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• Soccer: Armenia has new faces, new facilities ahead of Euro 2012 qualification

Yura playing for the Armenian National team is HUUUGE! Also Yura may have been born in Baku, but his family is from Yerevan. Yura is selfless and loaded with ARMENIAN PRIDE. He is looking past sure wealth in Europe or the USA, yet to him this is not a sacrifice but instead a dream come true. All the best to Yura and his family and the entire Armenian national team. The fans will embrace a be...

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The match in Yerevan will be followed by an away game against Macedonia on September 7.

(In the tournament that will be held through autumn 2011 Armenia’s other rivals in qualifying Group B are Russia, Slovakia and Andorra).

Head coach Vardan Minasyan has announced a list of 28 candidates and will choose a squad of 18 ahead of the opening games.

Yuri Movsisyan, a 23-year striker playing in Danish league club Randers, is likely to be in the starting lineup.

The Azerbaijan-born and United States-based Armenian player got his first international call for Armenia on August 11 and symbolically played for about only a quarter of an hour in a home friendly game against Iran that ended 1-3 to the visitors.

Movsisyan, one of the major enlistments of the Armenian Football Federation (FFA) so far, said before his debut for Armenia that he preferred to play for the national team of his historical homeland over a possible invitation to Team USA.

“I’ve always been interested in playing for the Armenian national team… I think I can strengthen Armenia and we can achieve good results together,” said the striker, who is a teammate on the Danish club with Armenia defender Robert Arzumanyan.

Armenia coach Minasyan and FFA President Ruben Hayrapetyan also sounded optimistic about Movsisyan’s ability to help Armenia achieve better results at international level. (Armenia is 1-1-8 in international play in the last campaign, with the lone victory over Belgium.)

Veteran goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky is likely to remain Armenia’s hope between the sticks in the commencing qualifying campaign. The 36-year-old currently playing for Khimki FC (Russia) has again been called for international duty against the Republic of Ireland and Macedonia.

Armenian soccer’s young talent Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who completed this month a multi-million-euro transfer within the Ukrainian league from Donetsk’s Metallurh to the same city’s more prominent team Shakhtar, is also likely to set the pace in forward position along with former Ajax striker Edgar Manucharyan, who returned from the Dutch league to his native Pyunik side earlier this season.

Mkhitaryan, who positions himself as an attacking midfielder, did not play against Iran as he was engaged in a U-21 competitive game against Georgia held the same day, as were several other young national team players, including FC Pyunik striker Hovhannes Goharyan.

(Armenia’s U-21 team will be holding their last official match in the Euro-2011 qualifying campaign against Georgia in Tbilisi on September 7. The team led by Danish specialist Flemming Serritslev has lost even theoretical chances for Euro 2011 qualification from their group despite showing a great deal of mature play throughout the tournament. The Armenian youths were admittedly a better side also in the dramatic match against Georgia in Yerevan on August 11, but having missed several goal-scoring opportunities, they eventually lost to the visitors 2-3).

Beginning this week both national teams will be holding their pre-match assemblies and trainings at a brand new soccer base on the outskirts of Yerevan that has been built in the past three years with the support of international soccer’s governing bodies.

Speaking to Armenian Public Television late last week FFA President Hayrapetyan said the huge complex in the capital’s Avan district set for an official opening on September 1 will help the Armenian national teams have better training conditions at practically no cost during the year, including ahead of official matches.

The center houses a youth soccer academy, and a well-equipped modern technical center for national teams with several soccer pitches for trainings and other facilities for sport and recreation.

It also provides a good environment for professional trainings in other team or individual sports, as well as for the promotion of soccer at the grassroots level.

The official opening on Wednesday is expected to be attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and visiting UEFA President Michel Platini.