Flag of Armenia with the coat of arms photo by YakosaysBOT5WANA – Wikimedia commons

10 Best Armenian Football (Soccer) Players


 

In Armenia, soccer, or football, is the most played sport. Armenia participates actively in international sports and is a full member of several governing bodies, including the International Ice Hockey Federation, the Union of European Football Associations, and the Federation of International Bandy.

Armenia has made significant investments in soccer, which has helped the country create the Armenia national football team. The Football Federation of Armenia, the country’s governing body for football, oversees the team that plays association football on behalf of Armenia.

On October 12, 1992, the team played its first international game since achieving independence from the Soviet Union.

Armenia suffered a major setback in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament after failing to qualify from Group J which consisted of Germany, North Macedonia, Romania, Armenia, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

 Armenia has seen a continuous rise in the number of skilled footballers because of the existence of organized football in the country.

The footballers have gone on to play for national teams, and most of them have been successful in spreading their skills to different international teams.

Others are revered as legendary people around the world, while some are recognized as the greatest athletes to ever represent Armenia. Here are the top 10 best Armenian soccer players.

1. Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Henrikh Mkhitaryan 2017 photo by Dmitry Golubovich – Wikimedia commons

Armenian-born Henrikh Mkhitaryan, a professional football player for Serie A Team Inter Milan, was born on January 21, 1989.

Mkhitaryan typically performs as a winger or offensive midfielder. He joined Metalurh Donetsk in 2009, where he won four Armenian Premier League championships, and then transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010 for a reported €6.1 million.

In the 2012–13 season at Shakhtar, Mkhitaryan set the league’s record for goals scored and was voted Footballer of the Year. He joined Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund for a club record sum of €27.5 million, making him the most expensive Armenian player in history.

He also won three domestic doubles. He is Armenia’s all-time leading scorer, with 32 goals in 95 appearances, including the country’s first hat trick. He has been named Armenian Footballer of the Year ten times, receiving the honour every year since 2009 (except for 2010,2018 and 2021).

Mkhitaryan was also named CIS Footballer of the Year in 2012 and 2013, making him the first Armenian footballer to be crowned the best player in post-Soviet countries.

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2. Michel Der Zakarian

Michel Der Zakarian, football coach. photo by B. Cherasse – Wikimedia commons

Michel Der Zakarian is a former professional defender and former Armenian football manager.

He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Brest as of 2021. Der Zakarian grew up in France (he was born in Marseille) and spent his entire professional career with Nantes and Montpellier, winning the league with the former in 1983.

He played five international matches for Armenia after having made his debut in a home World Cup qualification match against Portugal in 1998.

3. Varazdat Haroyan

Varazdat Haroyan with FC Ural Yekaterinburg in a game against FC Rostov. photo by Anna Nessie – Wikimedia commons

Varazdat Haroyan is an Armenian professional footballer who now plays for the Cypriot club Anorthosis Famagusta as well as the Armenia national team.

Haroyan made his debut for Armenia in a friendly match against Lithuania on August 10, 2011. On June 11, 2013, he made his official debut in a 4-0 triumph over Denmark. He was named 2021 Armenian Footballer of the Year.

4. Marcos Pinheiro Pizzelli

Marcos Pinheiro Pizzelli, also known as Marcos, is a retired footballer. Marcos, who was born in Brazil, represented Armenia internationally between 2008 and 2019.

Pizzelli obtained Armenian citizenship in May 2008 and joined the Armenia national team. He made his debut on May 28, 2008, and scored his first goal in a friendly away game against Moldova.

The score was 2-2 at the end of the game. He was momentarily dropped from the national squad after appearing in three games that year.

After relocating to Yerevan to play for Pyunik, Marcos re-attracted the attention of coaches, and on August 12, 2009, he began playing frequently for the Armenian national team. He won the Armenian Footballer of the Year in 2018.

5. Khoren Oganesian

Khoren Oganesian, also known as Khoren Hovhannisyan, is a former Armenian and Soviet football midfielder who is now a manager and coach.

