Category: 2022

RTE, Ireland

June 1 2022

It may be slightly forgotten with the shifting sands of time but Armenian football fans still feel a bitter taste when they think about the last time they faced Ireland.

It was back in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign – the only time both nations have been drawn together.

Keith Fahey scored the only goal in the 2010 encounter in Yerevan but it’s the second game in Dublin the following year that Armenia are hoping to right a few wrongs about when the Boys in Green visit their capital for the start of the UEFA Nations League campaign on Saturday (live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player).

A handball by former Ireland striker Simon Cox was followed by a sending off for then Armenia goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky by Spanish referee Eduardo Gonzalez midway through the first half for handling outside his box.

However replays showed the shot-stopper had not touched the ball with his hands.

Setanta Sports Eurasia’s Armenian journalist and commentator Robert Gasparyan joined the RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week for an in-depth analysis of Ireland’s opponents and explained how the controversial 2-1 defeat in 2011 was a blow at a time when the country was enjoying its best qualification campaign to date.

“I think that your fans when they come to Yerevan, they will see that the Armenia national team fans still remember that match. They want to have revenge, definitely,” said Gasparyan, adding that vengeance will be in the form of some colourful displays from the main national team ultra group, the First Armenian Front.

A frustrated Berezovsky after his red card

But how well equipped are Armenia to exact some on-field retribution for the events of 11 years ago?

They will be without the greatest player in their history, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The former Manchester United, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund midfielder, who just won the UEFA Europa Conference League with Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma, retired from international duty in March.

But surprisingly his status has divided opinion in his homeland, something which Gasparyan views as mind-boggling considering that none of his compatriots come close to matching his abilities and achievements even when he has not been in brilliant form.

“The public, fans and society divided into two groups: the ones who said ‘Great (that he has retired) because he didn’t play so well during these last matches and it’s okay because he is 33,'” said Gasparyan of the sector that wants Armenia’s Spanish manager Joaquin Caparros to give chances to younger players.

“The other side thought that Caparros made a huge mistake (and they think that) he should invite Mkhitaryan to the national team even if he had one foot because Mkhi with one foot is better than many, many players in Armenia.”

You can watch Robert Gasparyan’s full chat with Raf Diallo right here:

So without their talismanic playmaker and record goalscorer, who is left to carry Armenia’s challenge for the two matches against Ireland as well as the other League B opponents Scotland and Ukraine?

Gasparyan cites Club Brugge striker Sargis Adamyan, midfielders Vahan Bichakhchyan and Eduard Spertsyan plus MLS-based forward Lucas Zelarayán as players Stephen Kenny and his Irish staff will be wise to keep an eye on.

But with or without the now-retired Mkhitaryan, he does not hold out much hope that Armenia will get anything out of Saturday’s match or the Nations League group in general based on recent form.

Former Ireland striker David Connolly joined the main RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week to preview the Armenia game:

Armenia come into Saturday’s encounter in Yerevan on the back of a run of just one friendly win in their last 11 matches. It reached a nadir in their last fixture when Norway thrashed the Mountaineers 9-0 – not a typo – a result that did not lead to Caparros’ dismissal but has left the manager under severe pressure.

He may be living off credit in the bank from getting Armenia promoted from League C of the Nations League in 2020 as well as starting the last World Cup qualifying campaign with three wins in a row.

But Gasparyan explained that those victories over Liechtenstein, Iceland and Romania in March 2021 masked unimpressive performances and that the remainder of the group fixtures which saw Armenia lose or draw all of their games is more reflective of where they are at.

With that downward spiral in mind, he predicts that Ireland should be poised to pick up a victory by two or three goals on Saturday afternoon.

“I think the Irish team will have the opportunity to win – again – in Yerevan with two or three goals.”

Follow Armenia v Republic of Ireland (Saturday, 2pm) via our live blog on rte.ie/sport or on the RTÉ News app. Watch live coverage on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player commencing at 1pm with live radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022/0531/1302271-armenia-want-revenge-but-are-in-a-downward-spiral/

  

June 1 2022

by Tom Byrne

The Republic of Ireland are gearing up to play their UEFA Nations League opener against Armenia on Saturday. The Boys in Green face four Nations League fixtures in the space of 10 days, which includes two away trips – Yerevan in Armenia and Lodz in Poland to play Ukraine.

Stephen Kenny’s side, along with the most dedicated of Irish supporters, will travel over 4,000 kilometres to the Armenian capital to support their country this weekend. The Irish fans are regarded as some of the most passionate international football supporters worldwide and this Saturday will be no different when they descend on a scorching Armenia – with temperatures potentially hitting as high as 34°C.

