Valery Hovhannisyan: Mkhitaryan was given a piece of paper at Spartak and said: "Write the salary"

He went from being an agent of the second league to the president of the Armavir Torpedo, but after leaving the club, he disappeared from the media radar for six months. In an interview Sovsport. ru Valery Oganesyan spoke about working with Valery Karpin and Evgeny Giner, the weakness of Spartak and Kokorin's prospects.

"Giner is a brilliant president"

– It was not easy to contact you. Where did you go?
- After leaving "Torpedo" I was not really involved in agency activities. I've worked hard, and now it's time to take some rest. I was busy with my family.

– You ended your playing career early and started as an agency at 23 years old. Why didn't you have a career as a player?
- There are several factors. – I played in the Moscow Dynamo school, but I failed to get into the first team. In my opinion, I didn't even play official matches for Dynamo. In the late 90s he moved to Makhachkala - to the local Dynamo from the second division. Football players at that time did not make money as well as they do now. At some point, I realized that I would not be able to have a great career, so I decided to leave. For two or three years I had no relation to football at all, and then my relative opened an agency company with me.

– Where did you start?
- WITH children's football, from the second league. I made acquaintances, made a name for myself. A difficult time - 24 hours of travel, overnight stays in the car. But little by little they went up the hill. In 2008 he found several players for CSKA Moscow and thus began to cooperate with the army club.

– Who did they bring?
- World champion as part of the Nigeria junior team in Autumn, from the Togliatti academy of young guys - Ambartsumyan, Stolyarenko. I made Piliev's transition from Lokomotiv to CSKA. At that time, everyone thought that a fantastic career awaited Piliev - he played great with Wolfsburg in the Champions League, but then an injury, spinal surgery. Well, Nika's guy is still young - 24 years old - maybe he will play more.

– How would you rate your experience with CSKA?
- We have developed a very trusting relationship with Evgeny Lennorovich. I remember those times with great fondness. Later, when I faced other teams, I realized that Giner is a brilliant president. You enter Evgeny Lennorovich's office with your thoughts, and you leave - with his. In a good way. I learned a lot from him, one might say, I learned life.

–Why did they stop cooperating later?
- In 2012, when Yura Movsisyan moved from Krasnodar to Spartak, CSKA was also very interested in him. Noarmeys offered a significantly lower amount per player than Spartak gave. Difficult times have come for my agency company: there are few transfers, many tails have accumulated. And we could not accept the offer from CSKA. And the footballer himself wanted to go to Spartak more.

– Giner offended?
- If I were Yevgeny Lennorovich, I would probably also be upset. Although I don’t say that CSKA lost a lot, having lost Movsisyan, then the army team had excellent players in the attack: Vagnerv came back and went, the same Doumbia.

– What is your relationship with the president of CSKA now?
- Whatever it is, I only have a positive attitude towards this person and this club. I will not say that my company was making crazy money there. But it was warm in CSKA - the atmosphere is very family in the club. When I entered the office, it was as if I were visiting someone.

"Ozbiliz was prevented by injuries"

– Did you not take part in Movsisyan's departure from Spartak?
- No, I didn't. I had already retired then.

– Why didn't Yura succeed in Spartak?
- I don’t think it didn’t work out. He hit a lot of balls. I think that over the past ten years Yura, along with Wellitonomi Pavlyuchenko, can be considered one of the brightest strikers of Spartak.

– When Movsisyan left Spartak, he said an interesting phrase: “The better I played at Spartak, the worse they treated me”. The player later explained that he meant the press.
- On emotions he said, probably. Yura is a very good guy. He always gave himself up in games for Spartak. When he first came to the club, he told me that he was very proud to have joined such a great team.

– You also brought Ozbiliz from Kuban to Spartak. Didn't you participate in the transfer of Aras to "Besiktash" too?
– Arassov consulted with me, but I did not take part in the negotiations.

– But about Ozbiliz, can we say that he did not succeed in Spartak?
- His injuries prevented him. If it were not for the injuries, I think he would have succeeded. Aras is a talent, but when you endure three or four major surgeries, it is difficult to return to your level. And so Ozbiliz is in good standing even in Europe.

"Ulysses", assembled by Hovhannisyan two weeks before the start of the Armenian championship, eventually took second place

"I want to apologize to Mkhitaryan"

– Have you worked with Ural?
- Yes, he was an advisor to the president of Ural Grigory Ivanov, and then the sports director of the club. He brought many current leaders to the team - Acevedo, Lungu, Manucharyan. At one time, I used my own money to organize a tournament in Moscow. Collected talented legionnaires - who recommended whom. And I spent several days selecting. Acevedo and Lungu were among the best in one of the tournaments.

– Why did you leave the Urals, because the team solved the problem in 2013 and advanced to the Premier League?
- This was the situation. V RFPL club brought the coach Pavel Gusev... And after the final game of the season we fly by plane, and Grigory Ivanov says to me: "We must fire him (Gusev)." I didn't get it. Maybe Gusev did not have a fantastic training process, there was little theory, but the team produced results. She has not lost 24 matches in a campaign of the season. I saw no reason to change anything. But someone suggested to Ivanov that it was necessary to remove Gusev.

