Valery Hovhannisyan: Mkhitaryan was given a sheet at Spartak and said: “Write the salary”

Agent Valery Oganesyan in an interview with the site - about working with Valery Karpin and Evgeny Giner and the weakness of Spartak.

He went from 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. en Valery Oganesyan spoke about working with Valery Karpin and Evgeny Giner, Spartak's weaknesses and Kokorin's prospects.

"Giner is a brilliant president"

– It was not easy to contact you. Where did you disappear to?
- After leaving Torpedo, I did not really engage in agency activities. He worked hard and now it's time to take some rest. Took care of the family.

– You ended your gaming career early, and at the age of 23 you started working as an agent. Why didn't the player's career work out?
- There are several factors. – I played at the Moscow Dynamo school, but failed to break 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 earn as well as they do now. At some point, I realized that I would not succeed in a great career, so I decided to leave. I had nothing to do with football for two or three years, and then my relative opened an agency company with me.

– What did you start with?
- FROM children's football, from the second league. He made acquaintances, made a name for himself. Not an easy time - 24 hours on trips, overnight stays in the car. But slowly they went uphill. In 2008, he found several players for CSKA Moscow, so he began to cooperate with the army club.

– Who was brought?
- World champion in the junior team of Nigeria Autumn, from the Togliatti Academy of Young Children - Ambartsumyan, Stolyarenko. Piliev made the transition from Lokomotiv to CSKA. Then everyone thought that Piliev would have a fantastic career - he played great with Wolfsburg in the Champions League, but then an injury, spinal surgery. Well, Nika is still a young guy - 24 years old - maybe he will still play.

– How would you rate the experience of working with CSKA?
- We have developed a very trusting relationship with Evgeny Lennorovich. I remember those times with great warmth. Later, when I ran into other teams, I realized that Giner is a brilliant president. You enter Yevgeny 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.

–And why then ceased to cooperate?
- In 2012, when Yura Movsisyan moved from Krasnodar to Spartak, CSKA was also very interested in him. The noarmy offered a significantly lower amount per player than Spartak gave. Difficult times have come for my agency company: few transfers, many tails have accumulated. And we could not accept the offer of CSKA. And the footballer himself wanted to go to Spartak more.

– Giner offended?
- If I were Yevgeny Lennorovich, I would probably be upset too. Although I can’t say that CSKA lost a lot by losing Movsisyan, then the army team had excellent players in attack: Wagner came back and left, the same Doumbia.

– What is the relationship with the president of CSKA now?
- Whatever it is, I have only a positive attitude towards this man and this club. I won't say that my company made crazy money there. But in CSKA it was warm - the atmosphere is very family in the club. When I came into the office, it was as if I was visiting someone.

"Ozbiliz was hampered by injuries"

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

– Why did Yura fail at Spartak?
- I don't think it worked. He hit a lot of balls. I think that over the past ten years, Yura, along with Welliton and Pavlyuchenko, can be considered one of the brightest forwards of Spartak.

– When Movsisyan left Spartak, he said an interesting phrase: “The better I played in Spartak, the worse they treated me.” The player later clarified that he meant the press.
- I said it on emotions, I guess. Yura is a very nice guy. He always gave himself in games for Spartak. When he first came to the club, he told me that he was very proud to be in such a great team.

– You also brought Ozbiliz from Kuban to Spartak. Did you also not participate in the transfer of Aras to Besiktas?
– He 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?
“Injuries prevented him. If it weren't for the injuries, I think he would have succeeded. Aras is a talent, but when you have three or four serious surgeries, it's hard to get back to your level. And so Ozbiliz, even in Europe, is in good standing.

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

“I want to apologize to Mkhitaryan”

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

– Why did you leave Ural, because in 2013 the team solved the problem and entered the Premier League?
- This was the situation. IN RFPL club brought out the coach Pavel Gusev. And now, after the final game of the season, we are flying by plane, and Grigory Ivanov says to me: “We need to fire him (Gusev). I didn't get it. Maybe Gusev didn’t have a fantastic training process, there was little theory, but the team gave results. She was unbeaten in 24 games this season. I didn't see the point in changing anything. But someone here inspired Ivanov that Gusev should be removed.

– Like, the Premier League will not pull?
- I do not know. Perhaps there was jealousy on the part of the president of the club. Fans fell in love with Gusev very much, they chanted his name during the 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 firing Gusev, but it didn't work. By the way, six months before that, when we were in first place, I organized a meeting in Moscow - I won’t name names - and I received such an offer: “Listen, let’s give you half a million dollars, and you go, take a break, go to Georgia, just sign your resignation. Anyway, in six months other people will come to take your place. But I didn’t want to sell the dream, I wanted to prove that I could take the club to the Premier League.

– And who suggested it?
“I won't name names. These are football people, everyone knows each other.

– So the company eventually came?
- Yes. And before the start of the season, I was told that, at the suggestion of the leaders of this company, Oleg Vasilenko would be the head coach of Ural. Well, I think Vasilenko, so Vasilenko. Then they brought me one person and they said: “He will help you,” and I say: “Listen, why help me if everything is fine with us, why should we change something? If there is no trust, it must be said that there is no trust, and that’s it.” Ivanov reassured then: "I have confidence in you, you helped us a lot." But I felt that something was already going wrong. There was less trust, some moments were decided without me. Although, I think, he proved his loyalty to the club by the fact that he worked almost for free in 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 he was told another - less). Acevedo immediately wanted to fly. I refused my club salary and told Acevedo to be paid 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 realized that the guy is very talented. I thought and still think that this is the most talented Armenian football player.

