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EURO 2012 QUALIFYING PHASE: DESPITE LOSS IN IRELAND ARMENIA REMAINS THE MOST EXCITING SIDE TO EMERGE SINCE DENMARK IN THE 80'S
http://www.armenianlife.com/2011/10/12/euro-2012-qualifying-phase-despite-loss-in-ireland-armenia-remains-the-most-exciting-side-to-emerge-since-denmark-in-the-80%e2%80%99s/
October 12, 2011
Republic of Ireland's National Team secured a Euro 2012 play-off spot
as it held off Armenia, (2-1), in a tense final qualifier marred by
poor and disputable refereeing.
No amount of words can console the tens of thousands of Armenian
fans in Armenia and around the globe who, presented with a festival
of goals and three consecutive victories in the Euro 2012 qualifying
phase, stood witness to Armenia's ability undermined by questionable
refereeing.
On Tuesday evening, what could go wrong did go wrong for Armenia.
Specifically, three major events went sour: 1) Costly refereeing
causing the loss of Armenia's seasoned goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky;
2) Loss of a player; 3) Armenia's heart-wrenching own goal.
The first misfortune came at the 25th minute when Armenia was dealt a
heavy blow as a result of a mistaken decision by the referee to call
"hand," when in fact, Armenia's goalkeeper Berezovsky, when outside
the penalty box, handled the ball with his chest - not hands.
Berezovsky was given a red card and expelled from the
game. Replays showed Berezovsky blocking the shot with his chest,
but the referee had committed his first major mistake. Click to
see:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aELMP4cfvec.
The second misfortune came as a result of Berezovsky's baseless
expulsion when midfielder Edgar Malakyan was unfairly sacrificed
in order to facilitate the introduction of a new goalkeeper, Arsen
Petrosyan, as replacement for Berezovsky.
The third misfortune arrived at the 43rd minute. Just a few minutes
before the completion of the first half, Valeri Aleksanyan marked
a horrific own goal thereby putting Ireland in the lead before the
break. Richard Dunne added a second at 59th minute.
I must hand it to Armenia's players and head coach Vardan Minasyan
for continuing the match with an indomitable spirit and great talent.
Under adverse conditions, they overcame the short-handedness and
eventually penetrated Ireland's defenses with Henrik Mkhitaryan who
shot a goal for Armenia bringing the result to 1-2.
The continuous Armenian attacks compelled the Irish to take illegal and
desperate containment measures causing the Irish players to be handed
eight yellow cards and one red card - Kevin Doyle was expelled at the
81st minute. Had Berezovsky not been unfairly expelled the results may
have been much different and most probably to the benefit of Armenia.
The Football Federation of Armenia should definitely make an appeal to
Federation de Football Association (FIFA) for a full investigation and
review of the match. Ultimately the head referee, Eduardo Iturralde
Gonzalez, should be disciplined for harshly sending-off Armenia's
keeper. The world governing body of football (soccer), FIFA, should
also make amends to Armenia.
Ironically, the Republic of Ireland had fallen victim to a disputable
decision by the referee. That is to not call France's Thierry Henry's
handball against the Irish in the 2010 World Cup play-off. Thus,
Ireland's fair opportunity to participate in the 2010 World Cup
Tournament was hijacked. In the past, several other cases have unfairly
cost many deserving national teams fair opportunities to qualify.
In this age of communication and instant recording and replaying,
it is high time for FIFA to adopt an on-the-scene video system to
review disputable or questionable referee calls and avert disastrous
mistakes such as Tuesday night's problematic red carding and unexpected
dismissal of Berezovsky.
Regardless of the outcome of FIFA's verdict, Armenia, and her fans,
must move on. We must aim high at the steering wheel and never lose
sight of the qualifying phase of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The talented team is predominantly young; they have many bright and
triumphant years ahead of them. If the indomitable players keep their
cohesiveness, they will surely rock the world of football (soccer).
