Hamlet Manukyan: “We’ll play only to win — and make history once again”
One of the key players of Armenia’s national futsal team, Hamlet Manukyan, talks about his journey in sport, Armenia’s historic qualification for Euro 2026, and his plans for the new season.
For many years, Hamlet Manukyan has remained one of the central figures of the Armenian national futsal team — both on and off the court. The experienced defender played a vital role in the team’s historic qualification for the Euro 2026 final tournament, featuring in five qualifying matches and providing an assist in the away game against Denmark.
Manukyan was born in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where he spent his childhood and most of his life. At the age of 12, he joined the futsal academy of the local club VIZ-Sinara. After graduating in 2009, he played for the club’s reserve team, later spending a year with the reserves of CSKA Moscow. He then represented the Ural State Mining University (UGGU) team for three seasons, winning the Russian Student Championship three times and being recognized as one of the tournament’s standout players.
Until 2015, Hamlet played for clubs in Russia’s third-tier futsal division while also working at a factory. In every team, he stood out as a leader, combining solid defensive play with impressive scoring ability.
From 2015, Manukyan joined the factory team ZIK (named after Kalinin), where he also worked. He helped the club earn promotion to the Russian Higher League and consistently ranked among the league’s top scorers — a remarkable achievement for a defender.
In 2019, a key moment arrived in his career — Hamlet received a call-up to the Armenian national team and joined Sibiryak Novosibirsk, later moving to Sib-Transit, one of the strongest teams in Russia’s Higher League.
Before the start of the 2023/24 season, Manukyan signed with the newly formed Unisport Yerevan, immediately becoming one of its leaders and top players in the Armenian championship. After the season, Hamlet seriously considered retiring — but decided to continue, and it paid off. In the following year, he once again demonstrated his high level of play and helped Armenia achieve a historic milestone — qualifying for Euro 2026.
Know Your Team #1 — Hamlet Manukyan
Position: Defender
Age: 34 (born April 4, 1991)
Club: Unisport Yerevan (Armenia)
Goals: 35 goals in the 2024/25 Armenian Championship
Know Your Team is a new feature of our website, introducing the players of the Armenian national futsal team — the first team in the history of independent Armenia to reach the final stage of a European Championship or World Cup in any team sport.
Exclusive Interview with Hamlet Manukyan for Sportaran
– Good afternoon, Hamlet! You’ve given quite a few interviews before, so we won’t repeat the usual questions. How do you evaluate Armenia’s group at the upcoming Euro? What can you say about your opponents?
– Good afternoon! There are no weak teams at the Euro finals. It’s not my place to judge or evaluate, but I can say one thing: our coaching staff will thoroughly analyze our opponents and tell us how to play each specific match.
We’ll go out there to play only for victory. We must advance from the group — to give a gift to our country and our people. And to make history once again. God willing!
– You became the second top scorer of the 2024/25 Armenian Championship — as a defender! How did you manage that? Were there any special goals?
– I’ll put it this way: it’s actually not a great sign when I’m the team’s top scorer, since I’m more of a playmaker, a fixo. But I’ve always been productive in front of goal. Back in the Russian Higher League, I scored over 150 goals, once being named Best Player of the Season, another time Best Defender, and even once Best Forward in the “East” division.
That’s all thanks to the VIZ-Sinara school — the best in Russia. And of course, constant self-improvement, two working legs (well, at least one and a half!), and the toughness I gained from factory life.
– Unisport had a flawless 2024/25 regular season, winning all 14 matches, but lost to Yerevan in the playoff final. What do you think was missing to win the title?
– Honestly, I don’t even like thinking about how we let that title slip away. I’ve analyzed it a lot, and I’ll say this: we were all to blame — from the coach to the players.
But credit to my former club FC Yerevan — they have everything well-organized. You don’t win four championships in a row by accident. They do the hardest job in Armenian futsal — retraining young footballers from traditional football to smart, tactical futsal.
God willing, we’ll soon see specialized futsal academies and schools in Armenia. That would be a huge step forward — not only for futsal but for football in general.
– In your opinion, how would Unisport and Yerevan perform if they played in Russia?
– I think this year we should also mention FC Sievn. I see how their management, coaches, and players work — they’re aiming high. I believe that in the Russian Higher League, we wouldn’t be out of place at all. We’d fight for a win in every match.
– Unisport has signed several new players. What can you say about them, and what are your expectations for the new season?
– Yes, we’ve strengthened the squad seriously: we now have three players from the Kyrgyzstan national team, Rafa Melikyan — leader of FC Yerevan and the Armenian national team — and Edgar Mkrtchyan, also from Yerevan.
All of them are top-quality players and, most importantly, great people. The goals remain the same: to win every match and bring the championship home — for our families, our club, and our fans.