– Above 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, he would grow into a big star. But Manucharyan sometimes has half a season due to injuries. This is a lot. God forbid, if he has no injuries, because so far he has been playing and scoring this season. I cannot say that he is the strongest Armenian footballer, but that he is the most talented - a million percent. By the way, there is one 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 was about the same. Commissions are a cosmic figure. And it turned out that because of the persuasion to move to Anji, I had a fight with Heinrich. It's not about the money. I just sincerely wanted to carry out this transfer, to complete the task. The leaders of Shakhtar themselves were more inclined towards the option with Anji, but Henrikh did not agree. He said he wanted to go to Europe. In general, I want to apologize to him for the pressure, to say: he is well done for moving to Dortmund and not looking at the money. The ignoramus also had a serious offer from Spartak.

– Yes?
- I brought him to Spartak. JevanCheloyants, a shareholder of the Red-Whites, told him: "Here's a paper for you - write down how much you want to receive." But Henry set his sights on Europe.

“Lodygin was supposed to go to Ural”

– Let's go back to Ural. What were the motives of the new agency company that came to the club?
– 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 Ural: they brought Smolov, Zabolotny. But so far I have not seen other successful transactions. Yes, there were also transfers of Podberezkin, Erokhin, but it seems to me that the success of the guys is a great merit of their Russian passport.

– Do you think they will not play at the level of the national team?
- Podberezkin has more chances. I don't like talking bad about football players. But I did not understand Erokhin at all. I think the same Kangav Rostov is stronger.

– Is the loss of Erokhin and Podberezkin a miscalculation of the Ural selection? Both left almost for free: Erokhin went to Rostov, and Podberezkin went to Krasnodar.
Yes, it's a miscalculation. Why doesn't this happen in CSKA? One Honda left free, but he did so much good. Of course, such moments as the renewal of contracts cannot be left for half a year, for a year. Another thing is that economically, Ural could not re-sign the contract?

– And who could sign "Ural"?
- I had a number of agreements to strengthen before debut season in the Premier League - Lodygin (from Greece for 200 thousand they already made out a transfer), Gerard Gou from the first Turkish league, who eventually moved to Krasnodar. Last season, by the way, Gou became the best player and scorer of the Kazakhstan championship in Kairat. There was also an agreement with Spartak for Jano Ananidze and Artem Dzyuba (both eventually moved to Rostov). This was under Manucharyan, Acevedo... But after the second round of the championship, I left the club, and all these transitions failed. I decided to leave, because I was no longer interested when some kind of help is imposed on you, and sometimes decisions are made for you.

– For example?
- They brought us one football player from Belarus. I look, and he is already our sixth legionnaire, and in the application for a match by the limit in the FNL, no more than five is possible. He wouldn't be able to play if he wasn't even a legionnaire. Good guy, I won’t name names, but I won’t pull it, I say. I understood that the president of Ural Ivanov was under pressure, maybe he was indebted to someone. As a result, they hired a guy, and he played for the Urals for one half, in my opinion, but he received a serious salary.

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

In "Torpedo" Armavir Valery Hovhannisyan received carte blanche to create a team

“Cheloyants said: “You must develop Armenian football”

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

– How is football in Armenia?
- Hard. We had to make a deal with the Armenian Pyunik. They 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 club "Ulysses" is falling apart. I say: “Well, how much do you need a budget?” We sit and count. I keep in mind that we need 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, there are only seven teams in the championship - this is no longer a professional championship. In general, I took the command. Closed debts - 150-200 thousand dollars. Gathered a team that out of the first 13 matches in season 12 won and played one 0-0.

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

– Did Cheloyants promise to come?
- He thought. Sometimes I even went into the locker room and told the guys: if you become champions, I will give you an award from myself. 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 take second place - we got into the Europa League. It's a shame, of course, that we went in the middle of the season in first place with a margin of 13 points, but missed the championship.

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

“I expected more from Karpin”

– How did it all end?
– I understood that without a sponsor the project would die. I could no longer pull everything on myself. Then, before the start of the 2015/16 season, I negotiated with the owner of Kuban Oleg Mktrchan, and we agreed that some of the Ulisses players would be transferred to Torpedo from Armavir. This is the birthplace of Mktrchan, so he has been helping them for a long time. Mktrchan, one might say, gave me carte blanche to build a team in Armavir. My task was to bring the players, the sponsor and the top coach.

– Karpin?
- First, I agreed with Grigoryan, who is now at SKA-Energy. But in my heart I understood that in order not to repeat the fate of Ulysses and find sponsors, I needed a name. Therefore, unfortunately, he did not act very nicely with Grigoryan, violating the agreements. 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 RFPL, didn’t use any super-modern methods at that time, he didn’t 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.

– Player problem?
- 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 players I brought would also play leading roles in that Ural. There were weak points, of course, but I didn’t fully believe that the problem was only in the players. They came, and the first five matches played 0-0. If they came and lost five or six goals, then yes, the problem is with them.

– What's the point then?
- I expected more from Karpin as a specialist. Thought he was a level stronger. When they give you a command, and you can buy anyone you want, as he had in Spartak, this is one thing, but in Armavir, we didn’t have such funds for transfers. Karpin and I spent 24 hours together. Karpin is my choice. Cheloyants was against it, saying 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…

“Told Karpin: “Let's leave together”

– Did the sponsors reach out 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, I just prepared a base in Ulysses, brought the squad to Armavir, invested, and got my resignation. And some time later, Cheloyants became a shareholder, first of Torpedo, and then of the Armenian Banants.

– Doesn't look friendly...
- I don’t know what it looks like, but you invest money for a year, and other people get the fruits of your labors. I didn’t understand what happened to me in Armavir.

