Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the leading football player of the national football team of Armenia, who arrived in Yerevan a few days ago, gave an exclusive interview to the official website of the Football Federation of Armenia.
– Henrich, welcome. How are you? How do you start your vacation?
– Okay, thank you. I mostly spend my time with relatives and friends, I try to be with them more so that I can get over my longing.
– Henrikh, this year you became the first Armenian football player to score a goal in the Champions League tournament. How did you feel at that moment?
– To be honest, I didn’t think that I should score the first goal in the Champions League, but on the other hand, it is very nice to be the first Armenian football player to score a goal in the Champions League. I hope that I will be able to score more goals so that I can keep the honor of Armenia high.
– “Shakhtar” successfully overcame the ban of the group tournament also thanks to your game. Are there opponents in the playoffs that you would or would not like to play against?
– I cannot say that there are competitors I would not like to meet. It’s like a lottery. If we get Barcelona or another team in the draw, we still have to play against them, that is, whoever our opponent is, we have to go out on the field and show our strength.
– You have already scored 18 goals in the championship of Ukraine this year. You are only 5 goals away from breaking the all-time top scorer record. Does the team pay special attention to that fact?
– I try not to focus on those goals. I try more to play well, to benefit the team, and if I can use my opportunities, I will be able to surpass the 22 goal mark.
– Let’s talk about the national team of Armenia. In your opinion, what was the reason that in the first 2 matches of the qualifying tournament, our team did not play very successfully and was not similar to our team in the qualifying round of “Euro 2012”?
– There was some tension during the first match, because it was the first match of the qualifying round, and we tried our best to win that match, and in the match with the Bulgarian national team, everything went badly for us, because we gave in to the provocations of the Bulgarians. or the referee made several mistakes, and it left its negative mark on the outcome of the game.
– Almost all photo and TV cameras recorded your flight of joy after you scored a goal against the Italian national team. How did you feel at that moment?
– I was very happy and not because I scored a goal against the Italian national team, but because we were able to score a goal while losing 0:1 and make a whole nation happy. It’s true that we lost that game, but I think we put up a decent resistance and could have won if we used our scoring chances, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. Despite that, I can say that you don’t play against the Italian national team every day and you can’t score against a goalkeeper like Buffon every day.
– And what do you think, in the match with the Italian national team, did we have chances to win, or did the high order of the opponent make itself felt anyway?
– In the first half, especially in the first 10 minutes, we could have conceded 2-3 goals, but Berezovsky was at his height. At the beginning of the second half, we had 2-3 scoring chances, which, unfortunately, we could not realize. That’s why, I think, the unwritten law worked: you don’t shoot, they shoot you.
– You scored your 10th goal for the national team in the match with the Lithuanian national team. You have only one goal left to reach the team’s all-time best scorer Artur Petrosyan. When you were just starting to play in the national team, did you think that you would be able to reach that threshold so soon?
– Of course, I could not think that I would be able to score 10 goals. But now, already feeling the taste of those goals, I will try to score not 20, but even 30 goals as part of the Armenian national team.
– In your opinion, what was your most successful game in 2012?
– That question will be better answered by the fans, and I will do everything in my power to perform successfully in future matches as well. If it doesn’t work somewhere, I will continue to work even harder to make our thousands of fans happy.
– Can you name the most beautiful and most important goal you have scored so far?
– In general, there have been many goals, of different taste, type and difficulty, but for me the most beautiful so far is the first goal I scored in the cup match against “Krivbas” for Shakhtar. The most beautiful goal in the national team was probably the goal scored by the Macedonian team. And the most important thing was the goal scored by the Armenian youth team when we beat the Turkish youth team 2:1 in Yerevan.
– Are the tasks assigned to you by the coaches in “Shakhtar” and the national team different, or do you mostly perform the same functions?
– It depends on the difficulty of the match and the circumstance with whom and where we play. Both Vardan Minasyan and Mircea Lucescu are given the task of neutralizing the opponent’s players or trying to defeat the opponent in certain games, and I try to carry out their instructions.
– For example, during corner kicks in the national team, you are usually either in the penalty area or in its corners, and in “Shakhtar” you often find yourself in the position of the last defender. What are the principles that guide Mircea Lucescu in giving you such a task?
– Lucescu pulls me back so that I can prevent the opponent from organizing quick counterattacks, disrupt his advancement.
– Henrich, the national team ends the year with only 3 points. How do you rate our chances ahead of 2013?
– We will try not to focus on points, but we will try to play well, and in that case the points will come automatically. All the boys of the national team are confident in their abilities and arrive at the team convinced that they can beat any opponent. I think 2013 will be a more successful year than 2012.
– According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, you are the most famous football player in Europe. You have also been named Shakhtar’s best player of the month several times, etc. What has all this changed in Henrikh Mkhitaryan?
– Nothing has changed, I can just thank the people who voted for me, because it’s nice to have such fans. I think that nothing has changed in me, because I still have many goals and I have to do everything to make our nation happy with me.
– You are probably one of the most famous people in Ukraine. Recently, your photos appeared on coins, which are even considered to be one of Shakhtar’s best marketing projects in recent years. You also participate in various promotions. How do you deal with such phenomena?
– As far as I know, the photos appeared not on drams, but on coupons, and I treat marketing normally, because it is an image issue. If there is a need for a footballer, he should participate in marketing campaigns, appear in videos as well as in magazines, trying to maintain interest.
– How are you going to spend your vacation?
– For now, I will be in Yerevan, and in the next few days, I may go somewhere to relax.
– What are your expectations from 2013 and what would you wish for football fans?
– I will wish them health, patience and faith in our forces. And as for expectations, I hope that 2013 will be more successful than 2012, but 2010 and 2011.
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