only a few days left before the second half of “football diplomacy” kicks off.

But before the World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Bursa on Wednesday, which is the second leg to the historic fixture played last September at the Hrazdan Stadium in Yerevan, the countries’ youth teams will go head to head.

On Tuesday, players under the age of 21 from Armenia and Turkey will face off. Armenia’s youth national team is preparing for the match under the supervision of Danish Coach Flemming Serritslev. The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Serritslev about the team’s preparations and to some of the players about their opinions of Turkey.

Public pressure is an obstacle

The youth national team’s members range in age from 17 to 21. As with every footballer, the biggest dream of all the players is to be able to play for one of the world famous teams one day. When it comes to Turkey though, they are extremely coy in their answers, primarily due to the present state of relations between the two countries. Some of them, like 19-year-old Tavin Manyan, are willing to play for professional club teams in Turkey if there is an offer, yet concerns remain for most of them. “Let us say that if an offer came from Turkey and I accepted, not only would I experience problems in Armenia, I would have them in Turkey, too. Public opinion would put pressure on me. It is a hard decision to make alone,” said Manyan. “I would like to play football for a Turkish team if the relations between the two countries aren’t troubled.”

‘I would not let my feelings get involved in my work’

Ardaş Taşyan, 20, is also afraid of possible public pressure. “I could play for any team in the world, but it is hard for me to answer the question if I would play for any Turkish team.” The youth national teams of the two countries have met a few times in Turkey. Kevork Ghazaryan, a 21-year-old member of the team who played in those matches, said they occurred in a friendly atmosphere. “The historic events are one thing, professionalism is another. I am a professional player – I would not let my feelings get involved in my work.”

Struggle against prejudices

Garen Khacadıryan, another 21-year-old member of the team, said he experiences an inner conflict during matches against Turkey. “There is always a voice in my head reminding me that I’m playing against Turks but I do not have hostility in me. I struggle to overcome my prejudices. I am at a war within myself,” Khacadryan said. “I blow off steam through football. I try to discover my strong sides in a technical sense and seek to develop myself through them. That is my method for dealing with my prejudices.”


Flemming Serritslev, who has been coaching the youth team since last March, said he thinks the Turkish national team is a very successful one and Turkey’s youth team is among the strongest in Europe. On the subject of the match played in Yerevan last year, he said, “That match was overly politicized. I hope a similar thing will not be experienced this year, too.”

The coachrefused to offer a guess on the score of the game but said that he is hopeful of his team. In the end, Serritslev chose to summarize the match as follows: “It is very wrong to compare the teams of Turkey and Armenia. Turkey is a country of 70 million while Armenia has a population of 3 million. The interest in football in Armenia is low, not like it is in Turkey.”