– In the course of 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 tell Karpin: "Let's leave together." And he: "No, I want to work." Then I feel that negotiations are already starting 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 impossible to play with these players at all, so he began to put diagonals. Although in "Ulysses" these same football players played very nice football. Karpin drummed into the players' heads that they can't do anything: let's hit forward, rebound, so we'll score points. Like Spanish coaches… I started to get into it and got the answer: look at them, can they play?

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

– The one to whom this was said was silent?
- One player tried to say something, to defend himself. After this theory, already in a personal conversation, Karpin said to me: "Remove him from the team." I talked to the player, and did not clean up. Now he is the captain of the team - Miroshnichenko. There were many such moments. At the same time, I won’t say that the players in the same Baltika or SKA-Energia were stronger than in Torpedo. But the 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 one didn’t play for six months, this one from beach soccer came. But, for example, when Karpin watched one of the Ulysses matches, when I was still working there, he said that it was a good team.

– And your actions?
- I wanted to agree on a peaceful separation, but there is compensation.

– They say that about 300 thousand euros.
Yes, plus or minus. For the first league - normal money.

– And then they took you away.
- I can’t blame Karpin for the fact that I left. He could not decide for the shareholders. Shadow games began - there is no result, so someone had to gobble up someone. Everything seemed to be fine, but then it turned out to be unnecessary. When the club reissued the documents, I did not appear in them as the president of Torpedo. Since he worked on a friendly wave. After the re-registration, I was already out of the club.

– Have you spent a lot of money financially?
- I spent about a million dollars on Ulysses. Oleg Mktrchan knew about my financial problems, so I no longer invested in Armavir, but only looked for sponsors. But everything he invested in Ulysses, of course, he expected to get back.

– Did you decide to take a break from work because of this story?
Yes, I needed to sort myself out. Get rid of everything. Now we need to start all over again - whether it will be an agency activity or a club, I don’t know yet. From this story, I made the main conclusion that when everything is fine with you, everyone needs you. And when there are problems, then no one. I remember when they agreed on the transfer of Movsisyan to Spartak, they blew off dust particles from me, rolled me on airplanes.

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

"Fedun did not build a system"

– How do you remember cooperation with Spartak?
– I didn’t see that the soul of the club hurts there.

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

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

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

– In CSKA you speak like a family, but in Spartak you don't?
- Now I do not know. And at the moment when I collaborated with them, it’s like everyone is enemies to each other. Here's how you can work when the sports director of the club Popov does not talk to the general director Askhabadze and head coach Karpin?

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

– How long did this game of silence last?
- Six months minimum. The moment came when the transfers took place without the participation of Popov. I started having similar problems with Karpin in Armavir. In general, I don’t really understand when the coach says, they say, the players are not the same. I doubt that in CSKA Lutsky makes the final decision on the players. Of course, they ask him for advice, 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.

– Did you no longer communicate with Karpin after leaving Torpedo?
No, and no desire. Valery Georgievich has a trait that when someone needs to leave for a T-shirt, for him there is no friendship, nothing. Although I may have been mistaken in considering him my friend. At some stage, Karpin needed me, and then no longer.

"The most talented in Russia - Kozlov"

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

– The best or the most talented?
- The most talented - Alexander Kozloviz "Spartak". They say that Kokorin scored ten for young men? So Kozlov scored 15 each. Until now, photos of Kozlov hang at all tournaments in Italy.

– Have you lost a lot of super talents before your eyes?
- Many. For example, in Ulisses I played such a football player - Hovhannes Goharyan, he also played in the reserve team of Loko in 2011-2012. Could become a real Premier League star, at least. On the field, he could do anything, but this year, at the age of 27, he ended his career due to problems with weight. Due to the characteristics of the body and improper nutrition, he constantly gained weight. If we met with him when he was 20 years old, I think he would have achieved a lot. In "Ulysses" became the captain, scored the most in the past season. And this is considering the fact that he weighed about 100 kg with a height of 176-177 cm. Can you imagine the potential? But time has already been lost, and after "Ulysses" he decided to stop playing. Or 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, were much better than Shatov. Or Artak Aleksanyan, who came to Ural at the age of 18 and constantly played at the pre-season training camp, looked brighter than Shatov. I can compare because all four played together in front of my eyes at about the same time. Not everyone understands that the age of a football player 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 for much more high level. Ryzhova was almost compared with 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 Major League. And Ryzhovso accelerated his half of the field by 60-70 meters. I have never seen such acceleration in my life. Imagine what kind of athlete - with a height of 190 cm, developed such a speed. He even with overweight at five or six kilograms, he ran 30 meters in 3.7 seconds.

– Do you believe that Kokorin will not suffer the fate of Ryzhov?
- I believe. The fabulous contracts broke him down a bit, I guess. But what if they overpay because of the limit. And so Kokorin has everything: speed, technique, impact. I don't think there is any need for a limit. Our guys are suffering from this - good player will still break through.

"I want to make a family club"

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

– Do you already have certainty at 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 gather for matches every week, like going to church.

– I read that you went to Argentina for the local team of the second division, Deportivo Armenio, which is supported mainly by Armenian diasporas. Is the project idea inspired there?
– Yes. There were not even Armenian players in the team, but people gather in families for football, eat barbecue, talk about football, life. I want to do family club so that the atmosphere is like in CSKA and Krasnodar. Discussed the project with one 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 clean slate. Fortunately, there are proposals, friends, we will work.

General Director of the Moscow "Ararat" Valery Oganesyan in an interview with medium.com, he talked about how his project was one step away from being closed.

- What is happening with Ararat? How come the club is close to closing?