There have been protests in Yerevan in recent weeks due to their government’s approach to their relationship with Azerbaijan, which appears unresolved since the six-week war in 2020. The Armenian police clashed with protesters in the city on Monday which prompted the FAI to send a security delegation to Armenia ahead of the Irish team travelling east on Wednesday.

The recent protests have caught the attention of Irish supporters travelling to the game but it won’t put a stop to those who booked the lengthy trip.

The Hegarty family, who are part of the Wexford Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters Club, are looking forward to the journey across Europe albeit having a bit of bother rebooking and rescheduling cancelled flights.

Irish fan Robbie Hegarty, who lives in Enniscorthy, explained that he had to rebook different flights a few times due to complications and cancelled flights with airline Wizz Air.

Now sorted, the Hegarty family will fly from Dublin to Poznan, Poland on Wednesday and spend a night in the Polish city. They will then travel to the Polish capital Warsaw on Thursday before they fly to Yerevan that night. After a three and half hour journey, they will arrive in Yerevan in the early hours of Friday morning.

“I am going for a 2-0 win for the Boys in Green on Saturday!” Robbie said ahead of his flight to Poznan.

Another Irish supporter, Ronan Coleman from Galway city, said: “I am travelling to Yerevan via Warsaw with four other supporters from Galway, Donegal and Limerick.

“At the moment, the leg of the journey I am most worried about is getting through security at Dublin Airport!

“This will be my fifth Ireland away match in the Caucasus region, previously I have visited Georgia three times and also Azerbaijan in October 2021.

“My trips to this part of the world have been enjoyable, and the people were very friendly to us. Armenia and Azerbaijan have effectively been at war for over thirty years. Anyone with an Azeri stamp on their passports, as many of us have, will expect an interrogation at Yerevan airport.”

He added: “High temperatures are anticipated, and the media tell us there are anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan. The priority will be to get in and out safely, hopefully with three points. I expect a small travelling support, maybe 200-300.

“Onwards and upwards to Lodz then!”

https://www.carlowlive.ie/news/local-news/825392/trips-to-this-part-of-the-world-have-been-enjoyable-irish-football-fans-face-lengthy-journey-to-armenia.html

Also at https://www.waterfordlive.ie/news/soccer/825922/there-are-crazy-stories-out-there-irish-fan-set-for-magic-trip-to-armenia-after-flight-snag.html

The Irish Times

June 1 2022

By James McDermottWed Jun 1 2022 – 12:41

A vital qualifier for the Republic of Ireland decided by a referee’s crucial error in failing to spot a handball. But this is not Thierry Henry in the Stade de France in 2009. Instead, it is the most important match in Armenian history that took place at the Aviva Stadium in 2011.

The two countries were drawn together in qualifying for Euro 2012 and unusually met in the opening and closing round of matches. Ireland won the opener 1-0 in Yerevan thanks to a Keith Fahey goal but Armenia improved over the campaign to such an extent that a win in Dublin would see them leapfrog their opponents into second place.

Armenia’s hopes of securing a first ever playoff place imploded after just 26 minutes when goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky was sent off for handling the ball outside his area. Television replays later showed that Berezovsky had chested the ball clear moments after Irish striker Simon Cox had handled it. With their reserve keeper injured, Armenia were forced to introduce third-choice Arsen Petrosyan for his first and last international cap. Ireland scrambled a 2-1 win thanks to a comedic own goal by Valeri Aleksanyan and a Richard Dunne strike but also finished with 10 men following a late red card for Kevin Doyle.

Armenia’s best team would finish third despite scoring an incredible 22 goals — more than Russia (17) and Ireland (15) who both qualified for the finals. The leading scorer in the group was Henrikh Mkhitaryan, one of whose six goals was Armenia’s consolation at Lansdowne Road.

Mkhitaryan had introduced himself to an Irish audience two years earlier when he scored a brilliant hat-trick for Armenia’s under-21 team in a 4-1 victory over Ireland in a 2011 European Championships qualifier. Mkhitaryan comes from a famous footballing family and his father, Hamlet, was a striker with FC Ararat Yerevan and won two caps for Armenia before dying of a brain tumour aged just 33.

In 2016 Mkhitaryan became the only Armenian to feature in the Premier League when he joined Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund for £26 million and became the first Armenian to win a major European trophy when he scored in Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over Ajax in the 2017 Europa League final.

