Spanish coaches of the Armenia futsal national team: what is known about them

The head coach of the Armenia futsal national team, Ruben Ashotovich Nazaretyan, is well known to all fans. However, his assistants from Spain have so far remained in the shadows. It is time to fill this gap and explain the role they play in the national team’s success.

Antonio Fernandez

The 42-year-old specialist from Madrid began his coaching career in 2015, taking charge of Tecnyo Gran Peña, a club competing in Segunda B, the third-tier futsal league in Spain. At the end of the season, the team finished 10th out of 18.

The following season, Fernandez took over Zamora and achieved an outstanding result, finishing the championship in second place. This success attracted the attention of Spanish giants Inter Movistar, who entrusted him with the position of head coach of their reserve team, also competing in Segunda B.

Antonio built the team step by step. In his first season, he lifted the side from 12th place to 6th, and by the end of his fourth season, he secured promotion to Segunda. After that, Fernandez spent another year working in Spain’s second division.

Antonio’s last club before his appointment to the Armenia national team was Ceuta from Segunda. The team represents a unique Spanish city located entirely in Africa and surrounded by the sea and Morocco. Under Fernandez’s leadership, Ceuta enjoyed a phenomenal season, finishing fourth and falling just one step short of promotion to Primera. It was after this achievement that he received an offer to work with the Armenia national team.

The club’s management did not approve of combining club and national team duties, and Fernandez left Ceuta. To understand the scale of his impact, it is enough to note that the very next season after his departure, the team was relegated back to Segunda B.

Armenian-Spanish tandem

In the very first qualification campaign in which Ruben Nazaretyan and Antonio Fernandez worked together, Armenia qualified for the European Championship. The Armenian-Spanish coaching tandem fully justified expectations.

It is worth noting that at the beginning of the current season, Ceuta once again turned to Fernandez’s services. This time, he was appointed head coach of the women’s team, which had earned promotion to Primera last season and needed an experienced specialist to retain its place among the elite.

Antonio is successfully coping with the task: after 15 rounds, Ceuta’s women’s team sits 8th out of 16 in its debut season in the top Spanish league.

Historic victory

Today, January 22, the Armenia futsal national team claimed its first-ever victory in the final stage of the European Championships, defeating Ukraine 2–1 in the opening match of EURO 2026.