In March of this year, I created a team that didn't impress anyone at the time. Quietly, he developed it and soon strode forward sharply. When Ararat played in KFK, at my expense, they still somehow lived. Then we agreed with a powerful company on sponsorship: at first about one amount, then it increased. The budget was constantly growing: we invited stars, a top coach, we moved from the Spartakovets stadium to Streltsov, we constantly stopped by the hotel before the matches.

From the first second, I understood the outcome of this story: that's how it was in Armavir. I told Ararat's sponsors that when there was success, everyone would want to take my place, but I warned: in the last three years, everything has not been as smooth as before for me. The sponsors replied: “It's all right, you just start. For two seasons you have to take first place - first in the PFL, then in the FNL. We will finish financing only if Ararat is not the first at the end of the season.” In the end, I won, and things only got worse.

- Who became the sponsor of Ararat?

I don't want to speculate on names. When we move forward in negotiations about the future of the club, everyone will know. Perhaps I will find other people to whom it will be possible to transfer the rights.

- It was said that fans would soon own Ararat. How did you imagine it?

There are about ten million people of Armenian origin in the world, and with our game and politics, I thought to attract another five million football fans. And any of them - a millionaire, a billionaire or an ordinary person - can become our shareholder. Attention to "Ararat" is huge: a thousand people come at home, and more on the road - as in Ramenskoye, in Lipetsk, yes. everywhere. In Belgorod, they didn't let us out of the stadium for an hour - they left only when everyone took a picture with Pavlyuchenko and Izmailov.

Even if two million people donate one hundred dollars each, there will be enough money for everything. But it was not supposed to start right away - in a couple of years, when we would have entered the Premier League.

- When did you realize that the plans would not come true?

The season has started, Ararat is in the first place. But I saw that my football team is strong, but the office team is not very good. There may have been PR, but the rest of the organization was seriously lame. I could pursue, say, such goals: to buy Pavlyuchenko from some agent and earn money on it. But in Ararat, I did everything as myself, treated him not like a hired manager, as is usually the case in Russia. This is my club.

A month and a half ago, I came to the sponsor, saying: "So and so, we have a hole." I honestly told the sponsor that a lot of problems have accumulated in recent years, I did not find a sponsor for Ulysses at all. They told me: “Okay, Valer, but so that this does not happen again in the future, we will supply from the sponsor of the financial director.” They set it up, everything seems to be normal - and then a movement began in the management of the club. I saw that the sponsor is no longer just a sponsor, but has slowly joined the work and believes that he understands football and can tell you how to do it. I'm so not used to it. When I am responsible for something, I do everything myself.

Then I was told that from one of the main sponsors, I unofficially heard that many other rich people were coming. And I knew that there were people who would be interested in the project. At one point - for a purely soldier's reason - they say to me: "Everything."

- What does it mean?

After the financial director was appointed to the club, through the head of the team I took a ticket for a holiday in Russia in the amount of ten thousand rubles. This amount then had to be simply deducted from the salary, as usual - I, as the founder, did not think about this at all. On the same day, the sponsor forced me to expel footballer Artak Aleksanyan. It was very hard for me to remove him, but I did it for the good of the whole team. Aleksanyanu said that it was my decision. The sponsor did this so that I would refuse Artak, and that he would be the reason for my departure, and not the tickets. They just didn't know what else to think of.

In short, at one moment Ararat didn't need me. How they said goodbye to me - this is not for the faint of heart. I'll tell you a little later, if needed. Now it's kind of a dead end. Despite the fact that the club is on me, I created it.

- Many perceived your departure as an escape.

I decided: let them cook themselves, without me, and when I return, we will see. At the same time, I was and remain a 100% founder of the club. I said goodbye to the team, said: “This is for a while, it's okay. There is someone to manage."

I was told: "In two days you will sign some other documents." But I could not do this - I ended up on the other side. And so no one would remember me.

- "Ararat" reported that you left the club "for health reasons". What's wrong with you?

I did everything to ensure that the team did not suffer. I couldn't leave just like that - I said that I was going to be treated. It was true: I didn't feel like myself. Psychologically I feel hard. In terms of physical health everything is fine, there is no such thing that tomorrow I can die. Although my death is predicted by many people. And everyone says: your death depends on you. It's kind of a hint, but I take it as a direct threat.

- Ararat announced that you withdrew 20 million rubles from the club's account. How did you explain it to yourself?

They wanted to do publicity for it. Black PR. And with this PR, let the players and the public know that I'm some kind of thief, acted out of conscience, stole, ran away. Khinkali to eat, probably, for all 20 million.

If I was caught in some kind of deal - someone I bought or sold in the wrong way - this is one thing. But I'm not even documented in the club. To say that I ran away with a bag of money is ridiculous. Do you know why?

- Why?

September 1 - two days after I "stole" 20 million rubles - 15 million rubles fall into my account. All previous payments were like donations to the sponsor, and these 15 million - like an interest-free loan, as if I borrowed from someone. In the morning I started calling the bank to send money to the borrower - I didn't sign anything. He replied: "The money was distributed to the club for salaries." It's like I don't exist. Is this normal? And they still say to me: “You took tickets for ten thousand rubles.”

Ararat vice-president Andranik Keropyan said: "Any check will easily prove that Hovhannisyan has not invested a single ruble in the club." This is true?

How to evaluate what has been invested and what has not been invested? When I founded Ararat, I didn't have guarantees from a sponsor. There was no such thing that I persuaded Pavlyuchenko and Izmailov and said that one costs 30 million, the other - 40. I did everything for myself.

I don't understand what "invest" means. Bring a box of money and show how cool you are, or give a result? Our team is not the second league already. We beat Baltika in the Russian Cup, a team with a very large budget, where players earn much more on average. than in Ararat. Everyone around is already talking about Ararat. When a sponsor was found, he immediately said: "Your team is already worth 200 million."