Soon afterwards Mkhitaryan moved to Arsenal and was instrumental in their qualifying for the 2019 Europa League final. But in one of the worst piece of scheduling in football history the final between Arsenal and Chelsea (whose grounds are seven miles apart in London) was played 2,500 miles away in Baku. Mkhitaryan missed the final over safety concerns due to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In 2019 Mkhitaryan joined Roma with whom he won the inaugural Europa Conference League last month. Luckily for Ireland, Mkhitaryan retired from international football in March as his country’s all-time leading scorer with 32 goals having been named Armenian player of the year 10 times.

Mkhitaryan’s extraordinary career in European club competitions began at the Brandywell in July 2007 as a substitute for Pyunik Yerevan against Derry City in a Champions League match that ended 0-0. However, Armenia’s future captain was not the most famous leader visiting the Maiden City that day as reflected in one memorable newspaper headline: “Dalai Lama fails to inspire Derry as Pyunik hold firm”.

The Armenian side won that tie 2-0 but more recently Pyunik have struggled in Europe and in 2019 they lost 8-0 on aggregate to Wolves in the Europa League with Ireland’s Matt Doherty scoring the opening goal. The greatest ever performance by an Armenian team came in 1975 when Ararat Yerevan reached the last eight of the European Cup. In the second round Ararat were paired with Cork Celtic with the Armenian side winning the first leg 2-1 at Flower Lodge and progressed on a 7-1 aggregate.

Ararat’s reward was a glamour quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich’s best team that Franz Beckenbauer was midway through leading to three consecutive European Cup victories. The Germans won the tie 2-1 but Ararat’s 1-0 victory in the second leg remains the finest result by an Armenian side.

Stephen Kenny will be familiar with a number of the Armenian squad as he was manager of the Ireland under-21 team that played them twice during qualifying for the 2021 European Championships. In September 2019 a debut goal by 17-year-old Troy Parrott secured Ireland a 1-0 victory in Tallaght Stadium and two months later Kenny’s team won the return fixture in Yerevan by the same scoreline thanks to a Zack Elbouzedi strike.

The Ireland under-19 team have even happier memories of Armenia, who were hosts for the 2019 European Championships in which Tom Mohan’s side qualified for the semi-finals before losing 4-0 to defending champions Portugal. Ireland’s current under-19 team beat Armenia 4-0 in March in a European Championship elite round qualifier played at St George’s Park in England.

In 2019, Forbes magazine reported that Armenia is the country where soccer player salaries are most equitable with the general population with fans on average earning $400 more than players in a domestic Premier League where many clubs let supporters in for free. Perhaps unsurprisingly their better players are often keen to move abroad with captain Varazdat Haroyan playing for Cádiz where last September he became the first Armenian to score in La Liga. Sargis Adamyan has just completed a successful loan spell at Club Brugge by winning the Belgian title and Tigran Barseghyan has just won the Slovakian championship with Slovan Bratislava.

Armenia have never played in a major championship although both Youri Djorkaeff and Alain Boghossian, who won the 1998 World Cup with France, have Armenian parents. Since March 2020 Armenia have been managed by Spaniard Joaquín Caparrós whose “Batman” nickname refers to a supposed physical resemblance to actor Michael Keaton. Caparrós started well securing an immediate promotion to League B of the Nation’s League followed by an extraordinary week in March 2021 during which Armenia won their first three qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup defeating Liechtenstein, Iceland and Romania.

However, Capparos’ superpowers then began to wane dramatically as Armenia won just one of their next 11 games finishing with a humiliating 9-0 defeat to Norway in their last match in March. Still things could always be worse — in 2019 Armenia’s woman’s team lost a World Cup qualifier to Belgium 19-0.

Armenia – June 1 2022

Armenian weightlifter Rafik Harutyunyan (81 kg) won the gold at the European Weightlifting Championships under way in Albania.

Rafik won a silver medal in the snatch with a result of 160 kg, and a gold medal in the push with a result of 194 kg. He snatched the gold medal in the 81 kg event with an overall result of 354 kg.

Karen Margaryan, took the 4th place in the same weight category.

Another eight weightlifters will represent Armenia in the European Championships: Andranik Karapetyan, Vardan Manukyan (both 89 kg), Ara Aghanyan, Davit Hovhannisyan (both 96 kg), Samvel Gasparyan (102 kg), Arsen Martirosyan (109 kg), Varazdat Lalayan and Gor Minasyan (+109 kg).

The women’s team comprises three athletes: Isabella Yalyan (55 kg), Tatev Hakobyan (76 kg) and Hripsime Khurshudyan (87 kg).