Marcinho

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Urartu
13 Dec 2028
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Marcinho

124 Edition

The Urartu Post

11 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Urartu are in real trouble now

Position 8, 20 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Bruno Michel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Urartu

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

Squad

A season on the outside for Federico Castro

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Urartu has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

Squad

Edik Vardanyan knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Urartu, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Talks stall between Urartu and David Harutyunyan

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

Back issues
120 Edition

The Urartu Post

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Urartu sink to position 8

20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Karen Melkonyan asks to leave Urartu

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

David Harutyunyan has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Urartu they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Bruno Michel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Home is on Itay Senyor's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Urartu are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Urartu

Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.

In brief

104 Edition

The Urartu Post

24 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Urartu are in real trouble now

Position 8, 20 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Karen Melkonyan puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Urartu, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Zhirayr Margaryan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

101 Edition

The Urartu Post

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Karlo Lulić hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Urartu can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Cristian Díaz runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Urartu boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Match

No end in sight to Urartu's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urartu has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Alexandre Llovet: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Urartu have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Urartu count the cost of losing Karen Melkonyan

16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Bruno Michel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Urartu count the cost of losing Marcinho

39 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

One of those days for Bruno Michel

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

97 Edition

The Urartu Post

5 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Marcinho says Urartu went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Luis Flores hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Urartu can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Erik Piloyan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Urartu get the job done against Pyunik

A 3‑1 win over Pyunik, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Marcinho out for 70 days

The medical room confirms 70 days on the sidelines for Marcinho, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

No place for Karlo Lulić in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Karlo Lulić has his answer from Urartu; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Player ratings

One of those days for Bruno Michel

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.70, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Anton Bratkov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Boardroom

88% of the income goes out in wages at Urartu

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

In brief

93 Edition

The Urartu Post

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Oleg Suvorov hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Urartu can pretend not to have heard.

Match

No end in sight to Urartu's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urartu has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Bruno Michel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Mikayel Mirzoyan runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Marcinho out for 99 days

The medical room confirms 99 days on the sidelines for Marcinho, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Anton Bratkov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anton Bratkov commits to Urartu for another 2 years.

In brief

89 Edition

The Urartu Post

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nothing got past Erik Piloyan

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Sergey Mkrtchyan

Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Karen Melkonyan

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Bruno Michel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Nicholas Kaloukian the difference as Urartu beat Van

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nicholas Kaloukian. 1‑0 against Van, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Nicholas Kaloukian in the eights

A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

81 Edition

The Urartu Post

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Karen Melkonyan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

Alef placed on the list

Urartu have made Alef available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

Market

The window shut and Marcinho is still in the building

Urartu spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.

In brief

80 Edition

The Urartu Post

7 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Marcinho hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Urartu can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Bruno Michel in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Torpedo Kutaisi expected to open talks for Edik Vardanyan

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Urartu will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Cristian Díaz

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Boardroom

Urartu counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Urartu now.

Market

Abdulla Fadaq placed on the list

Urartu have made Abdulla Fadaq available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

75 Edition

The Urartu Post

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mikayel Mirzoyan puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Urartu, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Ararat watching Mikayel Mirzoyan

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Urartu have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Urartu lose Anton Bratkov

52 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

57 Edition

The Urartu Post

30 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Andrija Dragojević keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Urartu may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Karen Melkonyan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Nicholas Kaloukian has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Nicholas Kaloukian keeps the shirt for now, at Urartu's convenience rather than his own.

In brief

54 Edition

The Urartu Post

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcinho keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Urartu may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Karen Melkonyan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Karlo Lulić has outgrown this division

There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Urartu know it, and so does everybody who watches him.

Loan watch

Edik Vardanyan counts the days

“I watch every Urartu game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Alanyaspor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Boardroom

90% of the income goes out in wages at Urartu

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Squad

No hiding place for Hamza Boualem

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hamza Boualem, and the manager let it.

In brief

50 Edition

The Urartu Post

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yevhen Tsymbaliuk says Urartu went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Urartu

Bruno Michel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Boardroom

104% of the income goes out in wages at Urartu

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Loan watch

Edik Vardanyan counts the days

“I watch every Urartu game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Alanyaspor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Market

Gandzasar are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Urartu will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Ahmad Aburasyin gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

46 Edition

The Urartu Post

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Mikayel Mirzoyan

Successful dribbles: 44. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

No end in sight to Urartu's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urartu has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Erik Piloyan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Sergey Mkrtchyan shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Boardroom

114% of the income goes out in wages at Urartu

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Squad

No hiding place for Marcinho

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marcinho, and the manager let it.

Loan watch

Edik Vardanyan has seen enough of Alanyaspor

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Urartu, and 6 appearances in 19 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Karen Melkonyan asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Match

Urartu draw a blank against Van

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Van defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

45 Edition

The Urartu Post

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Narek Aghasaryan puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Urartu, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

No end in sight to Urartu's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urartu has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Alashkert come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Urartu did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Player ratings

Mikayel Mirzoyan runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Bruno Michel in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Artemy Gunko moves on

Pyunik pay $730.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Marcinho signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marcinho and Urartu agree another 2 years.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Karen Melkonyan

Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Nicholas Kaloukian

Marked 8.01 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

In brief

41 Edition

The Urartu Post

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Narek Aghasaryan asks to leave Urartu

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Player ratings

Mikayel Mirzoyan runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

4 matches without a win for Urartu

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Urartu are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Karen Melkonyan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Urartu come up short against Ararat

Ararat left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Facundo Forestieri gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

40 Edition

The Urartu Post

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Mikayel Mirzoyan runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Erik Simonyan

Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Facundo Forestieri stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Facundo Forestieri and Urartu agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Mikayel Mirzoyan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marcinho gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Narek Aghasaryan stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.54 on the card, and the Urartu support went home talking about one name.

In brief

36 Edition

The Urartu Post

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Mikayel Mirzoyan

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Bruno Michel in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urartu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Urartu against Pyunik

0‑1 to Pyunik, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

No hiding place for Zhirayr Margaryan

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zhirayr Margaryan, and the manager let it.

Squad

Rashed Issam wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Urartu know it.

Loan watch

Edik Vardanyan has seen enough of Alanyaspor

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Urartu, and 5 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.

Player ratings

The one thing Nicholas Kaloukian could not do

Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Squad

Marcinho knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marcinho trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Alef

A mark of 5.77 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

In brief