Melikyan ahead of Armenia vs Cyprus: “Eight players under 23 will start”

Armenia head coach Yeghishe Melikyan told his pre-match press conference ahead of the Cyprus game that eight players under the age of 23 would be in the starting lineup. He stressed that the team intends to win both remaining Nations League matches despite several absences.

Armenia will face Cyprus on November 12 in Yerevan. Cyprus won the first meeting 2–0, despite playing with ten men from the 52nd minute.

Melikyan also discussed the condition of his forwards, explained his approach to squad selection, commented on the situations involving Balekian and Adoryan, and said he expects to see Harvey Sarajian join the national team in the spring.

Yeghishe Melikyan’s press conference ahead of Armenia vs Cyprus

On preparing for Cyprus and the generational transition

— You have already played Cyprus once. Has that helped you study the opposition more closely?

— Of course, we know our opponents much better after the first match. We have analysed their game in detail and understand why our first meeting went badly and how Cyprus managed to win.

I hope we can neutralise their strengths tomorrow. We have worked hard on that. At the same time, we will try to cause them problems ourselves — that is our approach to the game.

— Armenia can no longer finish first. What are the team’s objectives for the two remaining matches?

— We want to win both matches and are working towards that goal. The games will show how successful we are. After those matches, we will think about how to move forward.

Tomorrow you will see the team I spoke about earlier when discussing the generational transition. Eight players under the age of 23 will be in the starting lineup. I cannot remember that happening before. It will be a very young side, without a single player over 30.

I am following this path and know exactly what I am doing. God willing, we will win tomorrow — we really need this victory. In any case, we are confident that we are moving in the right direction and will keep trusting this group. We know about our problems and the players we are missing, but we do not want to dwell on them.

On the goalkeepers and the condition of the forwards

— The national team’s goalkeeping coach previously spoke about the importance of giving young goalkeepers opportunities. But if there is a clear first choice, would it not be better to put your trust in him? What is your view?

— We have a goalkeeping coach who decides who should play and what plan we follow in working with the goalkeepers. I can offer advice and express my opinion, but the final decision is his.

I think that if we had a goalkeeper like Roman Berezovsky, he would play in 70% of the matches. We would use the remaining time to prepare our second- and third-choice goalkeepers.

— During the previous camp, you said Artur Gharibyan was not yet ready to start or play full matches. Is he ready now? What kind of form is Grant-Leon Ranos in?

— Can we even say that we have a striker who is in good form and getting regular playing time? Artur Miranyan was spending quite a lot of time on the pitch, but he was not playing 90 minutes every time either.

We have to give Gharibyan and Ranos opportunities, but both arrived at the national team with serious health issues and a lack of match practice.

We have eight injured players, while some others arrived without enough playing time. But that does not break us. We have the will to win, and we are putting all those problems aside.

On Tarakhchyan, Petrosyan and competition for national team places

— You are often seen at Armenian league matches. What can you say about Gevorg Tarakhchyan and Levon Petrosyan, whom you worked with at Pyunik?

— Tarakhchyan joined Pyunik because I invited him when he was without a club. I believed in him and gave him a chance because I knew he was a good footballer. I am glad I was not wrong: he is improving and showing his qualities.

Levon Petrosyan is also one of my players. He took his first steps in professional football under me. I brought him into top-flight football and know his capabilities well. I was the one who advised him to move to another top-flight club to get playing time. He is on the right path and is now producing results on the pitch.

Now let me explain why they are not in the national team if they are so good. Both are on our extended list and very close to a call-up. But when selecting the squad, I work on the basis that we need ten outfield players and another ten as their direct replacements. In addition to those twenty players, I call up another three or four as cover for injuries and suspensions.

It is important to me to have two players for each position. The others need to be versatile. I am explaining this in detail because questions keep coming up about the squad and why particular players have not been called up.

For me, Tarakhchyan is a left winger. Levon Petrosyan also plays in that position. At the moment, we have Zhirayr Shaghoyan and Narek Hovhannisyan there. We have to choose two out of four players. I am sure that if I had called up Gevorg or Levon and left out Zhirayr or Narek, there might have been even more questions.

They are all good footballers, but there is competition. Narek Hovhannisyan was playing fantastic football in Armenia and moved abroad. Tarakhchyan scores a lot, but right now I see Shaghoyan in the squad, and I am waiting for Gevorg to make further progress.

