Arthur Miranyan’s Team to Play in European Competitions for the First Time in 53 Years
- Author: Vahe Hakobyan
- Sportaran
The Romanian club Universitatea Cluj, where Armenia national team forward Arthur Miranyan plays, has qualified for European competitions for the first time since the 1972/73 season. The team from Cluj secured a spot in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League thanks to the results of Sunday’s Romanian league matches. Regardless of the remaining fixtures, the “Students” will not drop below fourth place in the playoffs. Meanwhile, their rivals from the play-out zone who hold a UEFA license — Sepsi and Farul — failed to break into the top 10 and therefore cannot contest the European play-off spot.
Thus, Universitatea returns to European competition after 53 years. In the 1972/73 season, the club debuted in the UEFA Cup, winning 4-1 against Bulgarian side Levski in the first leg, but losing 1-5 in the return and exiting the tournament.
Arthur Miranyan’s Role at the Club
Arthur Miranyan joined Universitatea Cluj in September 2024 after transferring from Yerevan-based FC Noah, where he had been the top scorer of the Armenian league. His Romanian career started well — he scored three goals in the first half of the season — but played less frequently in the second part and was not as productive: 21 matches and 3 goals in total.
This will be Miranyan’s third participation in European competitions. In the 2019/20 season, he scored three goals in six UEFA Europa League qualifiers for FC Pyunik, playing a key role in the team's advance to the third round, where they lost to English side Wolverhampton. He also played two matches for Urartu in the 2021/22 UEFA Conference League qualifiers.
In the upcoming 2025/26 season, Arthur Miranyan will once again experience the atmosphere of European competitions — this time with a Romanian club returning to continental football after more than half a century.
However, Miranyan’s contract with Universitatea Cluj runs only until summer 2025, and it’s still unclear whether the deal will be extended. It is known, though, that the Romanian team is already close to signing a new forward — Virgiliu Postolachi from CFR Cluj (viacluj.tv) — which doesn’t bode well for Miranyan’s future prospects at the club.