Good soccer teams at times suffer from stage fright, especially when they are playing away in a hostile and intimidating atmosphere. 

Maybe this is what the Turkish U-21s went through when they were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by minnow Armenia in their 2009 European Championship Group 2 qualifier in Yerevan last month. Not that the Armenians would ever score, let alone beat Turkey, if both teams were to play another 10,000 times.

Vengeance is ours, saith the Turkish U-21s. On Tuesday they outplayed, outclassed and outscored the Armenian team 4-0 in the last group match of the qualifying round at İstanbul's Ali Sami Yen. Determined to settle old scores Turkey took the game to the Armenians right from the very beginning. Led by inspirational playmaker Batuhan Karadeniz, the Turkish U-21s gave their opponents no breathing room and succeeded in reducing the Armenians to soccer novices -- which they really are.

The visiting side literally ran out of ideas as the young Turks attacked incessantly from left, right and center. Hard work begets reward and so it was no surprise when Batuhan put Turkey ahead in the 26th minute. Eren Güngör doubled the score for the Turks at the eighth minute, Batuhan was again on target to make it 3-0 in the 45th and Özer Humarcı sealed the score, 4-0, in the 77th.

The game was played in a cordial atmosphere. On the pitch the players only concentrated on soccer -- no vicious fouls aimed at hurting the opponent and no elbowing or feigning fouls to have the opponent booked or sent off. The several Turkish fans in the stands were also well behaved: They did not chant curses or cause any trouble as they cheered on their beloved team to victory.

Sports and politics should not mix nor should they be mixed. They are two different things altogether and should always remain that way.

Draw for European under-21 playoffs on Friday

The playoff draw for the UEFA 2009 European Under-21 Championship will take place in Malmö, Sweden, on Friday. The lineup for the playoffs was completed on Tuesday in a dramatic night of action as titleholder the Netherlands bowed out at the qualifying round group stage after losing 1-0 to Switzerland.

The 10 group winners and the four best runners-up from the qualifying competition will enter Friday’s draw to determine the fixtures of the playoff matches. The 10 group winners are Italy, Turkey, England, Spain, Switzerland, Finland, Austria, Serbia, Germany and Wales, while the four runners-up are Belarus, Israel, France and Denmark.

The playoffs will be on Oct. 11/12 and 14/15 on a home-and-away basis. The winners from each two-leg matches will join host Sweden in the competition proper on June 15-29, 2009.

Todays Zaman