Armenian connection helping TimiÅ=9Foara flourishSunday 26 April 2009
by Khachik Chakhoyan
Romanian club FC TimiÅ=9Foara are flying high in Liga I and, according
to coach Gavril Balint, a lot of their success can be attributed to
Armenian twin brothers Arman and Artavazd Karamyan, whom he calls
"leaders who you can always rely upon".
‘Hard times’
The Karamyans first caught the eye at perennial titleholders FC Pyunik
in their native Armenia, and made their international debuts in
2000. Having both had unsuccessful spells in Greece and Ukraine, they
then moved to Romania with FC Rapid BucureÅ=9Fti. "Everyone has hard
times," Artavazd recalled. "My brother and I faced it abroad. I was
luckier than Arman, but we got through his low periods together."
Title aspirations
Left midfielder Artavazd quickly became an integral member of the
Rapid squad, helping the capital club to the Romanian Cup in
2005. Although Arman did not bed in as well and soon left, the twins
were reunited at TimiÅ=9Foara in 2007 and now, sitting three points
off FC Dinamo 1948 BucureÅ=9Fti in third, they are eyeing a national
title. "We’ve got very strong opponents," said Arman. "Dinamo will no
doubt try and stay top, but Unirea and CFR also cannot be written
off. The same goes for Universitatea Craiova, Steaua and Rapid. It’s
very tight in the upper part of the table and each team is capable of
profiting from an opponents’ mistake. We just need to maintain our
standard and drop as few points as possible."
Professional approach
This season, Artavazd has scored three goals in 25 matches and while
the majority of forward Arman’s 18 appearances have come from the
bench, he has struck five times in his last five league games and
forced his way into the starting XI. "Our coach has faith in each of
the 18 first-team players," Artavazd added. "Of course there is a lot
more responsibility on the guys who start games and I don’t want to
single us out from the others. Each player can play a crucial part at
any time – it’s important to keep a professional approach. The coach
trusts us, we realise that and try to repay him with decent
performances."
European goal
With TimiÅ=9Foara going so well, the prospect of qualifying for a
debut campaign in the UEFA Champions League is a tantalising
incentive. "This year, Romania was represented in the UEFA Champions
League by Cluj," Arman said. "They are a very solid and stable
club. Their success emphasised that football can bring happiness to
people’s homes. We personally have both already played in the
competition with Pyunik but this would be another level of football,
another step up mentally."