Marked for Mikhail Mikaelyan
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Dec 2029
A fracture rules Gor Manukyan out for 115 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Gandzasar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad31 Dec 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces24 Dec 2029
The mood at Gandzasar has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad24 Dec 2029
A fracture rules Gor Manukyan out for 122 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Gandzasar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market24 Dec 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at Gandzasar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Taron Voskanyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mikhail Mikaelyan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Dec 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Dec 2029
Gor Manukyan breaks a bone — 131 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 131 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match17 Dec 2029
Gandzasar are in real trouble now
Position 9, 7 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.
Boardroom17 Dec 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Gandzasar
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom17 Dec 2029
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Elton Bessunha has agreed terms with Van for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Naumovich, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Dec 2029
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Mikaelyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Karen Mkhitaryan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Dec 2029
A fracture rules Gor Manukyan out for 145 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Gandzasar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad3 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Dec 2029
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Gandzasar were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Squad3 Dec 2029
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Gandzasar know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Market3 Dec 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Gandzasar, another week without a signature from Taron Voskanyan.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Mikhail Mikaelyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
Arman Khachatryan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout3 Dec 2029
Mher Kankanyan 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces26 Nov 2029
Anger at Gandzasar spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad26 Nov 2029
A fracture rules Gor Manukyan out for 152 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Gandzasar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Taron Voskanyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Nov 2029
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Mikaelyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
Mher Kankanyan 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.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Serafin Bütow has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Nov 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Gandzasar, another week without a signature from Mher Kankanyan.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Mikhail Mikaelyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
When it matters, Hagai Katoh plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
“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.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Oct 2029
Gandzasar are in real trouble now
Position 9, 7 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.
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Gandzasar
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Mikhail Mikaelyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Filippo Visentin is on it.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Filippo Visentin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Oct 2029
Taron Voskanyan 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.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
“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.
Market15 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mikhail Mikaelyan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
Hagai Katoh has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
Mher Kankanyan 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 Gandzasar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces1 Oct 2029
Anger at Gandzasar spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Taron Voskanyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
Taron Voskanyan without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Taron Voskanyan was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
Market1 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad1 Oct 2029
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Mikaelyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Oct 2029
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Gandzasar would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Sep 2029
Every point is an argument now for Gandzasar
Position 9 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Boardroom24 Sep 2029
Pressure builds in the Gandzasar boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Vahan Simonyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Serafin Bütow, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Filippo Visentin is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Jul 2029
Every point is an argument now for Gandzasar
Position 9 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Boardroom30 Jul 2029
Pressure builds in the Gandzasar boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ararat is saying, and nobody at Gandzasar is enjoying the guessing.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
Taron Voskanyan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
Noah have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
Karen Mkhitaryan 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.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
Filippo Visentin has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad30 Jul 2029
The training reports on Mikhail Mikaelyan are not good
A bad Saturday is forgiven; a bad Tuesday is chosen. Standards have slipped and in a building where everybody watches everybody, it has been noticed.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces9 Jul 2029
Anger at Gandzasar spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
The clubs have shaken hands with Urartu; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market9 Jul 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gandzasar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Taron Voskanyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
No deal for Douglas at that price
Gandzasar offered $38.0K; Ararat-Armenia said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Boardroom9 Jul 2029
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Artak Karapetyan has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Gandzasar have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Gandzasar asked and Noah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Vahagn Hayrapetyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Alashkert have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Jun 2029
No end in sight to Gandzasar's wait for a win
25 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Gandzasar has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces11 Jun 2029
Supporters organise against the Gandzasar board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 39. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
Gandzasar and BKMA have settled on $61.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
The deal with Urartu is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Market11 Jun 2029
“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 Gandzasar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Taron Voskanyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Jun 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 May 2029
No end in sight to Gandzasar's wait for a win
21 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Gandzasar has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces14 May 2029
Supporters organise against the Gandzasar board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Match12 May 2029
Beaten 0‑5 by Alashkert, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad14 May 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match12 May 2029
Gandzasar cannot find the net
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Market14 May 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gandzasar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 May 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout14 May 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad14 May 2029
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taron Voskanyan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Apr 2029
17 matches without a win for Gandzasar
The run now stands at 17, and the questions being asked around Gandzasar are no longer polite ones.
The terraces16 Apr 2029
Supporters organise against the Gandzasar board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Serafin Bütow damages knee ligaments — 25 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market16 Apr 2029
“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 Gandzasar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad16 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taron Voskanyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Tigran Spertsyan after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Mar 2029
The wait goes on for Gandzasar
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces19 Mar 2029
Supporters organise against the Gandzasar board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad19 Mar 2029
54 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Gandzasar lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad19 Mar 2029
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market19 Mar 2029
“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.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Match17 Mar 2029
The goals have deserted Gandzasar
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Gandzasar can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vahagn Hayrapetyan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Sousa 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Feb 2029
Serafin Bütow damages knee ligaments — 90 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom12 Feb 2029
Pressure builds in the Gandzasar boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market12 Feb 2029
“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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taron Voskanyan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Hagai Katoh and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
The window shuts on the Jonel Désirè deal
Gandzasar ran out of time with Van. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
Arman Khachatryan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A season on the outside for Jhonny Urrea
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Gandzasar has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market12 Feb 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Gandzasar, another week without a signature from Serafin Bütow.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 Jan 2029
The mood at Gandzasar has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market22 Jan 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Van waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Gandzasar is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market22 Jan 2029
“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.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets22 Jan 2029
Gandzasar have gone to Van with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Mariano Ahouangbo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom22 Jan 2029
Pyunik will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Lucas has pre-agreed a move to Gandzasar, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Taron Voskanyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets22 Jan 2029
Gandzasar asked and Alashkert said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.