Maccabi Tel Aviv will face Pyunik of Armenia in the third round of Europa League qualifying as the first leg will take place on Tuesday August 7th (19:00 Israel time) in the capital city of Yerevan at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium.
This will be the first time the Yellow & Blue will be playing against an opponent from Armenia and the second two legged tie in a row that Maccabi fans will be introduced to a rival from a new country. To help us break down what Head Coach Vladimir Ivic’s side will be up against, we spoke with Karen Rafayelyan, the editor of Vivaro News and @ArmeniaSoccer on Twitter.
FC Pyunik was founded in 1992 and began play in the Armenian Premier League that same season by the name of Homenetmen Yerevan until 1995 when they received their new moniker which means “Phoenix” in Armenian. Having won 14 League titles, 8 Armenian Cups and 9 Super Cups, Pyunik is the most decorated club in the country.
This season under new Head Coach Andrey Talalayev, the Club has put together a brand new team explained Rafayelyan, “Mohamed Konaté from the Ivory Coast will be relied on to score and already has two goals in Europa League qualifying. Together with Ruslan Koryan, an Armenian International Pyunik are strong on the attack. Petros Avetisyan who is a very important, young and creative player will miss the first leg due to suspension.”
Having won three of four qualifying matches and not conceding a goal at home thus far shows a very organized team Soccer Armenia commented, “The team’s style has been in flux with the appointment of a new manager, but they have been playing really well in a more compact defensive formation with quick counters.” Rafayelyan added, “Pyunik wasn’t the favorite in each of the four matches and they played a defensive style, waiting patiently for their chances which is exactly what happened.”
“The man on the sidelines is Russian Head Coach Andrey Talalayev who has a very strong personality,” commented Rafayelyan. “He is also good tactician as these 4 games have shown, defeating opponents who have better players than Pyunik. He is very excited with this project.” Talalayev was successful in Russia said Soccer Armenia, “He coached Tambov of the Russian First Division from 2016-2018 and did very well for a team with a small budget, almost earning promotion last year.”
Despite playing 19 years in European competition qualifying, this season marks the furthest Pyunik has ever gone and the supporters have acknowledged the squad’s efforts as Armenia Soccer told us, “The fans have been really energetic this year. Almost 15,000 attended Pyunik’s second leg against Tobol. Usually most Armenian league and European matches fail to draw more than 2,000-3,000 spectators. However, this time around, the fans have been really organized and the atmosphere in the stadium was spectacular.”
Andrey Talalayev (https://www.facebook.com/fcpyunik/)
Rafayelyan echoed the sentiments, “Armenian clubs struggle at the gate, especially teams from Yerevan. The fans that do come are generally football lovers and will support any Armenian club that plays against a foreign team. But there have been a lot of people in stadium, and I’m sure that there will be more than 10,000 for the upcoming tie which is an impressive number for Armenian football.”
Although Pyunik doesn’t have a rich history in continental football, Armenia Soccer understands that the Yerevan based club certainly will be a fine foe for Maccabi, “I’m looking forward to the tie. Generally, the consensus is that Pyunik are strong underdogs and will need everything to go their way to advance. Armenian fans understand that Maccabi has great European pedigree, so the hope is that the players will show their best effort and hopefully do enough to advance.” Rafayelyan has mixed feelings, “I believe that Pyunik’s European adventure is over. But I am sure that they will put up a good fight and be competitive over the two-legged tie.”
Pyunik Fast Facts:
- Armenian star Henrikh Mkhitaryan who currently plays for Arsenal and featured with Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk in the past, grew up through the ranks of the Pyunik youth system and played 70 matches for the senior squad, scoring 30 goals.
- The Armenian League may have only been founded in 1992, but football has been played in the country since 1936 as a regional tournament within the Former Soviet Union.
- Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium was opened in 1935 and has been renovated three times, most recently in 2008 by an Israeli company.
- Pyunik and Maccabi have faced a number of common foes throughout the years in European qualifying including HJK Helsinki, Dynamo Kyiv, Zalgiris Vilnius, Viktoria Plzen and two recent Yellow & Blue opponents from just last season, KR Reykjavík and Astana.
