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ARARAT-73: 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF YEREVAN CLUB'S ASCENT IN USSR MARKED IN ARMENIA
Soccer | 10.10.13 | 10:58
Photolure
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Forty years ago today Armenians celebrated their first major soccer
success in the USSR as Yerevan's Ararat team beat rivals from Ukraine
in a dramatic Cup final in Moscow.
The match against Dynamo Kiev played in the Luzhniki Stadium on
October 10, 1973, ended 2-1 to Ararat that later that month also won
the championship trophy becoming a "double" winning team.
Enlarge Photo
Eyewitnesses of the event say that the victory was followed by
unprecedented celebration as Armenians played ethnic folk instruments,
sang and danced kochari at the stadium and beyond.
Young or old, everyone was aware of the course of the game, the score,
the names of the players participating in the match that didn't bode
well for Armenians in the beginning.
Ararat were a goal down when Levon Ishtoyan scored an equalizer in
the dying seconds of the second half, taking the match into overtime
during which he scored the winner becoming an all-time legend in
Armenian soccer.
Rafik Petrosyan, a 63-year-old member of the National Assembly who
taught at the university in 1973, remembers that he was in the Russian
resort city of Sochi on business on that glorious day.
"Along with other Armenians there I watched the game in my hotel room.
Our joy was infinite when we watched Ararat win the Cup," he says. "I
was a faithful Ararat fan, it was a great pride that uplifted our
spirits and made Armenians known all over the Soviet Union and
the world."
Petrosyan says loudly rooting for your favorite team was frowned
upon during Soviet times, but nothing could stop Armenian fans from
expressing their emotions during the matches of their favorite team.
Fan slogans are common nowadays but back then they were a new thing in
Soviet Armenian reality. It was in the 1970s when Armenian fans first
began to chant "A-ra-rat", "A-ra-rat H'up T'ur", "Ha-yer", etc. during
Ararat games, slogans that have survived, with some modifications,
till our own days and are heard during national team matches.
Meanwhile, in the times of taboos in the Soviet Union, a soccer game
was a real oasis of freedom for many.
"We took a little vodka with ourselves and had a shot every time
our guys scored a goal. We cried and shouted, enjoying ourselves
immensely," says Petrosyan.
Soccer in Armenia in the 70's reminded of a special protocol. On match
days huge queues formed at box offices, but most people as loyal fans
had season tickets.
Coming to the stadium even ten minutes before the start of the game was
considered being late, as people usually came well before the kickoff
in order to have time to discuss the lineups, the match officials,
make predictions for the game, etc..
Fifty-six-year-old lawmaker Aram Manukyan remembers that when they
watched Ararat games on TV back then they preferred gathering in large
groups, including friends, families, to root for the favorite team.
"Soccer was a national spirit. I remember two episodes when sports
provided that - first when Tigran Petrosyan became the world champion
in chess and then when Ararat scored victories in 1973. We had
only the feeling of pride, dignity, and soccer was the topic of all
conversations," says Manukyan.
It was the large following that Ararat began to have that made the
republic's authorities decided to build the large stadium in the
Hrazdan gorge. The arena could seat up to 73,000 spectators and only
during the 1973 season it was visited by more than 853,000 soccer fans.
Sports commentator Slava Sargsyan, who was 25 in 1973, had a chance
to be a commentator at Ararat games back then. He says the Yerevan
team played soccer that couldn't but be admired.
"The entire nation was busy with soccer then. Ararat demonstrated high
qualities, great team play, great techniques and tactics. Individually
all were great players, but they were also great as a team," remembers
the commentator.
Less then three weeks after beating Kiev in the Cup final,
on October 29, Ararat beat Leningrad's Zenit 3-2 at Hrazdan to
become the champions of the USSR in the golden year for Armenian
soccer. That success opened the way for the Yerevan team to perform at
the international arena and two years later, in 1975, in a memorable
match in Yerevan Ararat beat Bayern Munich 1-0. The German team then
had many world champions playing, including one of the best defenders
of all times Franz Beckenbauer.
As years passed Ararat somewhat lost its winning ways to turn into a
mediocre side in the USSR championships in the 1980s playing mostly
to avoid relegation, but the winning spirit of the 70's remained in
Armenians and occasionally wakes up during national team games today.
Writer, film critic, Honored Art Worker of Armenia, Professor David
Muradyan, who chairs the Armenian National Film Academy, thinks that
it was during the 1970s that the spirited play by Ararat prepared
Armenians for the national-liberation movement in 1988.
"It was that same generation that held their fists up celebrating
Ararat victories in the stadium that stood in Opera Square years
later... and then managed to resist and prove victorious in the
Karabakh war," says Muradyan.
For Soviet-era dissident Paruyr Hayrikyan Ararat also symbolized the
national-liberation struggle.
In 1973, Hayrikyan had just been released from prison after serving
a four-year term for his political views. The 64-year-old politician
says that upon returning to Armenia he had an opportunity to watch
Ararat play.
"That was the year of the awakening of our national-liberation
struggle. It was at that time that the strategy for independence
through a referendum was adopted. I do see parallels between the
successes of Ararat and the national-liberation struggle," says
Hayrikyan.
The winning Ararat team included: coach Nikita Simonyan, goalkeeper
Alyosha Abrahamyan, defenders Alexander Kovalenko, Norayr Mesropyan,
Armen Sargsyan, Sanasar Gevorgyan, Suren Martirosyan, Arkady
Harutyunyan, midfielders Arkady Andreasyan, Sergey Bondarenko,
Hovhannes Zanazanyan, Sergey Poghosyan, forwards Eduard Markarov,
Levon Ishtoyan, Nikolay Ghazaryan, Nazar Petrosyan.
http://armenianow.com/sports/soccer/49099/armenia_ararat73_cup_anniversary_soccer_football
Soccer | 10.10.13 | 10:58
Photolure
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Forty years ago today Armenians celebrated their first major soccer
success in the USSR as Yerevan's Ararat team beat rivals from Ukraine
in a dramatic Cup final in Moscow.