– Like, the Premier League will not pull?
- I do not know. Perhaps there was jealousy on the part of the president of the club. The fans fell in love with Gusev very much, they chanted his name during matches. Probably, this offended Ivanov, who is very sensitive to his place in the club. He does not like it when someone in the "Ural" becomes a brighter figure than him. I tried to dissuade Ivanov from dismissing Gusev, but failed. By the way, six months before that, when we were in the first place, I had a meeting in Moscow - I will not give names - and I received the following proposal: “Listen, let us give you half a million dollars, and you go and rest, go to Georgia, just sign the letter of resignation yourself. All the same, in six months other people will come to your place. " But I didn't want to sell my dream, I wanted to prove that I could bring the club to the Premier League.

– Who suggested it?
- I will not name names. These are football people, everyone knows each other.

– So the company eventually came along?
- Yes. And before the start of the season, they told me that Oleg Vasilenko would be the head coach of Ural at the suggestion of the leaders of this company. Well, I think Vasilenko means Vasilenko. Then they brought me one person and said: “He will help you,” and I say: “Listen, why help me, if everything is fine with us, why do we need to change something? If there is no trust, it must be said that there is no trust, that's all. " Ivanov then reassured: "I have confidence in you, you helped us a lot." But I felt that something was already going wrong. Trust became less, some moments were resolved without me. Although, I think, he proved his loyalty to the club by the fact that he worked almost for free at Ural.

– Is free?
- There was a case: Acevedo flew in to sign a contract with the club (he was told one amount, and upon arrival they said another - less). Acevedo immediately wanted to fly away. I gave up my club salary and told Acevedo to pay extra. It happened that sometimes he personally bought the transfers of football players. For example, he bought Manucharyan's transfer, brought him from Pyunik to Ural, paying 300 thousand dollars. I understood that the guy is very talented. I thought and still believe that he is the most talented Armenian footballer.

– Higher than Mkhitaryan?
- Mkhitaryan is fantastic, but Manucharyan has the subtlety of football, technique, tactics at the highest level. If Edgar could, like Mkhitaryan, do so much physical work would have grown into a large star. But Manucharyan sometimes falls out for half a season due to injuries. That's a lot. God forbid, if he has no injuries, because while he plays and scores this season. I cannot say that he is the strongest Armenian footballer, but that the most talented is one million percent. By the way, there is a story about Mkhitaryan.

– Which?
- Even before moving to Borussia, he had to move from Shakhtar to Anji. They gave fantastic money - lifting 6 million euros, the salary is about the same. Commission is a cosmic figure. And it so happened that because of persuasion to go to Anji, I had a fight with Henrikh. It's not about the money. I just sincerely wanted to carry out this transfer, to complete the task. Shakhtar leaders themselves were more inclined towards the option with Anji, but Henrikh did not agree. He said that he wants to go to Europe. In general, I want to apologize to him for the pressure, to distort him: he is a fine fellow that he moved to Dortmund and did not look at the money. The ignoramus also had a serious offer from Spartak.

– Yes?
- I brought him to Spartak. Dzhevan Cheloyants, a shareholder of the red-and-white ones, told him: "Here is a piece of paper for you - write as much as you want to receive." But Heinrich set his sights on Europe.

"Lodygin was supposed to go to" Ural "

– Let's go back to Ural. What were the motives for the new agency company that came to the club?
- The usual competition in the agency environment. This company needed a platform where they could sell their players. I don’t want to say that they didn’t succeed in the Ural: they brought Smolov, Zabolotny. But so far I have not seen any other successful deals. Yes, there were also transfers from Podberezkin and Erokhin, but it seems to me that the success of the guys is largely due to their Russian passport.

– Do you think they will not play at the national team level?
- Podberezkin has more chances. I don't like to talk badly about football players. But I didn’t understand Erokhin at all. I think the same Kangav "Rostov" is stronger.

– Is the loss of Erokhin and Podberezkin a miscalculation of the selection of "Ural"? Both went almost for free: Erokhin went to Rostov, and Podberezkin went to Krasnodar.
- Yes, this is a miscalculation. Why doesn't this happen at CSKA? One Honda free has gone, but it has done so much good. Of course, such moments as contract renewals cannot be left for six months, for a year. Another thing is that economically Ural could not re-sign the contract?

– And who could Ural sign?
- I had a number of agreements on strengthening before the debut season in the Premier League - Lodygin (a transfer was already made out from Greece for 200 thousand), Gerard Gou from the first Turkish league, who eventually moved to Krasnodar. Last season, by the way, Gow became the best player and scorer of the Kazakhstan Championship in Kairat. There was also an agreement with Spartak on Jano Ananidze and Artem Dziuba (both eventually moved to Rostov). This is when Manucharyan, Acevedo ... But after the second round of the championship, I left the club, and all these transitions fell through. Make up your mind, because it became uninteresting for me when they impose some kind of help on you, and sometimes decisions are made for you.

– For instance?
- They brought us one footballer from Belarus. I look, and he is already our sixth legionnaire, and the application for a match on the limit in the FNL is not more than five. He couldn't have played if he wasn't even a legionnaire. Good guy, I will not give names, but I will not pull, I say. I understood that the president of Ural Ivanov was under pressure, maybe he was obliged to someone. As a result, they took the guy, and he played one half for Ural, in my opinion, but received a serious salary.