It is very good that he is scoring so much. But remember Ara Hakobyan: he scored 45 goals in a season — that is still the league record. Yet he was unable to establish himself in the national team or adapt, and he had difficulties with his game.

So seven or eight league goals do not automatically guarantee a call-up. We watch matches, take various aspects into account and determine what style of play we need. Goals are good, but there are other parts of the game that need work. That is why we are waiting.

On Iasonas Pikis and the starting lineup

— Cyprus have called up several new players, including Pyunik striker Iasonas Pikis. What can you say about him? Will the fact that he plays in the Armenian league help our players?

— I know this player very well. He is a very good striker for our league. If he has been called up to the national team, he has earned it.

If Pikis starts, I will speak to the defenders before the match and explain how to play against him, because I know his game well.

— You said eight players under 23 would start and there would be no players over 30. Have you effectively revealed your lineup and made things easier for the opposition?

— We have fifteen players under 23 in our squad. I mentioned the number eight — let them work out exactly who will be on the pitch. I am not showing all my cards.

— So you want to confuse the opposition even more?

— I will confuse them with my tactics on the pitch. Tomorrow we will see whether it works.

On Adoryan and Balekian

— There has been a lot of discussion about Tomas Adoryan recently. Why is he not being called up? Are there issues with documents or flights? And why is Norberto Balekian not in the squad?

— You have mixed everything together. Let me explain the difficulty I have seen from the inside when it comes to calling up players from Argentina.

Look: Nair Tiknizyan only joined us yesterday, even though he flew in from Greece. A player travelling from Argentina would only have arrived today, and the match is tomorrow. On top of that, he needs another two days to adjust after the flight. It is all very complicated.

Lucas Zelarayan was a very strong player for us. That is why we called him up even under those circumstances: he could arrive, go straight onto the pitch and help the team. Adoryan and Balekian are also good players, but at a slightly different level.

When I add up the travel time, arrival dates and the time needed to adjust, I understand how difficult it is. That is why we decided to call up local players.

Adoryan is on the extended list. Perhaps, if he improves further, we will take the risk and call him up in the spring. For now, we have put that on hold for these two matches.

We invited Balekian in September, but he did not want to come. Perhaps it was because Lucas was not here, but that is no longer my problem. They came into the national team together and left together. Balekian always came with Lucas. Perhaps when Lucas retired from international football, Balekian automatically decided to leave as well. I do not know. We invited him in September — after that, it is his decision.

On Harvey Sarajian

— Yesterday it became known that Harvey Sarajian will play for Armenia. Have you spoken to him? What can you say about his qualities as a player and as a person?

— We have been following him for a long time. We really like his game and very much want to see him in the national team.

I asked Yura Movsisyan to attend his match and speak to him. I am grateful to Yura for his help. They met and then contacted me by video call, and I spoke to the player.

My impressions are very positive. He has a strong desire to play for Armenia, feels that connection and has patriotic feelings. We will see him in the national team in the spring. We are working on that now.

Who is Harvey Sarajian? Armenian roots, his path to MLS and the Griezmann story

On results and patience

— You say the national team is on the right path. But that path has to lead to positive results. When can we expect them?

— When I joined Pyunik, there were problems there too. I delivered results after a year and a half, but at the club we worked every day. We do not have that opportunity with the national team.

I am confident we are moving in the right direction. We have a new team and new players. We can see a national team with fighting spirit, character and discipline, and there are already many positives. But all of that cannot translate into wins straight away.

We do not have consistency yet. Even if we win tomorrow, it will not mean the team is already ready to win consistently in every match. Right now, we are building the national team, and patience is needed.

If you want to criticise, that does not interfere with my work. But this is your national team too. It would be better to help the team in whatever way you can so that we can achieve results together.

Consistency does not come that quickly, but we are working towards it. I cannot give a specific timeframe, but I know we are doing everything right.

On his contract and the FFA presidential election

— Does your contract with the national team expire after the next two matches?

— No, I have a very long-term contract. I am here for many years.

— Could the election of a new Football Federation of Armenia president affect your contract?

— No, the election does not concern me at all and cannot affect my contract. My concern is working with the national team and the players.

Whoever is elected president, I will continue working with him. I have no negative feelings towards any of the candidates. I can work with all of them.

On Eduard Spertsyan’s absence

— How do you plan to fill Eduard Spertsyan’s position?

— Very carefully. He is impossible to replace, so we will make changes to our game. In theory, everything should work. We will see tomorrow.