InternationalYura Movsisyan: to be the best you must expect the best
Published: Monday December 12, 2011
Movsisyan with Pasadena kids on Dec. 10. Courtesy image via Facebook
Washington - 24-year-old Yura Movsisyan has emerged as one of the best Armenian athletes anywhere and also an increasingly well known name in European football. His most recent statistics - four goals and five assists in nine matches for Armenia as well as eight goals and three assists for FC Krasnodar in Russian Premiere League - speak for themselves.
Movsisyan answered questions, including those submitted by readers via e-mail and Facebook, that The Armenian Reporter's Emil Sanamyan asked him in a December 9 phone interview.
Just a normal guy who loves Starbucks; khash - not so much
AR: Hello Yura! Now that you have a few days off, how do you begin your day?
YM: First of all, I go and get Starbucks, this is what I miss a lot [in Krasnodar and Yerevan], I have to have my Starbucks. Then it depends on what we, my family need to do, what my parents need, seeing different friends, etc.
AR: So you don't get the star treatment and have people run errands for you?
YM: No, not at all. I am a normal man and there is nothing special about me.
AR: Any food preferences in LA for you?
YM: When I am back here I just like to eat what I miss in Russia; there are no specific preferences, but I just like to eat a lot when I am back home, and I eat a lot more than I normally do. I just need to get that need out of the way, with all the food that I miss.
AR: Any khash for you during this winter?
YM: I am not a big khash eater, but I eat everything else.
AR: And I guess no alcohol or smoking?
YM: No, not at all.
AR: When people see you arrive to a stadium you like most other players have earphones on. What sort of music do you make sure to take with you?
YM: I listen to everything, Armenian and anything that has a good beat, anything that keeps me calm. I like a lot of hip hop, European songs.
Respect for other people is key
AR: Your son is now about two years old, how much time do you get to spend with your family?
YM: It is a bit difficult to spend a lot of time with them, because I am always traveling and I am always playing, that is the difficult part. But I try to spend as much time as possible, when I get a little bit of time with them. It is very important to me be home, to see my son.
AR: As a father what do you want to do for your son? What do you want to make sure that he has and learns from you?
YM: First and foremost, I want to make sure he has everything he needs to become a normal person. Another thing, and this was very important for me when I grew up, is to have respect for other people. He is a little kid now, but it needs to start early, I don't want him to grow up an annoying kid.
AR: Who would you say have been the biggest influences on your life?
YM: My parents and my father especially, as well as my brothers. Being in a new country and not having other relatives here, the family has been very important. And also in terms of playing soccer, they have helped me stay disciplined.
AR: You are very intense on the field and very calm off of it. Are there two Yura's, one the football player and another the person?
YM: There is not too much difference, but I definitely don't want to be the same person on the field and off of it, where I just want to be a normal person.
AR: In terms of the game, what is it about football that makes so many people love it and even obsess over it?
YM: People who understand the game know how difficult it is to play and how difficult it is to be a footballer. And I think that's the main thing that people respect, and the beauty of the game is that you get to score goals, and that's what people especially love and pay attention to.
Making a name for Armenia and himself
AR: We last interviewed you when you just signed on with Armenia over a year ago. You must have gone to Armenia with certain expectations, have they been realized?
YM: Yes, definitely. From first moment I went to Armenia, I knew what I could do and I was confident in my abilities and everything turned out as I liked it to be. I wanted to make a name for myself and for the Armenian national team, and we did that.
AR: What have been the most memorable highlights?
YM: The beginning of the qualification campaign, in the first game with Ireland that we lost 0:1, I think we did a very good job and showed that we could play against anybody. That started it all and then we started to win games.
We scored seven goals against Slovakia, which has players -particularly defenders - playing for top teams in top leagues including English and Russian.
I think the whole qualification campaign has been the highlight, because every game was important and in every game we were able to step up as a team.
AR: Anything that hasn't happened?
YM: We were unlucky not to qualify for Euro 2012, but that's all.
AR: Henrikh Mkhitaryan said that Armenia was "deeply wounded" by the way the last game with Ireland went on, the refereeing etc. Is this how you feel as well?
YM: Yeah, definitely, it is hard to go through something like this as a young team, but it is a learning experience and I hope the guys learn, and we come out strongly in the next qualification.