– And when did you realize that it was time to leave the Ural?
- When they brought me an analysis on the table, who should stay from that team that entered the Premier League. Among others, the list included the name of this Belarusian footballer. And I decided: “Well, why all this then? Take it yourself and decide. "

In "Torpedo" Armavir Valeriy Oganesyan got carte blanche to create a team

"Cheloyants said:" You must develop Armenian football "

– Then in 2015 you bought the Armenian Ulysses? When did you get the idea to buy your club?
- Two to three hours before the deal itself. By that time I made two transfers to Spartak - Movsisyan from Krasnodar and Ozbiliz from Kuban. I became very close friends with Dzhevan Cheloyants, then a shareholder of Spartak, and now Torpedo from Armavir. I considered him very close comrade. Once we were sitting with him at the stadium during the match Armenia - Denmark in the selection for the 2014 World Cup. He says to me: "You must do business here, you must raise the level of football in Armenia, develop a football club."

– How is football in Armenia?
- Hard. We were supposed to make a deal with the Armenian "Pyunik". We planned to buy the club with all the bases, fields, but Cheloyants refused for some reason. Then we sit together with the President of the Football Federation of Armenia, and he says that the local Ulysses club is falling apart. I say: "Well, how much is the budget?" We sit and count. I keep in mind that it is necessary to start, and Cheloyants and other shareholders will come later. I think, let me prove what I can do, put together a team. There is no team two weeks before the start of the season. And without Ulysses in the championship there are only seven teams - this is no longer a professional championship. In general, I took the command. Closed debts - 150-200 thousand dollars. I assembled a team that won 12 of the first 13 matches in the season and played one 0: 0.

– And then?
- Money began to run out, and those on whom I was counting were in no hurry to come to the club. Cheloyants flew in on his private plane, watched the matches. I thought that a little bit was left to hold out, that a person would not just leave it. The season ended and nothing happened.

– Did Cheloyants promise to come?
- He thought. Sometimes I even went into the dressing room and said to the guys: I will become champions, I will give you an award on my own. He even came to the matches of the Europa League in Malta. Probably how much he spent on flights to our matches is the annual budget of Ulysses. As a result, the championship ends, we are in second place - we got to the Europa League. It's a shame, of course, that we were in the first place in the middle of the season with a margin of 13 points, but we missed the championship.

– What do you remember during the year you spent in the Armenian championship?
- Good fields, but, unfortunately, empty stands. We only once gathered a little over seven thousand spectators (this is about half the capacity of the stadium) - in the Europa League match against Birkirkara from Malta. I also remember the interview of the President of the Football Federation of Armenia Ruben Hayrapetyan and his words that all the teams of the Armenian championship dream of playing Ulysses. It's a pity, I didn't manage to achieve more with Ulysses, but I achieved my two goals: I got into the Europa League and brought a major sponsor to the Armenian Championship, not to Ulysses, but to Banants.

"I expected more from Karpin"

– How did it end?
- I understood that the project would die without a sponsor. I could not pull everything on myself. Then, before the start of the 2015/16 season, I held negotiations with the owner of Kuban Oleg Mktrchan, and we agreed that we would transfer some of the Ulysses players to Torpedo from Armavir. This is the homeland of Mktrchan, so he has been helping them for a long time. Mktrchan, one might say, gave me a card blanche to build a team in Armavir. My task was to bring players, sponsor and top coach.

– Karpina?
- First, I agreed with Grigoryan, who is now at SKA-Energia. But in my heart I understood that in order not to repeat the fate of Ulysses and to find sponsors, I needed a name. Therefore, unfortunately, I did not act very handsomely with Grigoryan, violating the agreement. And he brought Karpin to Armavir.

– And after five draws at the start, the team failed the start of the season.
- To be honest, I was sure that we would succeed. He reasoned like this: Pavel Gusev, who brought Ural to the Premier League, did not use any super-modern techniques at that time, he did not have Spanish assistants - just an old Soviet school. I thought, since such a system gave a result, then if you bring Karpin, then the result cannot but be. I thought we would be at least ten.

– Is the problem with the players?
- I will not say that Ural, which I collected and which then went to the Premier League, is a fantastic team. But still, the result was. I think that in Armavir some of the footballers I brought in would also play leading roles in that Ural. There were some weak points, of course, but I didn’t fully believe that the problem was only in the players. They came and played the first five matches 0: 0. If they came and lost five or six goals, then yes, the problem is with them.

– And what's the matter then?
- I expected more from Karpin as a specialist. Thought he was stronger by the level. When you are given a command, and you can buy whoever you want, as it was with him in Spartak, this is one thing, but in Armavir these funds were not available for transfers. Karpin and I spent 24 hours together. Karpin is my choice. Cheloyants was against, he said that Karpin could not build a team. But Oleg Mktrchan, who by that time had become the owner of "Torpedo", completely trusted me - bring whoever you want.

Valery Oganesyan and Valery Karpin (right) started working as friends in Armavir…

"I told Karpin:" Let's leave together "

– Did the sponsors reach for Karpin?
- This was the essence of Karpin's invitation, in addition to football tasks. I knew that if we have such a name, then sponsors will definitely catch up. It's a shame, just that I prepared a base at Ulysses, brought the squad to Armavir, invested, and received my resignation. And after a while, Cheloyants became a shareholder, first in Torpedo, and then in the Armenian Banants.

– Looks unfriendly ...
“I don’t know what it looks like, but you have been investing money for a year, and the fruits of your labors go to other people. What happened to me in Armavir, I didn’t understand.”

– During the season, did you think about Karpin's resignation?
- Yes. I asked myself: "How many matches do you need to win: three or two?" Then I already say to Karpin: "Let's leave together." And he: "No, I want to work." Then I feel that negotiations are already beginning behind my back between the shareholders.

