Coach Sees Armenian Team in Euro 2012 But Doesn’t Want to Get Ahead of Himself

There’s a saying in football: success comes to those who deserve it. At the Sept. 6 Euro 2012 qualifier between Slovakia and Armenia, the Armenians deserved success, said head coach of the Armenian national football team Vardan Minasyan, speaking to reporters in Yerevan today.

 

The coaching staff expected that the Slovak players, older than their Armenian counterparts, would tire out in the second half and that’s how it happened, said Minasyan. The head coach said the most pivotal moment in the match was the Slovaks’ attack when the score was 1:0, as they could’ve scored a goal, but Sargis Hovsepyan got the ball out of the goal line.

 

“Overall, after watching the video of the match, I noticed that during our three goals, the opponent was creating a dangerous moment. Fortunately, this time we didn’t concede any goals,” he said.

 

The head coach noted that until the Oct. 7 and 11 matches with Macedonia and Ireland respectively, he is not preparing to answer any questions about the match with Ireland since he will be preparing for the match with Macedonia.

 

A journalist then asked him to compare the Slovak and Irish teams.

 

Minasyan began to respond to the question, then said, “Again, you’re asking about the Irish!” However, he did mention that the Slovak team play a more constructive game, while Ireland plays with “a typical British style.”

 

Asked whether he sees his team in the finals of the Euro 2012 qualifying round with the current team’s current game, the coach smiled and after a slight pause said, “Yes, I see it. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”