Despite the questionable defeat in Dublin, Armenians worldwide should
celebrate the transformational changes that took place in Armenia's
National Team, such as immensely improved team performance, successful
finishing, high scoring, team cohesiveness, and an increased level
of confidence and amelioration of attitude among the players.
Fans in, Armenia, Artsakh, and all corners of the Diaspora, are
grateful for the arrival of quality Armenian football on the world
scene. In a sense, this national squad is reminiscent of Nikita
Simonyan's 1973 Ararat Yerevan that won The Championship and The Cup
of the then existing Soviet Union.
It is noteworthy that before the Euro 2012 qualifying phase began in
late 2010, Armenia ranked 105th in the FIFA world ranking with 273
points. Armenia currently ranks 44th with 610.
In the Euro 2008 qualifying phase Armenia finished second to last,
just before Azerbaijan, with 9 points. They had a poor winning record
of 16.66%, and a goal differential of -9 based on 4 FOR vs. 13 AGAINST.
Armenia came out of this Euro 2012 qualifying phase with a highly
respectable third place finish, just behind Russia and Republic of
Ireland, with 17 points in a very difficult Group "B," a winning
record of nearly 50%, and an astounding goal differential of +12
based on 22 FOR vs. 10 AGAINST.
Thanks to her three very convincing victories in four matches (3-0
against Andorra, 4-0 against Slovakia, and 4-1 against FYR Macedonia),
Armenia earned accolades in the international sports media. A
record number of positive articles, TV and Radio commentaries were
disseminated via print and electronic media. Nearly all of them were
presenting Armenia with kudos for her resilience and her creative
football. London's The Guardian newspaper gave high praise. They
stressed: "Armenia are probably the most potentially exciting side
to emerge since Denmark in the early 80s."
With Armenia's current quality and dynamic football, fans may be
in for a good surprise during their team's 2014 Brazil World Cup
qualifier campaign starting right after the completion of Euro 2012.
Armenia's national squad has all the attributes to offer pleasant and
intelligent football along with a festival of goals and victories in
the coming years and tournaments.
http://www.armenianlife.com/2011/10/12/euro-2012-qualifying-phase-despite-loss-in-ireland-armenia-remains-the-most-exciting-side-to-emerge-since-denmark-in-the-80%e2%80%99s/
October 12, 2011
Republic of Ireland's National Team secured a Euro 2012 play-off spot
as it held off Armenia, (2-1), in a tense final qualifier marred by
poor and disputable refereeing.
No amount of words can console the tens of thousands of Armenian
fans in Armenia and around the globe who, presented with a festival
of goals and three consecutive victories in the Euro 2012 qualifying
phase, stood witness to Armenia's ability undermined by questionable
refereeing.
On Tuesday evening, what could go wrong did go wrong for Armenia.
Specifically, three major events went sour: 1) Costly refereeing
causing the loss of Armenia's seasoned goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky;
2) Loss of a player; 3) Armenia's heart-wrenching own goal.
The first misfortune came at the 25th minute when Armenia was dealt a
heavy blow as a result of a mistaken decision by the referee to call
"hand," when in fact, Armenia's goalkeeper Berezovsky, when outside
the penalty box, handled the ball with his chest - not hands.
Berezovsky was given a red card and expelled from the
game. Replays showed Berezovsky blocking the shot with his chest,
but the referee had committed his first major mistake. Click to
see:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aELMP4cfvec.
The second misfortune came as a result of Berezovsky's baseless
expulsion when midfielder Edgar Malakyan was unfairly sacrificed
in order to facilitate the introduction of a new goalkeeper, Arsen
Petrosyan, as replacement for Berezovsky.
The third misfortune arrived at the 43rd minute. Just a few minutes
before the completion of the first half, Valeri Aleksanyan marked
a horrific own goal thereby putting Ireland in the lead before the
break. Richard Dunne added a second at 59th minute.