– Did Karpin admit any of his mistakes?
- I haven't heard that. At some point, he decided that it was generally impossible to play pass with these players, so he began to put diagonals. Although in "Ulysses" these same footballers played very nice football. Karpin hammered into the heads of the players that they can't do anything: let's beat forward, pick up, so we'll score points. Like Hispanic coaches ... I started getting into it and got the answer: look at them, can they really play?

– Were the players afraid to answer?
- And what will they do when they are told right on the team theory: “You are a non-football player, you don’t need to give a pass for five meters, hit it forward”. The whole team sits and hears it.

– The one to whom it was pronounced was silent?
- One footballer tried to say something, to defend himself. After this theory, in a private conversation, Karpin said to me: "Take him out of the team." I talked to the player and didn't clean up. Now he is the team captain - Miroshnichenko. There were many such moments. At the same time, I will not say that in the same Baltika or SKA-Energia there were stronger players than in Torpedo. Result ...

– When did you realize that you made a mistake in choosing a coach?
- By the 15th round. Karpin began to fight back in front of the shareholders: they say, this six months did not play, this one came from beach football. But, for example, when Karpin watched one of Ulysses' matches, when I was still working there, he said that it was a good team.

– And your actions?
- I wanted to peacefully agree on parting, but there is compensation.

– They say that about 300 thousand rubles.
- Yes, give or take. For the first league - good money.

– And then they took you out.
- I can’t blame Karpin for leaving. He could not decide for the shareholders. Shadow games began - there was no result, so someone had to gobble up someone. I did everything well, but then it turned out to be unnecessary. When the club reissued the documents, I was not listed as the president of Torpedo. Since I worked on a friendly wave. After the re-registration, I was already out of the club.

– Have you spent a lot in financial terms?
- I spent about a million dollars on Ulysses. Oleg Mktrchan knew about my financial problems, so I didn’t invest in Armavir, but only looked for sponsors. But all that he had invested in Ulysses, of course, he hoped to get back.

– Because of this story, you decided to take a pause in your work?
- Yes, it was necessary to understand myself. To be cleansed of everything. Now we need to start anew - whether it will be an agency activity or a club, I don’t know yet. From this story, I drew the main conclusion that when everything is fine with you, everyone needs you. And when there are problems, then - no one. I remember when we agreed on the transfer of Movsisyan to Spartak, they blew off dust particles from me, rolled me on airplanes.

– And then?
- Many unhooked, stopped calling, especially when money problems began. But thank God, there are those who greatly helped out at this moment. I am very grateful to the president of "Kairat" from Alma-Ata, Boranbaev Kairat, general director of "Ufa" Shamil Gazizov, Nikolai Skorokhodov, who was the president of "Siberia". There are others, but their names are not well known.

"Fedun did not build a system"

– How do you remember the cooperation with Spartak?
- I did not see that people there have a pain in the soul.

– Leonid Fedun does not fall asleep with meanings about "Spartak"?
- Falls asleep, but he did not create the system that Giner created

– And why? Both are businessmen, smart people.
- I can't find the answer to this question. Perhaps Fedun is even more worried about the result. And he spends on the club - too. He built such a stadium for them, but he did not create the system. And the fact that he entrusted the creation of the system to Askhabadze, Karpin ... It seems to me that the work of this superduet will take a very long time for Fedun.

–By the way, is it true that you helped Andrei Dikan to continue his career?
- In the summer of 2014, after the expiration of his contract with Spartak, Andrei was offered to work as a goalkeeper coach in the double of the Spartak school. He already considered himself a coach. But we got in touch, talked, and I got him to work in Krasnodar. Today he is the main goalkeeper there.

– At CSKA you say everything family-like, but at Spartak you don't?
- Now I do not know. And at the moment when I collaborated with them, it is as if everyone is an enemy to a friend. This is how you can work when the sports director of a club Popov does not speak with general director Askhabadze and head coach Karpin?

– Cause?
“I don’t know, although they were friends.

– How long did this game of "silence" last?
- At least six months. The moment came when the transfers took place without Popov's participation. Karpin and I started having similar problems in Armavir. In general, I do not really understand when the coach says, they say, the players are not the same. I doubt that in CSKA Slutskiy makes the last decision on the players. Of course, he is asked, consulted, but the verdict is up to the selection service. I think that the coach should not be more important in transfers than the selection service.

– Didn't you talk to Karpin anymore after leaving Torpedo?
- No, and there is no desire. Valery Georgievich has a trait that when you need to wear a T-shirt, there is no friendship for him, nothing. Although, perhaps I was wrong, considering him my friend. At some stage, Karpin needed me, and then no longer.

"The most talented in Russia is Kozlov"

– Kokorin at Zenit. See the logic?
- I see. Despite the fact that Kokorinsdal in Lately, for me he is still the best striker in Russia.

– Best or Most Talented?
- The most talented is Alexander Kozloviz of Spartak. They say that Kokorin scored ten in each youth? So Kozlov hammered 15 each. Until now, Kozlov's photographs hang at all tournaments in Italy.

– Are many super talents lost before your eyes?
- Lot. For example, in “Ulysses” I had such a football player - Hovhannes Goaryan, he also played in Loko's double in 2011-2012. They could become a real star of the Premier League, at least. He could do anything on the pitch, but this year at the age of 27 he retired due to weight problems. Due to the characteristics of the body and improper nutrition, he constantly gained weight. If we had met when he was 20 years old, I think he would have achieved a lot. In "Ulysses" became the captain, scored the most in the last season. And this is given the fact that he weighed about 100 kg with a height of 176-177 cm. Can you imagine the potential? But he was already lost in time, and after Ulysses he decided to stop playing. Or here is Shatov - now he is a star.