The match against Dynamo Kiev played in the Luzhniki Stadium on
October 10, 1973, ended 2-1 to Ararat that later that month also won
the championship trophy becoming a "double" winning team.
Enlarge Photo
Eyewitnesses of the event say that the victory was followed by
unprecedented celebration as Armenians played ethnic folk instruments,
sang and danced kochari at the stadium and beyond.
Young or old, everyone was aware of the course of the game, the score,
the names of the players participating in the match that didn't bode
well for Armenians in the beginning.
Ararat were a goal down when Levon Ishtoyan scored an equalizer in
the dying seconds of the second half, taking the match into overtime
during which he scored the winner becoming an all-time legend in
Armenian soccer.
Rafik Petrosyan, a 63-year-old member of the National Assembly who
taught at the university in 1973, remembers that he was in the Russian
resort city of Sochi on business on that glorious day.
"Along with other Armenians there I watched the game in my hotel room.
Our joy was infinite when we watched Ararat win the Cup," he says. "I
was a faithful Ararat fan, it was a great pride that uplifted our
spirits and made Armenians known all over the Soviet Union and
the world."
Petrosyan says loudly rooting for your favorite team was frowned
upon during Soviet times, but nothing could stop Armenian fans from
expressing their emotions during the matches of their favorite team.
Fan slogans are common nowadays but back then they were a new thing in
Soviet Armenian reality. It was in the 1970s when Armenian fans first
began to chant "A-ra-rat", "A-ra-rat H'up T'ur", "Ha-yer", etc. during
Ararat games, slogans that have survived, with some modifications,
till our own days and are heard during national team matches.
Meanwhile, in the times of taboos in the Soviet Union, a soccer game
was a real oasis of freedom for many.
"We took a little vodka with ourselves and had a shot every time
our guys scored a goal. We cried and shouted, enjoying ourselves
immensely," says Petrosyan.
Soccer in Armenia in the 70's reminded of a special protocol. On match
days huge queues formed at box offices, but most people as loyal fans
had season tickets.
Coming to the stadium even ten minutes before the start of the game was
considered being late, as people usually came well before the kickoff
in order to have time to discuss the lineups, the match officials,
make predictions for the game, etc..
Fifty-six-year-old lawmaker Aram Manukyan remembers that when they
watched Ararat games on TV back then they preferred gathering in large
groups, including friends, families, to root for the favorite team.
"Soccer was a national spirit. I remember two episodes when sports
provided that - first when Tigran Petrosyan became the world champion
in chess and then when Ararat scored victories in 1973. We had
only the feeling of pride, dignity, and soccer was the topic of all
conversations," says Manukyan.
It was the large following that Ararat began to have that made the
republic's authorities decided to build the large stadium in the
Hrazdan gorge. The arena could seat up to 73,000 spectators and only
during the 1973 season it was visited by more than 853,000 soccer fans.
Sports commentator Slava Sargsyan, who was 25 in 1973, had a chance
to be a commentator at Ararat games back then. He says the Yerevan
team played soccer that couldn't but be admired.
"The entire nation was busy with soccer then. Ararat demonstrated high
qualities, great team play, great techniques and tactics. Individually
all were great players, but they were also great as a team," remembers
the commentator.
Less then three weeks after beating Kiev in the Cup final,
on October 29, Ararat beat Leningrad's Zenit 3-2 at Hrazdan to
become the champions of the USSR in the golden year for Armenian
soccer. That success opened the way for the Yerevan team to perform at
the international arena and two years later, in 1975, in a memorable
match in Yerevan Ararat beat Bayern Munich 1-0. The German team then
had many world champions playing, including one of the best defenders
of all times Franz Beckenbauer.
As years passed Ararat somewhat lost its winning ways to turn into a
mediocre side in the USSR championships in the 1980s playing mostly
to avoid relegation, but the winning spirit of the 70's remained in
Armenians and occasionally wakes up during national team games today.
Writer, film critic, Honored Art Worker of Armenia, Professor David
Muradyan, who chairs the Armenian National Film Academy, thinks that
it was during the 1970s that the spirited play by Ararat prepared
Armenians for the national-liberation movement in 1988.
"It was that same generation that held their fists up celebrating
Ararat victories in the stadium that stood in Opera Square years
later... and then managed to resist and prove victorious in the
Karabakh war," says Muradyan.
For Soviet-era dissident Paruyr Hayrikyan Ararat also symbolized the
national-liberation struggle.
In 1973, Hayrikyan had just been released from prison after serving
a four-year term for his political views. The 64-year-old politician
says that upon returning to Armenia he had an opportunity to watch
Ararat play.
"That was the year of the awakening of our national-liberation
struggle. It was at that time that the strategy for independence
through a referendum was adopted. I do see parallels between the
successes of Ararat and the national-liberation struggle," says
Hayrikyan.
The winning Ararat team included: coach Nikita Simonyan, goalkeeper
Alyosha Abrahamyan, defenders Alexander Kovalenko, Norayr Mesropyan,
Armen Sargsyan, Sanasar Gevorgyan, Suren Martirosyan, Arkady
Harutyunyan, midfielders Arkady Andreasyan, Sergey Bondarenko,
Hovhannes Zanazanyan, Sergey Poghosyan, forwards Eduard Markarov,
Levon Ishtoyan, Nikolay Ghazaryan, Nazar Petrosyan.
http://armenianow.com/sports/soccer/49099/armenia_ararat73_cup_anniversary_soccer_football