Football Club Pyunik (), commonly known as Pyunik (), is an Armenian professional

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

based in the Kentron neighbourhood of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. Pyunik is mostly known for its professional association football, football team which, since its creation in 1992 in Armenian football, 1992, List of unrelegated association football clubs, has always played in the Armenian Premier League, becoming the most successful team of Armenia in number of official titles, with 34 won to date. Pyunik is also known to be one of the most popular football clubs in Armenia, along with FC Urartu, Urartu, FC Shirak, Shirak and FC Ararat Yerevan, Ararat. Pyunik has always had a fierce rivalry with FC Ararat Yerevan, Ararat, as both clubs are considered to be the most successful clubs in Armenia, the latter due to its Soviet accomplishments. Both clubs are also the two most popular in the country and favorites within the Armenian Diaspora. Pyunik also shares a rivalry with FC Urartu, Urartu which began when Urartu relocated from Abovyan to

in 2001, and became the third largest team in the city. The Pyunik-FC Urartu, Urartu rivalry is seen as one of the biggest clashes in Armenian football. Pyunik's home stadium is the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, which is also home to the Armenia national football team. The youth academy has produced many Armenian internationals such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Robert Arzumanyan, Karlen Mkrtchyan, Edgar Manucharyan, Varazdat Haroyan and Gevorg Ghazaryan, many who have played or are playing for top European clubs.

International History

Internationally, Pyunik has yet to win an international title, with the closest result being a bronze place finish in the 2006 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup. Pyunik's domestic success usually qualifies the team for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds.

History

Pyunik was founded in 1992 by Armenian football legend Khoren Oganesian and originally named Homenetmen Yerevan.(2005) Encyclopedia of Football Head. "George - Hirair LTD", page 63. The club won the first Armenian Premier League competition held in 1992 which it shared with FC Shirak, Shirak since both teams were tied on points. In 1995, Homenetmen Yerevan was renamed FC Pyunik (Armenian for "Phoenix"). Following the change of name, Pyunik went on to win the 1995–96 Armenian Premier League and end the season with a 59-match unbeaten streak. In 1996, Pyunik played its first international cup match, a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Finnish club Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi, HJK Helsinki which Pyunik won 3–1. Pyunik also won the 1996-97 Armenian Premier League securing itself another chance at qualifying for an international cup playoffs the following year. In 1997, Pyunik played its first UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Hungarian side MTK Budapest FC yet failed to qualify for the playoffs following a 6–3 defeat on aggregate. 1998 proved to be a crucial year for the club following the loss of its main source of funding and the subsequent departure of its main players. Pyunik finished 6th that season and withdrew from football altogether. Pyunik secured a comeback to professional football following its absorption of FC Armenicum, a newly promoted team to the Armenian Premier League. The club's new management sought to bring more experience to the club and reinforced the squad with foreign players from Argentina, Cameroon, Mali and Romania. The reinforcements brought positive results and Pyunik went on to win the 2001 Armenian Premier League and 2002 Armenian Cup. 2002 saw Pyunik advance to the second round of the UEFA Champions League qualifying round after beating Finnish champions Tampere United 6–0 on aggregate. From 2002 forwards, Pyunik went on to win the Armenian Premier League a record of 10 times in a row, from 2001 to 2010. On 8 January 2020, former Armenia national football team, Armenian international goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky was announced as the club's new manager. Just over 7-months later, 13 July 2020, Berezovsky left the club by mutual consent. On 20 July 2020, Artak Oseyan was announced as Pyunik's new manager, but left his role as head coach on 13 December 2020. On 7 January 2021, Yegishe Melikyan was announced as Pyunik's new manager. In the 2022/23 season, after victories over CFR Cluj, Cluj and F91 Dudelange, Dudelange, Pyunik became the first ever Armenian club to reach the third round of UEFA Champions League, Champions League qualifying, where they played against 1991 European Cup Final, former European Champions Red Star Belgrade, Crvena Zvezda, losing 7–0 on aggregate. Subsequently, Pyunik dropped into the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, Europa League, where they played against the Moldovan side FC Sheriff Tiraspol, Sheriff Tiraspol. After two scoreless draws, Pyunik lost on penalties, thus dropping into the group stages of the Conference League, the first ever group stage appearance in a European competition for the club. After a defeat away against FC Basel, Basel on the first matchday, Pyunik faced ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Slovan Bratislava in their first home match in Yerevan, which they won thanks to goals from Artak Dashyan and Yusuf Otubanjo. This result meant that they became the first ever Armenian team to win a game in UEFA group stage competitions. On 31 December 2024, Pyunik released a statement stating that ownership of the club had passed from Artur Soghomonyan to Anton Farber.

Domestic history

*Due to the 1995 season being a transitional season, there was no official winner of championship. *Championship was decided by a 2008 Armenian Premier League#Decision game, decision game.

European history

Kit and badge

Throughout the seasons, Pyunik has predominantly worn blue and white jerseys, with a few exceptions including Pyunik's first jerseys which were orange. Puma (brand), Puma is the club's current kit supplier since 2019. On 3 August 2020, Pyunik announced that Joma would be supplying the team's kit for the 2020–21 season.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Badge

The club has had five different designs for its badge during its history, with the first three designs being significantly different from each other. Following the club's reappearance in 2001, Pyunik introduced its iconic logo design which included a bold letter P placed on top of a football. The club kept this design for 13 years before introducing a double-headed golden phoenix crest in 2014. This change resulted unpopular among the fans and Pyunik introduced a new badge in 2019, this time returning to its original round shape with a predominantly blue logo and a red phoenix in the center. File:FC Pyunik crest.svg, 2014–18 File:FC Pyunik_logo.svg, 2019–present

Stadium

Pyunik used several locations throughout its history. Between 1992 and 1998, Pyunik played at Hrazdan Stadium, Armenia's largest stadium with a capacity for 54,208 spectators. In 2001, following the renovations works done at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Republican Stadium two years before, Pyunik relocated and played all its home matches there until 2013, with a brief interruption in 2008, when the club was forced to play at Pyunik Stadium; its training ground, due to renovation works at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Republican Stadium. Between 2013 and 2017, the Yerevan Football Academy served as a home venue for all domestic competitions, while still using the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Republican Stadium for international fixtures. At the beginning of 2017–18 Armenian Premier League season, Pyunik used the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Republican Stadium as a home venue during the first half of the season, and eventually returning to their own Pyunik Stadium during the second half. The Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Republican Stadium is also the home of the Armenia national football team, and is sometimes used by other Armenian teams for their international cup fixtures. The club is currently planning on building an all-seater 5,000 capacity stadium by 2022.

List of stadiums used by the club

* Hrazdan Stadium: 1992–98 * Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium: 2001–08 * Pyunik Stadium: 2008 * Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium: 2008–13 * Yerevan Football Academy Stadium: 2013–17 * Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium/Pyunik Stadium: 2017–18 * Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium: 2018–present

Supporters

Pyunik's supporter base is traditionally regarded as part of

's higher class, in contrast with the supposedly more lower-class base of cross-town arch rival FC Urartu. Because of the club's history and recent success, the fanbase has grown not only in Yerevan, but in other provinces of Armenia and within the Armenian Diaspora as well. Pyunik is considered to be one of the most popular clubs in Armenia, and has one of the biggest Ultras fanbases in Armenia, called Sector 18, named after the sector they occupy at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium.

Rivalries

Pyunik's rivalry with FC Ararat Yerevan, Ararat originates with the creation of the club itself. Pyunik's founder Khoren Oganesian, is considered an FC Ararat Yerevan, Ararat club idol, due to his achievements at the club during the Soviet period, winning the 1975 Soviet Cup. Pyunik's success in recent history has led the club's image to surpass that of FC Ararat Yerevan, Ararat, which has led to arguments over which club has had a bigger impact on Armenian football. The other rivalry, between Pyunik and FC Urartu, Urartu is also known as the clash of

neighborhoods, since Pyunik is located in the wealthier Kentron neighborhood, whereas FC Urartu, Urartu is located in the lower-class Malatia-Sebastia District, Malatia-Sebastia neighborhood. The rivalry between both teams originates from Urartu's relocation from Abovyan to

in 2001, competing with and eventually becoming one of the largest teams in the city. Both teams' youth academies also compete with each other as they are considered to be two of the best in the country.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Technical staff

Institutional

Executive board

Arthur Soghomonyan is the current owner and President of Pyunik since 2017. * Vice-president: Robert Gasparyan * 2nd Vice-president: Aleksandr Tarkhanov * Executive Director: Tigran Martirosyan

Staff

* Development: Aleksandr Tarkhanov * Youth Academy: Albert Sargsyan * Sporting director: Samvel Arustamyan * Chief scout: Robert Arzumanyan * Press Secretary: Shushanik Hakobyan * Marketing and Public Relations: Vera Martirosyan * Officer: Vardan Tsaturyan

Honours

*Armenian Premier League **Champions (16): Armenian Premier League 1992, 1992, Armenian Premier League 1995-96, 1995–96, Armenian Premier League 1996-97, 1996–97, Armenian Premier League 2001, 2001, Armenian Premier League 2002, 2002, Armenian Premier League 2003, 2003, Armenian Premier League 2004, 2004, Armenian Premier League 2005, 2005, Armenian Premier League 2006, 2006, Armenian Premier League 2007, 2007, Armenian Premier League 2008, 2008, Armenian Premier League 2009, 2009, Armenian Premier League 2010, 2010, 2014–15 Armenian Premier League, 2014–15, 2021–22 Armenian Premier League, 2021–22, 2023–24 Armenian Premier League, 2023–24 (record) **''Runners-up'' (2): 2018–19 Armenian Premier League, 2018–19, 2022–23 Armenian Premier League, 2022–23 *Armenian Independence Cup, Armenian Cup **Winners (8): 1995–96 Armenian Cup, 1995–96, 2002 Armenian Cup, 2002, 2004 Armenian Cup, 2004, 2009 Armenian Cup, 2009, 2010 Armenian Cup, 2010, 2012–13 Armenian Cup, 2012–13, 2013–14 Armenian Cup, 2013–14, 2014–15 Armenian Cup, 2014–15 (record) **''Runners-up'' (3): 1996–97 Armenian Cup, 1996–97 2006 Armenian Cup, 2006, 2016–17 Armenian Cup, 2016–17 *Armenian Super Cup **Winners (10): 1998 Armenian Super Cup, 1998, 2002 Armenian Super Cup, 2002, 2004 Armenian Super Cup, 2004, 2005 Armenian Super Cup, 2005, 2007 Armenian Super Cup, 2007, 2008 Armenian Super Cup, 2008, 2010 Armenian Super Cup, 2010, 2011 Armenian Super Cup, 2011, 2015 Armenian Super Cup, 2015, 2022 Armenian Supercup, 2022 (record) **''Runners-up'' (6): 1996, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2024 Armenian Supercup, 2024

Other sports sections

Football reserves and academy

The Reserve team, reserve is currently coached by Yuri Tarkhanov and competes in the Armenian First League. The Youth system, youth academy is managed by Albert Sargsyan. Notable players from the youth academy include Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Robert Arzumanyan, Karlen Mkrtchyan, Edgar Manucharyan, Varazdat Haroyan and Gevorg Ghazaryan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyunik FC Pyunik, Football clubs in Armenia Association football clubs established in 1992 Football clubs in Yerevan 1992 establishments in Armenia