– So.
- But the same guys from the Togliatti academy - Ryzhov, who left for CSKA, and Gorbatenko, who moved to Spartak, are much better than Shatov. Or Artak Aleksanyan, who came to Ural at the age of 18 and played constantly at the preseason training camp, looked brighter than Shatov. I can compare, because all four of them played together in front of my eyes at about the same time. Not everyone understands that the football player's age is short. Shatov worked very hard on himself. Of course, he could also go for a walk, afford something, but this did not happen every day. Ryzhov is now in Armavir, but this is not the same Ryzhov. Gorbatenko in Wings, Aleksanyan in Georgia, but all three could play at a much higher level. Little redhead was compared to Higuain when he became the European champion in youth.

– With Higuain? Not weak.
- I remember the moment at the training camp. We play against the Croatian team of the Higher League. And Ryzhovso made an acceleration of 60-70 meters in his half of the field. I have never seen such accelerations in my life. Imagine what an athlete - with a height of 190 cm, he developed such a speed; even with an overweight of five to six kilograms, he ran 30 meters in 3.7 seconds.

– Do you believe that Kokorin will not comprehend Ryzhov's misery?
- I believe. The fabulous contracts broke him a little, I guess. But what if, because of the limit, they overpay. And so Kokorin has everything: speed, technique, blow. It seems to me that the limit is not needed at all. Our guys suffer from this - a good player will still break through.

"I want to make a family club"

– Do you need a salary ceiling? The RFPL recently rejected its financial regulations, which included a wage cap clause.
- You will not limit salaries in any way. If they want to pay the conditional Kokorin five million, so they will pay him. The player's wife, for example, will be arranged as the general director of an enterprise of some kind. Of course, without a limit, such a mess can begin in clubs, such personnel will be transported. In England, they came up with a good idea: if you don't have enough matches for the national team, then you cannot play in the Premier League. Perhaps something similar should be tried in Russia.

– Do you already have certainty about work?
- I will not do anything in this transfer window. And since March I have a project of a serious club in Russia. I want people to get together every week for matches, like they went to church.

– I read that you went to Argentina with the local team of the second division "Deportivo Armenio", which is supported mainly by the Armenian diaspora. Is the project idea inspired there?
– Yes. There were not even Armenian players in the team, but people gather with their families to play football, eat barbecue, talk about football and life. I want to do family club so that the atmosphere is like in CSKA and Krasnodar. Discussed a project with an influential person. We'll see how it goes. There are still unfinished business, but, I hope, by the summer I will work and close everything, and in the summer I will start with a pure-leaf. Fortunately, there are suggestions, friends, we will work.

Slow start, rapid growth, stagnation, decline and death are four obvious stages in the life of an organization according to the well-known analytical model. In our case - with the Armenian football championship - two stages of this cycle have been passed, in recent years it has been in stagnation, possibly already in a late form. And when, it seemed, the agony of the championship was just around the corner, when only seven remained in it (so few teams do not play in the championship of any European country, even in dwarf ones) of weak football clubs, suddenly, unexpectedly, from white-stone Moscow flew in “a daring fighter, red well done "named Valery Hovhannisyan.

He picked up the abandoned "Ulysses" falling into the abyss, acquired a block of shares, became the owner of this Yerevan club and managed to return it to the national championship.

Prior to that, in Yerevan they only knew about Valery Hovhannisyan that he was a well-known Russian agent, including the players of the Moscow “Spartak” and the Armenian national team Yura Movsisyan and Aras Ozbilis. That he was the sports director of the Yekaterinburg "Ural", bringing in him the key players of the team - Edgar Manucharyan, Acevedo and Lungu. As a result, Ural won the first division with a big advantage and got the right to play in the strongest league. Oganesyan also worked in Khimki near Moscow.

The passion for football came to young Valera in the courtyards and school grounds of his native Tbilisi. At the age of ten, he and his family moved to Moscow, where he continued to play the ball already on a real football pitch in the form of young Dynamo players.

Once in Moscow, in the office of the children's and youth school (now the Academy) of Moscow Dynamo, talking with its head teacher, a wonderful forward, Honored Master of Sports Yuri Kuznetsov, they remembered his father and my coach Konstantin Petrovich Kuznetsov, one of the founders of Baku football. He was not only a bright striker, but also an excellent mentor, coached the Baku teams "Temp" and "Dynamo" of the 30-40s, which were based on Armenians, including such legendary players as the Transcaucasian national team players - Artem Markarov, Artashes Amirjanov (both are the first masters of sports among Armenian footballers of the entire Soviet Union) and Suren Petrosyan. Yuri Konstantinovich also remembered those who played with him in "Neftyanik", and then unexpectedly offered to watch how the young Dynamo players train, seducing me with the fact that there are many of my compatriots among them.

Young Armenians trained in almost every group. Then I remembered a tough guy, no, not for his ability to deftly handle the ball, which made him strikingly different from his peers, but because he was the namesake of Khoren Hovhannisyan.

Many years have passed since then, Valera Oganesyan went through the stages of the growth of a football player, played with Leonid Oblizin in the double of his native Dynamo, played in the Makhachkala Dynamo. And when he felt that he could not reach the level of a high-class professional player, he decided to leave active football and created his own agency that provides services for the employment of football players and coaches in Russian clubs, representing their interests and protecting their rights. The agency also fulfills the orders of clubs to acquire the rights to football players of appropriate qualifications and a certain role.

