Full Press Conference of Armenia’s Head Coach Ahead of the Match Against Kosovo
- Author: Vahe Hakobyan
- Sportaran
On June 5, a pre-match press conference was held in Pristina with the head coach of the Armenian national team, John van’t Schip. The Armenian team is set to play a friendly against Kosovo the following day, followed by a match against Montenegro. The coach answered questions about player call-ups, the team’s goals, the situation with Lucas Zelarayán, and gave his assessment of Armenian football.
John van’t Schip: “Spertsyan brings energy, but he can’t solve everything alone”
On Karen Nalbandyan and player selection
“Of course, Karen Nalbandyan had a good season. The way we’re playing right now requires physically strong wingers who can also be versatile. For example, Edgar Sevikyan can play on either wing, as a forward, or even behind the striker. There’s also Artur Serobyan – he can play on either wing, and Thomas Adoryan – he can play wide or in central midfield. Currently, Karen Nalbandyan plays as a pure number 10, and that role is not part of our tactical plan for these upcoming matches. For this window, we chose a model with box-to-box midfielders and strong wingers. But Karen is still young, and he’ll definitely get his chance with the Armenian national team.”
On the absence of Urartu players
“If any of them matched our requirements for these two matches, they would have been included in the squad. We are happy with the players currently in camp. I felt good energy during training sessions, and we’ve had a productive camp. I’m also glad that there are still players knocking on the door of the national team.”
On the upcoming matches against Kosovo and Montenegro
“I said back in March that our first four matches are preparation for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers starting in September — games against Portugal and Ireland. We’ve already played Georgia, and now we have these two left. The result, of course, is important, but our main focus will be on building our game. We’ll try to implement our playing style with the ball, while also strengthening our defense. Portugal is a very strong team, so we need to work on every aspect of our game, and these friendlies will help us with that.”
On the defeats to Georgia
“It’s always difficult to motivate players after matches like that, especially since they all left the camp right after the game. I received some calls from players before this camp and spoke with them. During the camp, we reviewed moments from the game against Georgia, analyzed our mistakes, and came up with a plan to improve before the important matches ahead.”
On the problems of Armenian football
“The intensity of matches in the domestic league is very low. Most of our national team players are called up from the Armenian league, and that’s a problem. We need to increase the intensity of games both in the Premier League and youth leagues to raise the overall level. Another issue is that players in the Armenian league fall to the ground too often, and referees stop the game, which disrupts the rhythm. I’ve spoken to the referees’ committee about this, and I’ve noticed that in some matches, referees are now allowing more physical play and disrupting the rhythm less. Players are getting used to this stop-start style, with lots of pauses, and then struggle to cope at the European level.”
On Spertsyan
“Eduard is a very high-quality player — it’s obvious. He’s used to playing with high intensity because the Russian league is very strong. He brought great energy to the team and unites the squad with his presence. But the intensity he brings won’t help the team much if others don’t match it.
I’ll use Spertsyan in a role where he’ll be most effective for the team — a position where he can receive the ball and initiate attacks from deep. At the same time, he should get the ball often near the opponent’s penalty area to shoot and provide assists.”
On Nair Tiknizyan and Edgar Grigoryan
“We all know the qualities Tiknizyan has, especially in attack. What we saw in training impressed us — he’s in good physical shape. But he hasn’t played for a long time. We hope he can help us a lot in tomorrow’s game and possibly get playing time in the second match as well. Still, we’ll try not to overload the players in both matches, considering it's the end of the season.
Edgar Grigoryan is an excellent player. He had a good season with Ararat-Armenia and played in every match. He had a muscle injury, but he’s completed full training sessions for the last three days and is ready to play.”
On the situation with Lucas Zelarayán
“Lucas had personal issues in March. But now there’s a different problem. At first, we couldn’t get in touch with him. Eventually, the federation managed to contact him — Lucas said he wanted to take a vacation and asked not to be called up this time. I’m very disappointed by this because a player shouldn’t decide when to join the national team and when not to. What if something like this happens before official matches? So, yes, I’m disappointed, but at the same time satisfied with the players currently at my disposal. I believe players should join the national team with great desire.”