I must hand it to Armenia's players and head coach Vardan Minasyan
for continuing the match with an indomitable spirit and great talent.
Under adverse conditions, they overcame the short-handedness and
eventually penetrated Ireland's defenses with Henrik Mkhitaryan who
shot a goal for Armenia bringing the result to 1-2.
The continuous Armenian attacks compelled the Irish to take illegal and
desperate containment measures causing the Irish players to be handed
eight yellow cards and one red card - Kevin Doyle was expelled at the
81st minute. Had Berezovsky not been unfairly expelled the results may
have been much different and most probably to the benefit of Armenia.
The Football Federation of Armenia should definitely make an appeal to
Federation de Football Association (FIFA) for a full investigation and
review of the match. Ultimately the head referee, Eduardo Iturralde
Gonzalez, should be disciplined for harshly sending-off Armenia's
keeper. The world governing body of football (soccer), FIFA, should
also make amends to Armenia.
Ironically, the Republic of Ireland had fallen victim to a disputable
decision by the referee. That is to not call France's Thierry Henry's
handball against the Irish in the 2010 World Cup play-off. Thus,
Ireland's fair opportunity to participate in the 2010 World Cup
Tournament was hijacked. In the past, several other cases have unfairly
cost many deserving national teams fair opportunities to qualify.
In this age of communication and instant recording and replaying,
it is high time for FIFA to adopt an on-the-scene video system to
review disputable or questionable referee calls and avert disastrous
mistakes such as Tuesday night's problematic red carding and unexpected
dismissal of Berezovsky.
Regardless of the outcome of FIFA's verdict, Armenia, and her fans,
must move on. We must aim high at the steering wheel and never lose
sight of the qualifying phase of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The talented team is predominantly young; they have many bright and
triumphant years ahead of them. If the indomitable players keep their
cohesiveness, they will surely rock the world of football (soccer).
Despite the questionable defeat in Dublin, Armenians worldwide should
celebrate the transformational changes that took place in Armenia's
National Team, such as immensely improved team performance, successful
finishing, high scoring, team cohesiveness, and an increased level
of confidence and amelioration of attitude among the players.
Fans in, Armenia, Artsakh, and all corners of the Diaspora, are
grateful for the arrival of quality Armenian football on the world
scene. In a sense, this national squad is reminiscent of Nikita
Simonyan's 1973 Ararat Yerevan that won The Championship and The Cup
of the then existing Soviet Union.
It is noteworthy that before the Euro 2012 qualifying phase began in
late 2010, Armenia ranked 105th in the FIFA world ranking with 273
points. Armenia currently ranks 44th with 610.
In the Euro 2008 qualifying phase Armenia finished second to last,
just before Azerbaijan, with 9 points. They had a poor winning record
of 16.66%, and a goal differential of -9 based on 4 FOR vs. 13 AGAINST.
Armenia came out of this Euro 2012 qualifying phase with a highly
respectable third place finish, just behind Russia and Republic of
Ireland, with 17 points in a very difficult Group "B," a winning
record of nearly 50%, and an astounding goal differential of +12
based on 22 FOR vs. 10 AGAINST.
Thanks to her three very convincing victories in four matches (3-0
against Andorra, 4-0 against Slovakia, and 4-1 against FYR Macedonia),
Armenia earned accolades in the international sports media. A
record number of positive articles, TV and Radio commentaries were
disseminated via print and electronic media. Nearly all of them were
presenting Armenia with kudos for her resilience and her creative
football. London's The Guardian newspaper gave high praise. They
stressed: "Armenia are probably the most potentially exciting side
to emerge since Denmark in the early 80s."
With Armenia's current quality and dynamic football, fans may be
in for a good surprise during their team's 2014 Brazil World Cup
qualifier campaign starting right after the completion of Euro 2012.
Armenia's national squad has all the attributes to offer pleasant and
intelligent football along with a festival of goals and victories in
the coming years and tournaments.