Petrosyan plays on team ethic
Tuesday, 12 July 2005
By Khachik Chakhoyan

Armenia will be an unknown quantity to many observers
at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in
Northern Ireland but coach Samvel Petrosyan believes
team spirit can fuel his side to glory.

Armenian first
Armenia booked their berth among the last eight
nations by topping Group 4 in the Elite round, denying
Belgium, Italy and Hungary and becoming their
country’s first representative at the finals of any
international tournament. That success was attributed
to the squad’s cohesion and Petrosyan is looking for
more of the same over the next fortnight. He discussed
his side’s chances with uefa.com.

uefa.com: Did you expect your team to produce such a
result in the Elite round?

Samvel Petrosyan: We went to Hungary primarily to play
good football. Of course, we hoped to finish first,
and the boys did so after some quite outstanding
football and they fully deserve to reach the finals.

uefa.com: Which of your players would you single out
as being particularly crucial in helping Armenia to
this success?

Petrosyan: We do have players who are, so to speak,
first violins in the orchestra, but I do not want to
single any one out. Football is a team game and our
success is first and foremost the result of good
teamwork.

uefa.com: Which qualifying match was the most
complicated for you?

Petrosyan: Playing Elite round group hosts Hungary was
toughest of all. We needed a win and needed to score
as many goals as possible, while the Hungarians wanted
to end with a win after defeats in their first two
matches. However, our striker Edgar Manucharyan had a
huge game and scored four. The rest of the side also
played very well.

uefa.com: What do you think of your chances at the
European U19 Championship?

Petrosyan: It will be much harder in Northern Ireland.
There are no weak teams, but we are keen to build on
our success and will be vying for a place in the
semi-finals.

uefa.com: How will you prepare for the tournament?

Petrosyan: There’s not enough time to prepare as I’d
like, so it’s important the players are starting games
at club level. They need to be in good condition, and
they need to raise their level even more when they
train with the national team ahead of the tournament