Keropyan is not a football person, I don't even want to discuss him. I really feel sorry for him. He is a mentally unstable guy. I wanted to save him, give him a job. I extended my hand to him as a friend and invited him to join my team.

Perhaps, "Ararat" means that you withdrew money from the company's account to a personal account for which no accounting is kept?

When we were dealing with taxes, the sponsor told me: "The head of the tax office is our friend, don't worry, don't think about anything." In football, there are expenses not for common people. I'm not the manager who will save. Ararat is my club, by the way, and I determine what will happen to the money in it. But no, I am a thief in the eyes of others.

- What part did Aram Gabrelyanov take in the management of Ararat?

No comment.

- Do you have any complaints against Gabrelyanov?

No comments, you'll find out later.

- Gabrelyanov provides only "moral support", as Keropyan said?

I'll tell you on Wednesday, when the negotiations are over. While these questions are incorrect. They can influence the fate of the club in the future. And I want it to grow and prosper. This is a people's team.

In the third round of the PFL, Ararat lost points for the first time. Immediately after "for family reasons" resigned Main coach Sergey Bulatov. What is the real reason?

It seemed that the team did not take it strongly. But I have assembled such a team that you put any coach, she will win. For three or four rounds, I myself began to train - and what, it got worse? They didn't even draw a single match - the team won.

- Did you like the role of head coach?

When I started to win, the team asked me to stay. There was even an idea to stay in office. But then I realized that everyone should mind their own business. I had many other global tasks.

They invited Poghos Galstyan, then Alexander Grigoryan. When the team heard the name Grigoryan, they gathered meetings for two days and persuaded me: no need. As a result, I still made all the substitutions during the game, even when Grigoryan became the coach. At the same time, I always considered Grigoryan a strong coach, he could help us in training process, organizationally.

What is he, the owner of the club, to say such things? It would be better to speak as a coach - for example, about why he did not win last match against Lipetsk. Maybe his words about Ryazan are also a PR move.

When Grigoryan came, I told him: “You think more about football, talk less.” Grigoryan is not a weak coach, I wish him to work at the highest level. But I suppose that the match with Ryazan will be Grigoryan's last in our football. If there is no Ararat, who needs Grigoryan? "SKA Khabarovsk" is no longer needed - maybe "Luch-Energy" then or "Sakhalin". To fly, I came to my senses a little.

According to my information, the conflict in "Ararat" was caused by your interview on the YouTube channel "Let me speak". Did it influence your departure from the club?

Not at all. Do you know who influenced? Rich people who have been following me for several years and who are haunted by my results. There are a lot of them. My negative image is built on their old grievances and gossip. Hence my problems at work.

Grigoryan admitted in an interview: “One smart person told me: “You have blabbed most of your Premier League.” Have you never been told this?

What words of mine should I regret? It's one thing if I was talking nonsense, but I'm telling the truth. Some of us go on TV channels, they write on the screen - "the best agent" or "the best general director." I do not need it. I want people to understand a little bit what is happening in our football. And then we are building a lot of stadiums for the World Cup, but I have a question: will people go to them?

- Do you remember how you said goodbye to Ararat players when you left?

As at a funeral, as if saying goodbye to loved ones. Even tears welled up. But honestly, if I said goodbye two days later, it wouldn't even affect me. I was sure that I was dear to the team that I had assembled myself. It turned out that many are not expensive.

- Now you have contact with the team?

We communicate. You see, I brought a sponsor, introduced him to each player. And at some stage, I, not the richest person, become unnecessary. The players see the conflict and they need to choose some position. The sponsor inspired them that I was a thief, a person with a bad reputation, with debts in my life. And they sided with the sponsor, because he has money, and it will be harder with me. I will not name the names of these low people, but the rest took an adequate side.

- Izmailov's lawyer says that Marat is already looking for new club.

No, this information is invalid. Izmailov is here, Izmailov remains in the club.

- Pavlyuchenko, Lebedenko, Rebko, other stars also remain?

Everyone wants to stay, they want there to be a project. Everyone is worried about their families. I want everyone to think a little about my family. Most of all, I would not like to come home and tell my son: “We are no longer going to the stadium, and in general your father may no longer come to Russia, they don’t let him in.” And because of what - I can not even explain.

- What is Ararat capable of without your participation?

Now we are in first place. But you know how it happens - changes begin, everyone gets nervous, one misfire follows another. I would not like this.

- When last time communicated with the team?

Yesterday. I told them: “If they let me into the country, I will find a sponsor for you within two to three months.” I can no longer say: yes, everything is fine, I will do everything, everything will be fine. But I found one sponsor - I would have found one more, and a third one. But they already have the same love with their current sponsor as Romeo and Juliet. And with some players - as if they have known each other for 150 years. And I, therefore, such a villain.

People are trying not to agree, but to solve everything somehow differently. Although I think it's right to sit down and discuss everything in a civilized manner within a day or two.

- Is it true that yesterday you sent representatives to Moscow for negotiations with the leaders of Ararat?

On Wednesday, a man flies to me who represents the interests of a possible future founder of the club. I will put forward fair conditions, which I can publish later.

- Briefly, what will these conditions be?

If I understand that a person's eyes are burning, and he will do everything better than me in terms of finances and management, we will agree. But if there is pressure, tension, sudden movements ... You know, threats - it doesn’t matter, “we will not touch you physically” or “we will send the Air Force, Navy” - this is not for me, this is not for adults. “You are worried about safety, for your family, for being put in jail” - all this will not hurt me. If God wills, what is destined to happen to a person will happen.
Everything must be discussed culturally. There are too many scandals in Russian football. I would not like another one on the eve of the World Cup.

- What do you want in these negotiations?

