Young Henrikh Mkhitaryan at a tournament in memory of his father: archival photo from 2000

A rare archival photo from an international tournament dedicated to Henrikh’s father — Hamlet Mkhitaryan — has surfaced online. The tournament was organized by the Yerevan football club Pyunik in the early 2000s.

The image shows 11-year-old Henrikh Mkhitaryan receiving the award for the tournament’s top scorer. Even at such a young age, the future captain of the Armenian national team demonstrated outstanding football talent.

The tournament was dedicated to the memory of his father, Hamlet Mkhitaryan, a renowned Armenian striker whose career and contributions left a significant mark on Armenian football history.

The photo was taken in Yerevan in 2000 and published in Mkhitaryan’s autobiographical book My Life — Always in the Center. It not only captures the atmosphere of youth football competitions of that era but also symbolizes the beginning of the journey of one of the most famous Armenian footballers of modern times.