In recent years, the number of Armenian footballers in Russian teams has significantly increased, which has increased the interest of our compatriots in the RFPL championship. This prompted Valery Hovhannisyan and his friends to think that it is possible to create an Armenian football club with an Armenian name, which would gradually begin to gain momentum, and, perhaps, would even break into Russian Premier League... These thoughts were reinforced by the sometimes successful performances of the Armenian national team, whose honor was defended by the players of the leading Russian clubs - Roman Berezovsky, Yura Movsisyan, Aras Ozbilis, Edgar Manucharyan, Artur Sarkisov ...

The Armenian club could be founded in one of the Russian cities with a large Armenian community. I remember that a few years ago the Armenians of Sochi were infected with a similar idea, but only for a different reason. Then the Armenian Football Federation persistently pressed Andriasyan's "Ararat", so the residents of Sochi offered our famous club to move to their city, play in the Russian championship, they provided financial support and warm support from the stands. Due to patriotic feelings, the Swiss owners of "Ararat" did not agree to this, preferring a tit in their hands.

Armenian teams have long existed in many countries of the world, and in such as Iran and Lebanon in the middle of the 20th century they played a significant role in the championships of these states. So in Argentina, the Armenian football club "Deportivo Armenio" is still operating, which at one time played in major league championship of the country and set in it the national record of Argentina for the number of matches without defeat, which was broken only 12 years later by the team "Boca Juniors". Several players of "Deportivo Armenio" played for the Yerevan teams "Ararat" and "Pyunik", and Jose Bilibio also defended the honor of the Armenian national team. The team plays at the 8,000-seat Armenia stadium in Buenos Aires. In recent years, the club has not been doing well, but its long-term president, Norayr Nakisyan, is not discouraged, dreaming of a renaissance.

In 2011, Valery Hovhannisyan, at the invitation of Nakis, flew to Buenos Aires, where he was present at the home match of Deportivo Armenio. About 2 thousand Armenian fans came to support their favorite team. Oganesyan noticed how warmly they communicated with each other, how new acquaintances were made between them. He was once again convinced of the huge role football team in strengthening the diaspora and even more fired up with the desire to create an Armenian team, maybe even in Moscow or the Moscow region, where more than one million of our compatriots live. “In Russia, many Armenians go to church on Sundays, which is great, but on Saturdays they can go to football together and strengthen their friendship,” Hovhannisyan argued in a conversation with his friends and associates. Many people liked his idea and even many began to help him in this matter, but the situation in Ukraine has worsened and this project is still frozen.

And then energetic Hovhannisyan turned his eyes to the Armenian championship. “For a long time I wanted to have a club in Armenia, and this summer the circumstances at“ Ulysses ”turned out to be such that my desire came true. Due to financial problems, the club practically dropped out of the Armenian championship. We expressed a desire to acquire it, as it would be very sad to see a championship in Armenia consisting of seven teams. In addition, in recent years, I often come to Armenia and noticed that real football talents can grow here, ”the new owner of the Yerevan club said in an interview with Armenian journalists. - FC Ulysses is a joint stock company. The shareholders are persons who are also my friends and businessmen. They do not want their names to be known to the public. (According to rumors, a member of the board of directors of the Moscow "Spartak" Dzhevan Cheloyants - AG will also take part in the management of the club). We talked and I convinced them to go this road together. "

At the Ulysses headquarters, Hovhannisyan gathered people who, for the sake of a common idea, were ready to work all day long. Henrikh Kazanjyan took the post of the club's president, and Khoren Kalashyan, who in recent years, has done a huge amount of work to identify talents in Armenian football. Valeriy Hovhannisyan chose the well-known Suren Chakhalyan as the head coach of the team, who had previously coached Yerevan "Pyunik" and the youth team of Armenia.

The Ulysses' roster was completely changed, in a record short time Oganesyan picked up new players, an impressive part of whom had previously played in the Moscow team Kvazar (President - Artem Khachaturyan), known for its unusual development history and breeding methods. Three Georgians were admitted to the team - a student of Moscow CSKA, 20-year-old David Khurtsidze, the players of the Georgian “Zugdidi” - 21-year-old Georgy Khubua and 26-year-old Jamir Janashia - the younger brother of the famous Zaza Janashia, as well as two Muscovites - ex-players of the Armenian national team , the champions of Armenia in Pyunik's roster are 26-year-old Hovhannes Goaryan (a graduate of Lokomotiv Moscow) and 23-year-old Artak Aleksanyan (a graduate of Spartak Moscow). Hovhannes was elected team captain, and Artak was elected vice-captain. “In our team, football has united players of different nationalities - this is a brotherhood of peoples, and on the field we act like a single fist, hence the success,” Hovhannes Goaryan said after one of Ulysses' victories.

The team included pupils of the Polish Lodz, brothers Aghvan and Vladimir Papikyan, who appeared for some time in Moscow Spartak. 19-year-old Zambian midfielder Lubambo Musunda, 24-year-old Ghanaian defender Edward Kpodo, two 22-year-old Serbian defenders - Rade Dugalic and Slobodan Lalic signed a contract with Ulysses. The team included the age-old Sergey Ovchinnikov, who played in the 2002 championship line-up of Moscow Lokomotiv. In recent years, he has changed a large number of clubs, received many injuries, had several operations, which did not allow him to reveal his full potential.

