Eduard Grigoryan

Eduard Grigoryan

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Personal information
Date of birth	(1929-05-25)May 25, 1929
Place of birth	Krasnodar, Russian SFSR, USSR
Date of death
Place of death	Yerevan, Armenian SSR
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1944–1952	FC Dinamo Yerevan
Managerial career
1968	Ararat Yerevan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Eduard Grigoryan (Russian: Эдуард Григорьевич Григорян; 25 May 1929 – 11 June 1988) was a professional soccer player, coach and manager of FC Ararat, Honored Coach of Armenia, Honored Worker of Physical Education and Sports, Director of the Republican School of Soccer, and Director of the School of Olympic Reserve of Armenia.

Early life

Eduard Grigoryan was born in 1929 in Krasnodar, U.S.S.R. Soon after his birth, Grigoryan’s family moved to Yerevan, Armenia, where he grew up.

Career

Grigoryan became involved in soccer at an early age. At the age of fifteen, he was recruited by the leading team in Armenia, FC Dinamo Yerevan (later FC Ararat Yerevan). Grigoryan played for Dinamo for eight years between 1944 and 1952. The 1949 season is considered Grigoryan’s best season, where he made twenty-eight out of the forty two goals scored by his team. For this, he received the nickname "Armenian Bobrov," after the famous Soviet striker Vsevolod Bobrov.

After completing his studies at Yerevan University of Physical Education, Grigoryan left soccer and turned to coaching at the Yerevan Soccer School after Voroshilov. A few years later, he became Director of the school, which by that time had received the status of Republican. He also became Head Coach of Armenia’s National Youth Soccer Team.

In 1968, Grigoryan was appointed Head Coach and Manager of FC Ararat Yerevan. A year later, Grigoryan left coaching to focus on team management. Under his leadership, FC Ararat acquired Levon Ishtoyan, Nazar Petrosyan, Eduard Markarov, Arkady Andreasyan, and goalkeeper Alyosha Abrahamyan. In the 1971, Grigoryan’s team won second place in U.S.S.R Premiere League Cup. Two years later, FC Ararat would win the U.S.S.R. Cup.

In 1976, Grigoryan was appointed Director of the School of Olympic Reserve of Armenia, where he worked until his death in 1988. This school would go on to produce fifty world champions and two Olympic champions.

In 1985 Grigoryan participated in organizing the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

For his contribution to sports in Armenia, the Republican School of Soccer was renamed after Eduard Grigoryan. Today, the school is used as the training center for FC Banants Yerevan.

File:Banants training stadium.jpg

FC Banants training stadium

Honors and Awards

• Honored Coach of Armenia (1965).
• Honored Worker of Physical Education and Sports (1965).
• Order of Friendship of Peoples.
• The U.S.S.R. Olympic Book of Honors.

External links

• FC Ararat Yerevan managers
• FC Banants official website