U19 ambassador Mkhitaryan's Armenian pride: UEFA.comJuly 12, 2019 - 11:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The UEFA European Under-19 Championship kicks off in Yerevan on Sunday, July 14 and hosts Armenia have gone right to the top in picking the ambassador for their first final tournament on home soil – the nation's most famous footballing son, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Asked in an interview with UEFA.com what his advice would be to the players playing in the tournament this summer, Mkhitaryan said "my advice would be to have fun and enjoy every moment, because these kinds of games and competitions could be once in a lifetime. I wish the best of luck to every player." In Armenia, he said, everyone loves football and that "think people are very happy to host this competition, as it is a great opportunity to watch the future stars of European football." With 27 goals, Mkhitaryan is his nation's all-time leading international goalscorer, and the midfielder has played for Shakhtar Donetsk, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United and now Arsenal. His first appearance in a UEFA competition came at 15 in a U17 EURO qualifier against Turkey. "I felt very proud. It has always been a particular pleasure for me to play in the national team, because we would compete against different national teams and players," he said of the match. "It was a very good experience for us at that age, as we wouldn't play those type of matches every week in our league." Related links: Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |