Gor Manvelyan: “I would not say no to Mikautadze’s career” – International – Armenia

You went to see Mr Aznavour at the cinema?

Is there a film about him? I didn't know about it, but when you say it like that, you make me want to go. It is one of the legends of Armenia. Well, in Nantes, we also know Michel Der Zakarian.

By opting for Noah FC in Armenia in September 2023, are you thinking that your career choice could be the starting point for a beautiful biopic?

I am from there, more precisely from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. We lived in Stepanakert, the capital. My father worked in the army. My parents fled the war and took me with them, along with my brothers and sisters. I was 5 years old when we left. Even today, many people are leaving Nagorno-Karabakh. The war has been going on for a long time now, it's very complicated.

You arrive in Normandy at the time…

Yes, in the Channel. For my parents, they had to leave and give us a better life. In France, they took on odd jobs. My father and my brother are mechanics now.

Do you like Armenia?

In fact, I really discovered Armenia when I transferred, at the start of the season last year. I hadn't been back there since I arrived in France, I had no memories. I don't regret this choice, especially since I speak the language, so it made my adaptation easier. And then I don't live in the countryside, but in the capital Yerevan, and it's crazy! I wasn't expecting something so modern, with neighborhoods like you see in France. Afterwards, I don't see too much difference with my daily life as a footballer in Nantes. We play every four days, there is very little rest time to enjoy a good Armenian dish, those with a lot of spices.

Why did you decide to leave FC Nantes? Did you no longer have any hope with the professional team?

It's not an easy decision at all, but it's certainly a blessing in disguise. I had signed my first professional contract two years before, but I didn't see too many prospects. I didn't have much playing time in Nantes, I went down with the reserve in the second part of the 2022-2023 season. It was a really tough six months, and I needed to go somewhere that was going to give me playing time.

Were you ready to go anywhere?

No, not anyway. I liked the Noah FC sports project. It is a very recent club (founded in 2017, Editor’s note)with a lot of ambitions, so we have a lot of means to compete with the high level. This is not the case in all clubs here, there are still a lot of differences. We have a training center under reconstruction, and, frankly, it will be able to compete with the big guys in Europe. The idea is to become a big club in the region and play regularly in Europe. A bit like Astana or Qarabağ.

The Conference League, isn’t it a wooden competition?

No not at all ! Here, it's a big competition. Very few Armenian clubs have qualified for European Cups. A bit in the 1970s, but that's it. We also know that the Champions League is reserved for the best, so we have our place here. Big clubs also play it. We achieved a feat when we beat AEK Athens in the preliminary rounds. Nobody believed it, hardly us.

You even found yourself playing against Chelsea last week.

It's not bad, right? People have been waiting for this match since the draw. I didn't have the chance to experience the Europa League on the pitch in Nantes (he was twice a substitute in the group stage, against Friborg and Qarabağ, Editor's note)but the atmosphere was crazy. Plus, we won our first match (against the Czechs of Mladá Boleslav, Editor’s note). We couldn't wait to go to London, without pressure.

Was it hard?

We had nothing to lose, but we came across someone much stronger than us (8-0 defeat). We showed some good things. It was a great experience to live. What struck me the most, more than the atmosphere, was the lawn. It's the best one I've played on.

It was a very complicated period. I had lost the pleasure of football, I was less and less with my friends, it was hard. My ambition was to succeed with Nantes. It's my training club, the story would have been beautiful. But hey… It perhaps also strengthened me a little, and made me realize that my family was by my side. I knew how to grow thanks to that.

You arrived with the label of former crack, was that hard to bear?

From the U17s, then more and more in the U19s, people talked about me. I had been asked by the Armenian youth teams, I had the impression that the Nantes supporters were waiting for me… We won the French U17 championship. We were very well placed in U19, in the championship and in Gambardella, but the season was stopped by Covid. At that time, we were a group of friends, we had a lot of fun on the pitch. I was having a blast.

Did you expect this?

I didn't realize it when I arrived in U14 in Nantes. It's mainly the name of the club that makes me come, not the fact of knowing whether they launch the youngsters as professionals or not. So I was expecting it to play automatically, but it's not that simple. I heard a lot about how hard it was, but I didn't expect it to be this hard. There is a big gap in play between the youth levels and the reserves, but then between the reserves and the pros, it is still something. I had a difficult time, especially mentally. The moments when you go to warm up, and you come back to put your tracksuit on the bench without going in, it's not easy to digest.

HAS Nantes, is there more waiting around young people than elsewhere?

The supporters are very much on our side. They come to see us, they support us, and expect a lot from us, in relation to the history of the club. This is one of the things we see on the networks and talk about in the locker room: « We have to start him, he will break through, that's for sure, he is better than this or that player. » It plays a positive role for us, above all it motivates us.

Do you see yourself thriving in Armenia?

I'm very good here, I wore the armband at club, I scored my first goal for the national team, but I'm not going to lie and say that coming back to Europe is not a goal. The goal is to perform very well here to come back.

Are you the new Georges Mikautadze?

I wouldn't say no to his career! More than Mikautadze, who has more of a goalscoring profile than me, in Armenia, people have already talked about me comparing me to Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He is truly the star of the country, the top scorer in the history of the selection.

The new Ludovic Blas, then?

Ludo is still a good friend. I still have news from him, like from Marcus Coco. He is more impactful, faster than me. Afterwards, yeah, I have a nice right foot, quite technical, but I still have to work.

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