Manuel Tulipa after Ararat-Armenia’s historic qualification for the Europa League: “Now we are going after our next goals”

Ararat-Armenia have achieved a historic result in European club competitions. The Yerevan side defeated Romania’s Universitatea Craiova in the second leg of the Europa League play-off round and, for the first time in the history of Armenian football, advanced to the league phase of the competition.

The second leg took place on August 27 in Yerevan at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium. Ararat-Armenia won 1-0 and prevailed 2-1 on aggregate. The first match in Romania had ended in a 1-1 draw. Sandro Lima scored the historic winning goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time. As a result, Ararat-Armenia became the first Armenian club to play in the main, league phase of the Europa League.

The draw for the Europa League league phase will take place on August 28. The ceremony will begin at 15:00 Yerevan time.

Following the historic match, Ararat-Armenia head coach Manuel Tulipa took part in a press conference, which began with loud applause for him.

Manuel Tulipa’s opening remarks

— This victory was important not only for the players and the club, but for the entire country, because for the first time an Armenian team will play in the main stage of the Europa League. When I joined the team, my goal was to teach the players to dream, to set the highest possible goals for themselves and to achieve them. That is what drove the entire team’s work forward. Now we are going after our next goals.

“It was not our best game”

— A lot of things did not work for Ararat-Armenia in attack today, while the opposition looked better going forward. How did the team manage to remain so patient throughout the entire match?

— It was not our best game, especially in the first half. We were unable to create enough pressure in attack. When we had possession, we often rushed, made inaccurate passes and frequently resorted to long balls, which is not really typical of our team. Normally, we play with short passes and have more possession. In that respect, we did not show our usual game today.

At half-time, we changed things slightly and wanted to press more actively. Once again, we had to sacrifice Artur Serobyan’s attacking role: he started playing as a wing-back in defence. We switched to a 5-3-2 formation and created more problems for the opposition that way. We also began to have more possession.

I would highlight two key factors that helped us win. The first was the work we did at half-time, when we changed our tactics. The second was luck. Today, luck was completely on our side.

Tulipa on João Bravim’s performance

— How would you assess goalkeeper João Bravim’s performance and his displays in European club competitions overall?

— About a month ago, we parted ways with goalkeeper Bruno Pinto, who became a champion with us. The decision to bring Bravim into the team was the right one.

Bravim and Pinto are very different goalkeepers. Pinto was very good at starting attacks with his passing, but he was not very tall and did not save the team that often from shots that seemed almost impossible to stop. Bravim, on the other hand, makes incredible saves, but he is much weaker when it comes to starting attacks with his passing.

Overall, I am pleased with the defenders’ performances. Edgar Grigoryan, both centre-backs and even Bueno, who does not feel particularly comfortable out wide, had an excellent match.

Why Sandro Lima took the penalty

— Juan Balanta usually takes penalties for the team, but this time Sandro Lima took the ball. Was that Balanta’s own decision?

— We have a list of players who take penalties. Sandro Lima is currently first on that list, which is why he took the penalty.

“This is my first job abroad, and they have welcomed both me and my family very warmly here”

— What was the first thing you thought about when the final whistle blew?

— I was very emotional. This is my first time working abroad, and both my family and I have been welcomed very warmly here.

At moments like this, you think about the people whom this victory has brought enormous joy: the people of this country, the club staff and the fans in the stadium, who supported us tremendously.

Normally I try to keep my emotions under control, but this time I had to show them. I am very happy for the players because every day they strive to improve and move towards their goal. They do not yet know the limits of their own potential, and I am very happy to see how hard they work.

Manuel Tulipa shaved his beard after the historic victory

— When did you have time to shave your beard? Straight after the match?

— Yes, after the match.

After that, Manuel Tulipa addressed the journalist with whom he had made a bet the day before:

— You absolutely have to shave too! And I promise to give you my symbolic bear T-shirt if you shave.

The journalist addressed by the Ararat-Armenia head coach is known for having a very full beard.

Who Tulipa wants to face in the Europa League

— Is there an opponent you would especially like to face in the Europa League?

— There are two clubs I would really like to play against. They are two Portuguese clubs — Benfica and Torrense. In that case, I would have the opportunity to meet friends whom I have not seen for a long time.

I will be honest: the Europa League is extremely competitive this season. There are a lot of top clubs here, which cannot be said about the Conference League.

Let us also not forget that this season we have won all four of our home matches in European club competitions.

Will Ararat-Armenia strengthen the squad ahead of the Europa League?

— Ararat-Armenia have a very competitive squad, but how satisfied are you with it ahead of the Europa League campaign? Will there be any further changes to the team?

— We have a very good squad. It is a pleasant headache for me when I have to choose the players for a match because there is a lot of competition within the team.

I am very pleased with the new signings. With time, we will play even better once all the new players have fully adapted.

We should also not forget that two very important players were unavailable because of injuries — Kamo Hovhannisyan and Armen Ambartsumyan. Ambartsumyan has already recovered, and Kamo will also be ready to play soon. I am sure they will significantly strengthen our team.

How Tulipa will motivate the team after the historic success

— Do you know how to motivate the players for the next matches after such a major victory and such a powerful emotional high?

— I do not think motivating the players will be difficult. Nobody feels like a king yet. Everyone is hungry for victories and will try to win every match.

We do not have a psychologist on the team, but I personally have a psychologist who helps me in my work with the players.

This season, we will definitely fight for the Armenian championship.

Ararat-Armenia’s goals in the league, the Cup and the Europa League

— Ararat-Armenia will compete on three fronts this season. What goals have you set for the season as a whole and for the Europa League in particular?

— Before the start of the season, we expected that we could find ourselves in this situation. Our minimum objective was to qualify for the Conference League, and we secured our participation there fairly quickly.

We have 23 competitive outfield players in the squad, not including the goalkeepers. That means we have a large enough squad to compete for victory in every tournament.

We have many different types of players who can be useful in various scenarios and match situations. In recent weeks, we effectively had two completely different line-ups — one for European club competitions and another for the domestic league. But it will not always be like that.

There will no longer be such heavy rotation in the league because I have made up my mind clearly: I want to win the championship again.

Tulipa thanked the Ararat-Armenia supporters

— You highlighted two reasons for the victory. Was the support of the fans in the stadium the third reason?

— Of course. It was very important to me that even in the most difficult moments, the fans supported the team together and chanted its name. That helped us enormously.

If our fans had been with us in the first match in Romania as well, we would have won there too because we played better.

Ararat-Armenia will play in the Europa League league phase for the first time

The victory over Universitatea Craiova became one of the most significant results in the history of Armenian club football. After a 1-1 draw in Romania, Manuel Tulipa’s team secured victory in Yerevan thanks to Sandro Lima’s goal in the dying moments of the match and earned a historic place in the Europa League league phase.

Ararat-Armenia will now await the draw for the main stage of the competition, which will take place on August 28. The Yerevan club will discover its future opponents and will become the first team to represent Armenia in the league phase of the Europa League.

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