Firstly, to do well for Ararat. I want to look people in the eyes and understand who I am giving the club to. If people want to give a damn about the people's team, which I created, that will not suit me. A football club is not a factory, not a plant, it is a fine kitchen.

Secondly, I want not to feel worse if I leave the project. Let people explain: how could I steal 20 million from myself?

- What if you don't agree?

I will return, find another sponsor and develop the team further. I don't want Ararat to lose its status because of two or three people. Still, we have already gathered a lot of fans. Some initially doubted that the project would be long-term, and now they will criticize Ararat even more.

I would not want our loyal fans to say: "Just started - just finished." The other side of the conflict must understand that it will be responsible for this before the country and before such fans as in Belgorod, for whom Ararat is a holiday.

- Do you see what is happening with Ararat as a raider takeover of the club?

Not yet, but something close. "I want - and I take." I don't understand these kinds of conversations.

- Is your return to Ararat possible?

Today it is excluded by 99.99 percent. Either they will agree with me, or - if I am not allowed to return to Russia and continue to work quietly - the team may cease to exist.

- What prevents you from returning to Russia?

So I just can't come. There are various conversations - that if I arrive, hell will begin.

- Do you mean criminal prosecution?

Yes, everything: they will either imprison me or kill me. If someone talks a couple of times upstairs, he thinks that someone is someone's comrade, friend, things will start that will not get out. I don't want to risk my life for someone else's whim. I don't want to and I won't risk it.

I assumed that this would begin when Ararat entered the Premier League. But it started a bit early.

Created in the spring in Moscow "with the support of the Armenian public and the business elite" and personally the president of the publishing house News Media Aram Gabrelyanov, the football club ceases to exist without even playing a year. Gabrelyanov himself posted three days ago on the official page of the club in social network an optimistic commentary on the club's prospects and the future of the "people's" way of funding it. He also attacked the club's recently resigned president, Valery Oganesyan.

“I am sure that Ararat, a club for Moscow and Muscovites, will become loved and dear in a couple of years. There shouldn't be any panic. I see how a club created in order to cut the money of shareholders (and the previous president Oganesyan acted in Ulisses and Armavir) turns into a people's project ... And I'm sure that football, even in the age of super technologies great future. Computers will not be able to love and worry about their favorite team. There is also a huge potential for the business component. So we will win!!!”, Gabrelyanov wrote. Meanwhile, Ararat players do not know what awaits them in the near future.

Rapid takeoff

At the end of March, the Ararat football club was established in Moscow with the support of the Moscow Armenian Youth Association. Valery Hovhannisyan, the former owner of the Armenian "Ulysses" and the ex-president of the Armavir "Torpedo", became the president of the club, as well as its founder. Became Vice President Andranik Keropyan, who worked as a journalist at Lifenews for Aram Gabrelyanov. The actor became the face of the team Mikhail Galustyan .

In a couple of months the club signed Romana Pavlyuchenko , Marat Izmailov, Igor Lebedenko, Alexey Rebko. In total, 23 new players moved to Ararat. The head coach of the team was Alexander Grigoryan, who resigned from "Anji" at the very beginning of the season.

Later it became known that Ararat would play in the Second Division. Keropyan said that the club expects to go to FNL from the very first season.

hard landing

On August 30, Valery Hovhannisyan announced that he could no longer work in football due to the doctors' ban - nerve problems. A day later, Andranik Keropyan said that the president withdrew 20 million rubles from the club's account. Later, Oganesyan replied that he could not steal money from himself, since he was the only founder of the club and did not leave the presidency.

On September 5, rumors appeared in the media about the closure of Ararat. The agent of the football player of the team Marat Izmailov confirmed this information.

“We have information that Ararat will soon cease to exist,” said Paulo Barbosa. - Marat himself told me about this, plus other sources. I heard that the club has big problems with finances. According to rumors, in the near future the leaders of the club will meet to make a final decision and officially announce it today. Naturally, Marat and I started looking for a new club, he will definitely continue to play football.”

Who is Oganesyan

Hovhannisyan also left the previous clubs with a scandal. In the Armavir "Torpedo" he was fired by the shareholders, besides, Oganesyan had a conflict with Valery Karpin. There was simply no money in Ulysses. A football agent from Armenia, who asked not to be identified, said that Ulisses acquired several players through his company, but never paid them a salary for several months. According to him, almost all the players and employees of the club, as well as companies that provided Ulisses with any services, faced similar problems. Armenian special services caught four employees of "Ulysses" in the organization fixed match for the sake of winning at the bookmaker's office. Among them were the club's coaches, an administrator and one of the players. The club ceased to exist in 2016. Valery Oganesyan explained to Meduza that at Uliss he simply could not "calculate everything correctly" in the club's budget, and emphasized that this experience would allow him to avoid the same mistakes at Ararat.

[RBC ; 09/11/2017; "Ararat was breathed new life": This week, Hovhannisyan announced that the club, which plays several aging stars Russian football, a new owner will appear, it will be Igor Korotkov. He represents the interests of Aram Gabrelyanov, the founder of the Lifenews media holding. “Korotkov has worked with me all his life, he started with me back in Ulyanovsk, he was the general director in many of our divisions. His work at Ararat is purely organizational: he is not a strong specialist in football,” Gabrelyanov said.

According to SPARK, Korotkov held senior positions in many of Gabrelyanov's companies, starting with the Economic Newspaper Skify limited liability partnership registered in Ulyanovsk in 1992. Korotkov was the editor-in-chief newspaper "Life"- Gabrelyanov's first project, implemented in Moscow.

Aram Gabrelyanov for the first time named the size of the club's budget and sources of its financing. According to him, the budget is 150-180 million rubles. Football agent Alexei Safonov agrees that with such a budget, the PFL club can really solve the problem of promotion.