In 1976, he was named Master of Sport of the USSR, International Class. He is widely regarded as an Ararat and Armenian football icon in general. Oganesian appeared in 295 official USSR championship games and scored 93 goals for Ararat.

His total number of goals set a USSR record in Armenian football. He was named the Golden Player of Armenia by the Football Federation of Armenia in November 2003 to commemorate UEFA’s Jubilee as the nation’s most outstanding player of the previous 50 years.

Oganesian was voted Armenia’s best player of the twentieth century in a poll conducted by the Football Federation of Armenia in 2005. On the occasion of the Armenian Republic Day on May 28, 2010, several renowned personalities from various fields were recognized.

The statute on State Awards, the country’s highest accolade, was granted to Oganesian for his service to the Fatherland Order of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who was awarded the Khorenatsi medal.

6. Sargis Hovsepyan

 

Sargis Hovsepyan photo by Biso – Wikimedia commons

Sargis Hovsepyan is a retired Armenian footballer who last played for Armenian Premier League side Pyunik Yerevan and was a defender for the Armenian national team.

Hovsepyan was also the Armenia national team’s long-time captain. Since his debut in the national team’s first game, a home friendly against Moldova on 14 October 1992, he has played in 133 international matches and scored two goals.

Hovsepyan retired on November 14, 2012, at the age of 39, a little over a month before turning 40.

He was the final member of Armenia’s first national team to retire. He received the Medal of the City Hall after his final match. He was appointed director of the Armenian national team a month after completing his playing career.

7. Edgar Manucharyan

Edgar Manucharyan photo by Clément Bucco-Lechat – Wikimedia commons

Former Armenian football player Edgar Manucharyan was a forward. Manucharyan joined Ajax Amsterdam at the beginning of December 2004.

In a poll of journalists that was done on December 14th, the Football Federation of Armenia crowned Manucharyan the best player in Armenia in 2004.

8. Roman Berezovsky

Roman Berezovski photo by Clément Bucco-Lechat – Wikimedia commons

Footballer Roman Anatoliyevich Berezovsk is from Armenia. Berezovsky served as the squad captain for Armenia. He has previously played for clubs including Torpedo Moscow, Khimki, and Zenit Saint Petersburg.

In the late 1990s, Roman received the best goalie award in Russia. He became a fan favourite due to his consistent performances for the Armenian national team.

With 14 saves made, he now holds the record for most saves in penalty kicks throughout the Russian/USSR championships. He is regarded as the greatest goalkeeper to ever play for Armenia.

After previous captain Sargis Hovsepyan, Berezovsky has earned the second-most caps for the Armenian national team.

After Hovsepyan retired, he was appointed the new captain of the squad on October 12, 2012, and made his debut as captain during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Italy.

9. Artur Petrosyan

Artur Petrosyan hands over the Sport Express’ CIS Player of the Year award to Henrikh Mkhitaryan photo by Heisenberg la – Wikimedia commons

Former Armenian football player Artur Petrosyan was a midfielder. He was the national football team’s manager in Armenia. He is now in charge of the under-18 team for Grasshopper Club Zürich. 

With 11 goals in 69 international games played since his debut in the national team’s inaugural game, a home-friendly match against Moldova on October 14, 1992, Petrosyan was the all-time leading scorer for the Armenia national football team.

In 2013, Henrikh Mkhitaryan passed Petrosyan to become Armenia’s all-time leading scorer. Petrosyan took over as head coach of the national football team of Armenia in October 2016.

10. Hamlet Mkhitaryan

Football player Hamlet Mkhitaryan, a Soviet and Armenian, played as a striker for the Armenian national team and spent the majority of his club career with Ararat Yerevan of the Armenian Premier League and CFA 2 club ASOA Valence.

Mkhitaryan played for ASOA Valence at the height of the team in Ligue 2 and was one of the top players in the Soviet Top League in the 1980s, scoring 46 goals for the squad.

On September 7, 1994, Mkhitaryan made his professional football debut for Armenia against Belgium in a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying game at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Brussels. Armenia lost 0-2.

The next match was his final one, a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying match against Cyprus on October 8, 1994, at Yerevan’s Hrazdan Stadium.

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