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Sports: Meet The Guys Aiming To Derail Ireland's Euro 2012 Hopes

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  • Sports: Meet The Guys Aiming To Derail Ireland's Euro 2012 Hopes

    MEET THE GUYS AIMING TO DERAIL IRELAND'S EURO 2012 HOPES

    The Score, Ireland
    Oct 10 2011

    WHEN ARMENIA STEP on to the playing surface at the Aviva Stadium
    tomorrow evening, Giovanni Trapattoni and his team will be well aware
    of their capabilities.

    Should the visitors lose, Ireland will be the only team in Group B
    not to have dropped points to their Eurasian counterparts. Have we
    caught your attention yet?

    Previous encounter:

    Only a stunning goal from Keith Fahey separated the sides when the
    two teams met in Yerevan over 12 months ago and that result has become
    increasingly impressive as the Armenians' campaign has continued.

    Ireland were tested at the back that day - Richard Dunne and Sean St
    Ledger doing well against relatively unknown threats - and the same
    players that coach Vardan Minasyan has spent time blooding over the
    last couple of months have improved several times over since. Armenia
    are capable of putting a massive dent in Irish hopes, if given the
    opportunity.

    Danger men:

    Armenia would not have had a goalscorer of note within their squad
    before the current campaign. Twenty one goals later they are the
    top-scoring team in the group (eight more than Ireland, ten more than
    Russia), and have only conceded one extra goal when you compare their
    tally to our defensive record at the other end.

    Most of their players play in the domestic league - many under
    Minasyan's guidance at Pyunik Yerevan - but they also have guys
    based in Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Their are lead by their captain
    Sargis Hovsepyan, who has 120 + caps, and is a defender with plenty
    of experience.

    Gevorg Ghazaryan and Yura Movsisyan are two more to keep an eye
    out for. The former plays with Metalurh Donetsk and now has six
    international goals to his name at the age of 22, with team-mate
    Movsisyan (24) also making a fine contribution while plying his trade
    with Russia side Krasnodar.

    The biggest danger is likely to come from playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan
    though, who has been a key factor behind their success. The Shakhtar
    Donetsk man troubled Shay Given in Yerevan and is his team's joint
    top scorer at the moment, along with Ghazaryan.

    Coach:

    A former midfield international for his country, Armenian Vardan
    Minasyan looks after the national side as well as club side Pyunik
    Yerevan. As a player he spent the bulk of his time with the same team
    but also had brief spells overseas with Lausanne Sports and Lokomotiv
    St. Peterburg.

    His move into management started at Pyunik and he went on to become
    assistant coach to Ian Porterfield - the man who took over Aberdeen
    after Alex Ferguson joined Manchester United in 1986, was the first
    man to be sacked by a Premier League club (Chelsea) in 1993 and who
    was then in charge of the Armenian national team for a time.

    Minasyan took over the reins briefly after Porterfield's resignation in
    2007 (he was suffering with cancer) and though the national football
    association flirted with other coaches including Dane Jan Poulsen,
    they re-engaged the 37-year-old's services in February 2010 and
    haven't looked back since.

    What it all means:

    Armenia's pacey counter-attacks caused Ireland plenty of concern in
    the first game. They come to Dublin knowing that they have already
    exceeded expectations and have nothing to lose. A draw will do Ireland,
    but nothing is secured yet and it's worth remembering that Armenia's
    only other defeat in the group was in Moscow.

    These guys may have been minnows once, but no longer. Unfortunately,
    we could well see that reflected in the tactics Trapattoni and Marco
    Tardelli decide to employ to ensure another play-off spot for the
    Boys in Green.

    http://www.thescore.ie/meet-the-guys-aiming-to-derail-irelands-euro-2012-hopes-249890-Oct2011/

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