Gabrelyanov named donations from large businessmen of Armenian origin as the main source of financing for FC Ararat - the owner of the Tashir group Samvel Karapetyan And co-owner of the Avilon group Kamo Avagumyan. According to him, this is not sponsorship in its purest form: “People helped us before we started implementing the program with the corporatization of the club, this is exactly help. Of course, we could put the Avilon logo on the players' jerseys, for example. But at this stage, it doesn’t make much sense.”]

Valery Oganesyan, who this moment is in Georgia, sent his representatives to Moscow for negotiations with the current leaders of the club. The ex-president offered them to buy out the rights to own "Ararat", the sole founder of which is himself. The current leaders and sponsors of the club abandoned this idea and left the project, but at the same time paid off coaching staff, players and with the administration of the football club.

Earlier, the vice-president of the club, Andranik Keropyan, assured that Ararat "has one shareholder who has not yet officially acquired shares, but contributed to the creation of the club." Keropyan does not advertise his name. The press service of Ararat added that they intend to attract many minority investors to the club by selling them 10-20 shares of the club.

“This is exactly the kind of project that the shareholders had in mind from the very beginning. I have no doubts that the future lies with the people's club, where every fan, from a billionaire to a simple hard worker, can be a shareholder. Let it be a small shareholder, but a shareholder,” Aram Gabrelyanov also wrote in the blog of the football club.

The press service of the club explained that now about 300 people go to Ararat games, but the club expects to gather 5-6 thousand spectators in the FNL. So far, the club attracts fans mainly through social networks. Apparently, the idea of ​​crowdfunding for Ararat will remain only in dreams.

The proclaimed idea of ​​creating " folk team for all Armenians in Russia and other countries" died along with the main project of Aram Gabrelyanov. As previously reported by the agency "Ruspres", On August 18, the Life channel stopped broadcasting.

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

Ararat's father is a football functionary Valery Oganesyan who worked as a football agent. Oagnesyan collaborated with Spartak, CSKA, Ural and other Premier League clubs, handled business Yura Movsisyan, Aras Ozbilis And Edgar Manucharyan, then he met Pavlyuchenko and many other football players "with a name". Once Hovhannisyan said that he tried to attach the current player of Manchester United to Anji or Spartak Henrikh Mkhitaryan but the deal did not go through.

But Oganesyan's big plans survived. In 2014, he saved the death of the Armenian Ulysses by investing about a million dollars. The team assembled in haste for a long time was 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 Ulisses a bright future never came to the club. As a result, the team was waiting for bankruptcy, and most of the players, together with Oganesyan, moved to Armavir Torpedo.

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

But in Armavir, no one was interested.

Hovhannisyan did not invest there, focusing exclusively on attracting players and coaches. First, he agreed with a wonderful speaker Alexander Grigoryan, but then canceled the deal and brought to the club Valeria Karpina, followed by sponsors. 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 went to church, ”the functionary told Soviet Sport. Obviously, it was about the current "Ararat".

The club was created in March 2017, and already on April 12 played its debut match in the Moscow zone of the third division, in which it defeated Zelenograd with a minimum score. True, it was not without scandal. An undeclared player took part in the game, due to which "Ararat" was given a technical defeat 0:3. Also, 6 points were withdrawn 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 is the finance from?

It is clear that the invited stars did not come to Ararat for penny salaries. Where does the representative of the now second division get such funds?

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

Whether Valery Hovhannisyan invests his money in Ararat is still unknown. The club claims support from the Armenian "public and business elite". True, so far we are talking only 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 on the Life site that immediately after the signing of Roman Pavlyuchenko, the player’s appeal to the fans appeared.

In addition, during the creation of the club, the Association of Armenian Youth of Moscow also provided “organizational assistance”.

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 the intention 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 Georgy Makovetsky, head of the Ararat press service.

Oganesyan, 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 at the end of the 2017/18 season, and then I intend to take a swing at the Premier League. Naturally, there is no question of any “purely Armenian composition”. “Everything is on a sporting basis,” 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 Moscow ones, as well as achieve an attendance of 5-6 thousand fans. The arena, where Ararat is already hosting matches, allows this - the Spartakovets stadium named after Nikolai Starostin can accommodate 5,100 football fans.

The moral support of Aram Gabrielyan has already been mentioned. In Ararat's official Instagram account, you can find a photo of Mikhail Galustyan with the team's attributes. Those. We already have a fan base. Let it be modest.

Who will play?

May 30, i.e. on the day of obtaining a license, Ararat "shot" the first high-profile 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 our other players, but not like the other Ararat players combined. The financial issue was the least of our discussions. He was in last place for Roma,” explained the vice president of the club Andranik Keropyan.

Posted by FC Ararat Moscow (@fcararatmoscow) May 30, 2017 at 6:20 PDT

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

Posted by 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 have you on our team. In Russia with your friend. Here you will never be in the shadow of Ronaldo,” Ararat tweeted. The Welsh has not yet responded to the offer.

There were some jokes too.

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

FC Ararat Moscow (@FC_AraratMoscow)

Slow start, rapid growth, stagnation, decline and death are four obvious stages in the life of an organization according to a 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, perhaps already in a late form. And when, it seemed, the agony of the championship was just around the corner, when only seven (so few teams do not play in the championship of any European country, even in dwarf ones) weak football clubs remained in it, unexpectedly, unexpectedly, a “daring fighter, red well done" named Valery Hovhannisyan.

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

Prior to that, in Yerevan, Valery Hovhannisyan knew only 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 the key players of the team - Edgar Manucharyan, Acevedo and Lunga. As a result, Ural won the first division with a big advantage and got the right to play in the league of the strongest. Hovhannisyan also worked in Khimki near Moscow.