“We met Sergey in 2007, when he played for Mashuk Pyatigorsk,” Valery Oganesyan explains his choice. - He is already 30 years old, but, in my opinion, this is not the age to end a career. If he can adapt to the Armenian championship, avoid injuries, then he will play very good football, and he can do that.

Many of our players had problems: one had no playing practice for a whole year, another half a year, some came from Russia, others from Africa and Europe. But here they must reach their maximum in order to find themselves in stronger championships in the future, as some footballers of the Armenian national team have done. "

Suren Chakhalyan and his charges did not disappoint the owner of the club, after 8 rounds Ulysses single-handedly leads the championship race, being 8 points ahead of Gandzasar and 9 points from Pyunik. And this despite the fact that the team did not have time to hold a single training camp and is gaining shape during the championship. This result of Oganesyan pleases, but he is not entirely satisfied with the quality of the team's play. Perhaps in December, upon the opening of the transfer window, he will invite a couple of legionnaires. The initial task is to successfully complete the championship and get into the European competition, where he hopes Ulysses will perform well. “There are a lot of wealthy people among Armenians, and in order to get them interested in investments, we need good result... One might build a stadium for us, the other a football academy. Moscow was not built in a day. We will have everything, but gradually, "the head of Ulysses confidently declares.

Touching upon the performance of the Armenian national team in Euro 2016, Valery Hovhannisyan said that the national team was in a difficult group, besides, Mkhitaryan, Movsisyan and Ozbilis were injured, but he believes in the national team, because many of its players are at the peak of their careers. Hovhannisyan also noted that Movsisyan and Ozbilis, after returning to service, club career will continue at Spartak Moscow.

Alexander Grigoryan

Ararat was born at the end of March 2017, and played its first match on April 12 against Zelenograd in the Moscow zone of the LFL. Even then, the team included some well-known footballers in the past. For example, a 36-year-old Levan Gvazava, who previously played for Alania, Luch-Energiya, Terek and Anji, as well as a former CSKA goalkeeper Sergey Revyakin.

Ararat's father is a football functionary Valery Hovhannisyan who worked as a football agent. Oagnesyan collaborated with Spartak, CSKA, Ural and other Premier League clubs, was engaged in business Yury Movsisyan, Aras Ozbilisa and Edgar Manucharyan, at the same time he met Pavlyuchenko and many other players "with the name". Once Hovhannisyan said that he tried to attach the current Manchester United player to Anji or Spartak. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the deal did not take place.

But Hovhannisyan's big plans have survived. In 2014, he saved the death of the Armenian "Ulysses" by investing about a million dollars. The hastily assembled team was for a long time among the leaders of the local elite division, but in the end it stalled and became the second, having won a ticket to the Europa League. However, the investors who promised Ulysses a bright future never came to the club. As a result, the team faced bankruptcy, and most of the players, together with Oganesyan, moved to the Armavir Torpedo.

There was a rumor in Armenia that Ulysses had never paid salaries to some of the newcomers. Almost all players and employees of the club, as well as companies that provided Ulysses with any services, faced similar problems. Moreover, the special services of Armenia caught four employees of "Ulysses" in organizing a fixed match in order to get a win in a bookmaker's office. Among them were the club's coaches, an administrator and one of the footballers.

But nobody was interested in this in Armavir.

Hovhannisyan did not invest there, being exclusively engaged in attracting players and coaches. First, he made an agreement with a wonderful speaker Alexander Grigoryan, but then canceled the deal and brought him to the club Valeria Karpina, for which the sponsors also arrived. However, the functionary and the ex-coach of Spartak did not work together - the team did not show the expected results, and even before the end of the first half of the season, Oganesyan was fired.

About a year ago, Hovhannisyan mentioned plans to create a new club. “I have a project for a serious club in Russia. I want people to gather every week for matches, as they go to church, "- said the functionary" Soviet Sport ". Obviously, it was about the current "Ararat".

The club was founded in March 2017, and on April 12 it played its debut match in the Moscow zone of the third division, in which it beat Zelenograd with a minimum score. True, it was not without a scandal. An undeclared player took part in the game, due to which “Ararat” was awarded a technical defeat 0: 3. Also, 6 points were removed from the club and a fine of 20 thousand rubles was imposed. Because of these sanctions, the team took only 15th place in the Moscow zone (with 20 participants), but on May 30 they received a license from the RFU and entered the PFL.

Where does finance come from?

It is clear that the invited stars came to “Ararat” not on penny salaries. Where did the representative of the now second division get such funds?

We have not yet learned the answer to this question, but we are promised that soon everything will be known.

Whether Valery Hovhannisyan invests his money in "Ararat" is still unknown. The club declares its support from the Armenian “public and business elite”. True, so far we are only talking about moral support. One of the people who provide the club with "moral support" is the head of the News Media holding Aram Gabrelyanov... By the way, it was at the site of "Life" immediately after the signing of Roman Pavlyuchenko that the player's appeal to the fans appeared.

In addition, the Association of Armenian Youth in Moscow also provided "organizational assistance" in the creation of the club.

It is also known that “Ararat” “has one shareholder who has not yet officially acquired shares, but contributed to the creation of the club”. The press service of “Ararat” informs about its intentions to attract many minority investors to the club by selling them 10-20 shares of the club. “In Russia, many clubs are already sucking money from the state. We do not want this, "said the head of the press service of" Ararat "Georgy Makovetskiy.

Hovhannisyan, in turn, noted that the club will have "an average annual budget by the standards of the PFL" - in the region of 60-200 million rubles.

What are the goals?