Passion for football came to young Valera in the yards and school grounds of his native Tbilisi. At the age of ten, he and his family moved to Moscow, where he continued to drive the ball already on the real football lawn in the form of young Dynamo players.

Once in Moscow, in the office of the youth school (now the Academy) of the 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 forward, but also an excellent mentor, coached the Baku teams "Temp" and "Dynamo" of the 30-40s, which were based on Armenians, including such legendary ones as the players of the Transcaucasian team - Artem Markarov, Artashes Amirjanov (both are the first masters of sports among the Armenian football players of all Soviet Union) and Suren Petrosyan. Yuri Konstantinovich also remembered those who played with him in Neftyanik, and then unexpectedly offered to see how the young Dynamo players were training, tempting me with the fact that there were many of my compatriots among them.

Almost every group trained young Armenians. Then I remember a tight guy, no, not for his ability to deftly handle the ball, which made him strikingly different from his peers, but for the fact that he was the namesake of Khoren Oganesyan.

Since then, many years have passed, Valera Oganesyan went through the stages of growth as a football player, played with Leonid Oblizin in the double of his native Dynamo, and played as part of the Makhachkala Dynamo. And when he felt that he could not reach the level of high-class professional player, 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 clubs' orders for the acquisition of rights to football players of the appropriate qualification and a certain role.

In recent years, the number of Armenian footballers in the squads Russian teams significantly increased, which 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 maybe even break into Russian Premier League. These thoughts were reinforced at times by the 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…

An 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 people of Sochi offered our famous club to move to their city, play in the Russian championship, financial support and hot support they provided stands. The Swiss owners of "Ararat" did not agree to this because of patriotic feelings, preferring a titmouse in their hands.

Armenian teams have long existed in many countries of the world, and in such countries 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” still operates, 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 beaten only 12 years later by the Boca Juniors team. Several Deportivo Armenio players played for the Yerevan teams Ararat and Pyunik, and Jose Bilibio also defended the honor of the Armenian team. The team plays matches at the 8,000-seat "Armenia" stadium in Buenos Aires. In recent years, the club has been doing poorly, but its long-term president Norayr Nakisyan does not lose heart, he dreams of a renaissance.

In 2011, Valery Hovhannisyan, at the invitation of Nakis, flew to Buenos Aires, where he attended home match 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 inflamed 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, and on Saturdays they can go to football together and strengthen their friendship,” Hovhannisyan reasoned in a conversation with his friends and like-minded people. Many liked his idea, and even many began to help him in this matter, but the situation in Ukraine escalated and this project is still frozen.

And then the energetic Hovhannisyan turned his eyes to the Armenian championship. “For a long time I have wanted to have a club in Armenia, and this summer the circumstances at Ulysses were such that my wish came true. Due to financial problems, the club practically dropped out of the Armenian championship. We expressed our desire to acquire it, since it would be very sad to see a championship consisting of seven teams in Armenia. 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 conversations, a member of the board of directors of the Moscow "Spartak" Jevan Cheloyants - A.G. will also take part in the management of the club). We talked, and I convinced them to go down this road together.”

At the headquarters of Ulysses, Oganesyan gathered people who, for the sake of a common idea, were ready to work all day long. The post of club president was taken by Henrikh Kazanjyan, and CEO- Khoren Kalashyan, who has done a huge amount of work in recent years in identifying talent in Armenian football. Valery Hovhannisyan chose Suren Chakhalyan, who was well known to him and had previously coached Pyunik Yerevan and the youth team of Armenia, as the head coach of the team.

The composition of "Ulysses" was completely changed, for a record short term 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 history of development and breeding techniques. Three Georgians were accepted into the team - a graduate of Moscow CSKA 20-year-old David Khurtsidze, 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 are 26-year-old Hovhannes Goharyan (trained by Lokomotiv Moscow) and 23-year-old Artak Aleksanyan (trained by Spartak Moscow). Hovhannes was elected team captain, and Artak was elected vice-captain. “Football has united players of different nationalities in our team – it is a brotherhood of peoples, and we act as a single fist on the field, hence the success,” Hovhannes Goharyan emphasized after one of the victories of Ulisses.

Pupils of the Polish "Lodz" appeared in the team, brothers Agvan and Vladimir Papikyan, who appeared for some time in the Moscow "Spartak". Signed a contract with "Ulysses" 19-year-old Zambian midfielder Lubambo Musunda, 24-year-old defender from Ghana Edward Kpodo, two 22-year-old Serbian defenders - Rade Dugalic and Slobodan Lalic. The team turned out to be an age-old Sergey Ovchinnikov, who played in the championship team of the Moscow Lokomotiv in 2002. In recent years, he changed a large number of clubs, received many injuries, had several surgeries, which did not allow him to reach his full potential.

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

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

Suren Chakhalyan and his wards did not disappoint the owner of the club, after 8 rounds Ulisses single-handedly leads the championship race, 8 points ahead of Gandzasar and 9 points ahead of Pyunik. And 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 pleases Hovhannisyan, but he is not entirely satisfied with the quality of the team's play. Perhaps in December, at the opening of the transfer window, he will invite a couple of foreign players. The initial task is to successfully complete the championship and get into European competition, where he hopes Ulisses will perform well. “There are many wealthy people among the Armenians, and in order to get them interested in investments, a good result is needed. One, perhaps, will build a stadium for us, the other - football academy. Moscow was not built in a day. We will have everything, but gradually, ”the head of Ulysses confidently declares.

Touching on the topic of the speech national team Armenia 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 in the Moscow "Spartak".

Alexander Grigoryan