In "Ararat" I plan to slip into the FNL already at the end of the 2017/18 season, and then we intend to swing at the RFPL. Naturally, there is no question of any "purely Armenian composition". “Everything is based on a sporting principle,” they say in the club, which is confirmed by the latest transfers.

At the same time, “Ararat” still plans to unite Armenian football fans, and not only from Moscow, as well as achieve an attendance of 5-6 thousand fans. The arena, where “Ararat” is already playing matches, this allows - the “Spartakovets” stadium named after Nikolai Starostin can accommodate 5100 football fans.

Aram Gabrielyanov's moral support has already been mentioned. In the official account of "Ararat" on Instagram, you can find a photo of Mikhail Galustyan with the attributes of the team. Those. we already have some fan base. Let it be modest for now.

Who will play?

May 30, i.e. on the day of obtaining the license, "Ararat" "fired" the first loud transfer - a one-year contract was signed Roman Pavlyuchenko... “Of course, in“ Ararat ”Pavlyuchenko's salary is not at the level of the Premier League. Higher than that of our other players, but not like the rest of Ararat players combined. We discussed the financial issue least of all. He was in last place for Roma ", - explained the vice-president of the club Andranik Keropyan.

Publication from FC Ararat Moscow (@fcararatmoscow) May 30 2017 at 6:20 PDT

Following the former striker of the Russian national team, the PFL rookie signed a pupil of "Spartak" Alexey Rebko, who played for the national team under Guus Hiddink, and then Marat Izmailova... There were also rumors about Vladimir Bystrov, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Arshak Koryan, but so far they have not been confirmed.

Publication from FC Ararat Moscow (@fcararatmoscow) Jun 7 2017 at 7:03 PDT

By signing Pavlyuchenko, "Ararat" got excited and even allowed himself to joke about Gareth Bale... Yes, yes, you heard right. And the head did not let you down. “Dear Bale, we want to see you on our team. In Russia with your friend. Here you will never be in the shadow of Ronaldo, "Ararat's Twitter message reads. The Welshman has not yet responded to the offer.

There were also such jokes.

Moscow Ararat tried to acquire Alexander Kerzhakov, but, unfortunately, he did not get to the office of Ararat.

FC Ararat Moscow (@FC_AraratMoscow)

About football club "Ararat" Moscow

What can a man write about the football club "Ararat" Moscow, who is an Armenian himself and has lived in Russia for a long time, so that it does not look like propaganda of personal interests and PR football club? In my opinion, in this case it is a completely impossible task.

You can simply limit yourself to the words: “This club does not violate anything in the regulations and laws. Created solely for the sake of achieving high football goals. "

Understandably, there were those for whom this project evokes ambiguous feelings. Some try to slander and joke as funny as possible, others support and are glad that Roman Pavlyuchenko and Marat Izmailov will come to their cities. And now about everything in order, let's try to figure out what's what. What kind of club, who created it and what goals are pursued by Moscow "Ararat".

The principles on which the club is based:

● Anyone can own FC Ararat, the club issues its own shares.

● Mass attraction of the Armenian diaspora to the stadium.

● All profits will be reinvested in the club and children's school.

● Young fans will receive active support. Serious discounts will be provided for them. The club will actively attract young, talented players to the second team.

● Scouting of all Armenian footballers around the world.

● “Ararat” will play in yellow, black and red colors. The first kit was made according to the prototype of the Soviet "Ararat", who made a golden double in the championship and the USSR Cup 197

Tasks

In addition to the local agenda (“to inspire and unite the Armenian diaspora with football”), Ararat's mission also included serious sporting tasks - to get as far as possible in the Russian Cup and enter the FNL on the first try. Let's be honest Russian football for quite a long time he has been living in melancholy and there are a lot of problems in him. A club with such ambitions and policies will add color to Russian football.

In the meantime, Moscow "Ararat" is being discussed by all and sundry. It is clear that a team with such a name in the capital of Russia will cause a violent reaction, the club was ready for this. Of course, the project is very ambitious and resonant. There are similar examples of clubs in other championships, for example, in the second Swedish league, the team "Assiriska" from the city of Fereningen, created by the descendants of the Assyrians who fled the genocide in 1915, plays. It is worth mentioning the teams of the namesake of "Ararat" from the lower divisions of France, Estonia, Iran, USA, Syria and Australia.

Today's "Ararat" does not set a goal to gather in its ranks a team of players with Armenian origin. The club was created quite recently, to be a local Athletic Bilbao, you need to have a huge football infrastructure. Today's footballers are invited to the team for the fastest possible solution to the problem of entering the FNL.

There will be a great informational intensity around the club in the future as well. Professional journalists, simple bloggers, and almost everyone is trying to prick, joke, speak out. Surprisingly, popular sports personalities who are directly related to Armenia are silent. Although they are very popular with the Russian-Armenian sports audience. Anyway.

In conclusion, I would like to say one important thing. Marat Izmailov and Roman Pavlyuchenko “ate the dog” in their profession. During their long career, they have worked with the strongest specialists, played with eminent partners, and hardly listened to the opinion of the “couch” experts. The transfer to "Ararat" Moscow is the desire of the guys themselves, especially since they were not promised "golden mountains". It was a balanced and deliberate decision without the barrel of a gun at his temple.

Nobody makes you feel sick and empathize with the Moscow "Ararat". In the end, from the fact that a simple fan will see Roman Pavlyuchenko and Marat Izmailov at the stadiums of Tver and Bryansk in a month, as if no one will lose.

Official group of VK.