 | ||||
| Full name | Football Club Pyunik | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Նռնագույններ(Pomegranate Color) | |||
| Founded | 20 January 1992; 33 years ago (1992-01-20) | |||
| Ground | Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 14,403 | |||
| Coordinates | 40°10′19″N44°31′33″E / 40.17194°N 44.52583°E /40.17194; 44.52583 | |||
| President | Anton Farber | |||
| Manager | Yegishe Melikyan | |||
| League | Armenian Premier League | |||
| 2023–24 | Armenian Premier League, 1st of 10 (Champions) | |||
| Website | fcpyunik.am | |||
 Current season | ||||
Football Club Pyunik (Armenian:Փյունիկ Ֆուտբոլային ակումբ), commonly known asPyunik (lit. 'Phoenix'), is an Armenian professionalsports club based in theKentron neighbourhood ofYerevan. Pyunik is mostly known for its professionalfootball team which, since its creation in1992,has always played in theArmenian Premier League, becoming the most successful team of Armenia in number of official titles, with 34 won to date.[1][2][3][4]
Internationally, Pyunik has yet to win an international title, with the closest result being a bronze place finish in the2006 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup.[5] Pyunik's domestic success usually qualifies the team forUEFA Champions League andUEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. Pyunik is also known to be one of the most popular football clubs in Armenia, along withUrartu,Shirak andArarat.[6]
Pyunik has always had a fierce rivalry withArarat, as both clubs are considered to be the most successful clubs inArmenia, the latter due to itsSoviet accomplishments.[7] Both clubs are also the two most popular in the country and favorites within theArmenian Diaspora. Pyunik also shares a rivalry withUrartu which began when Urartu relocated fromAbovyan toYerevan in 2001, and became the third largest team in the city. The Pyunik-Urartu rivalry is seen as one of the biggest clashes in Armenian football.
Pyunik's home stadium is theVazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, which is also home to theArmenia national football team. The youth academy has produced many Armenian internationals such asHenrikh Mkhitaryan,Robert Arzumanyan,Karlen Mkrtchyan,Edgar Manucharyan,Varazdat Haroyan andGevorg Ghazaryan, many who have played or are playing for top European clubs.
Pyunik was founded in 1992 by Armenian football legendKhoren Oganesian and originally namedHomenetmen Yerevan.[8] The club won the first Armenian Premier League competition held in 1992 which it shared withShirak 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 the1995–96 Armenian Premier League and end the season with a 59-match unbeaten streak.[9]
In 1996, Pyunik played its first international cup match, aUEFA Europa League qualifying match against Finnish clubHJK Helsinki which Pyunik won 3–1.[10] Pyunik also won the1996-97 Armenian Premier League securing itself another chance at qualifying for an international cup playoffs the following year.[11]
In 1997, Pyunik played its firstUEFA Champions League qualifying match against Hungarian sideMTK Budapest FC yet failed to qualify for the playoffs following a 6–3 defeat on aggregate.[12]
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 ofFC Armenicum, a newly promoted team to theArmenian Premier League. The club's new management sought to bring more experience to the club and reinforced the squad with foreign players fromArgentina,Cameroon,Mali andRomania. The reinforcements brought positive results and Pyunik went on to win the2001 Armenian Premier League and2002 Armenian Cup.[13][14]
2002 saw Pyunik advance to the second round of theUEFA Champions League qualifying round after beating Finnish championsTampere United 6–0 on aggregate.[15] From 2002 forwards, Pyunik went on to win theArmenian Premier League a record of 10 times in a row, from 2001 to 2010.
On 8 January 2020, formerArmenian international goalkeeperRoman Berezovsky was announced as the club's new manager.[16] Just over 7-months later, 13 July 2020, Berezovsky left the club by mutual consent.[17] On 20 July 2020, Artak Oseyan was announced as Pyunik's new manager,[18] but left his role as head coach on 13 December 2020.[19] On 7 January 2021,Yegishe Melikyan was announced as Pyunik's new manager.[20]
In the 2022/23 season, after victories overCluj andDudelange, Pyunik became the first ever Armenian club to reach the third round ofChampions League qualifying, where they played againstformer European ChampionsCrvena Zvezda, losing 7–0 on aggregate.
Subsequently, Pyunik dropped into the play-off round of theEuropa League, where they played against the Moldovan sideSheriff 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 againstBasel on the first matchday, Pyunik facedSlovan Bratislava in their first home match in Yerevan, which they won thanks to goals fromArtak Dashyan andYusuf 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.[21]
| Competition | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 36 | 69 | –33 |
| UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 48 | –21 |
| UEFA Conference League | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 24 | +1 |
| Total | 88 | 28 | 17 | 43 | 88 | 141 | −53 |
Throughout the seasons, Pyunik has predominantly worn blue and white jerseys, with a few exceptions including Pyunik's first jerseys which were orange and
Puma is the club's current kit supplier since 2019.[22]
On 3 August 2020, Pyunik announced thatJoma would be supplying the team's kit for the 2020–21 season.[23]
| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsors |
|---|---|---|
| 1992–95 | ||
| 1995–98 | Erima | |
| 2001–02 | Erima/Diadora | |
| 2002–03 | Holani | |
| 2003–04 | Puma | |
| 2004–05 | Holani | |
| 2005–09 | Hummel | Complex |
| 2010–13 | Armenian Development Bank | |
| 2014–18 | Nike | Armenian Development Bank/Gold's Gym |
| 2018–19 | Umbro | Gold's Gym |
| 2019–20 | Puma | TotoGaming |
| 2020– | Joma[23] |
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 letterP 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.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Pyunik used several locations throughout its history. Between 1992 and 1998, Pyunik played atHrazdan Stadium, Armenia's largest stadium with a capacity for 54,208 spectators.[24]
In 2001, following the renovations works done at theRepublican 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 atPyunik Stadium; its training ground, due to renovation works at theRepublican Stadium.
Between 2013 and 2017, theYerevan Football Academy served as a home venue for all domestic competitions, while still using theRepublican Stadium for international fixtures.At the beginning of 2017–18 Armenian Premier League season, Pyunik used theRepublican Stadium as a home venue during the first half of the season, and eventually returning to their ownPyunik Stadium during the second half.
TheRepublican Stadium is also the home of theArmenia national football team, and is sometimes used by otherArmenian teams for their international cup fixtures.
The club is currently planning on building an all-seater 5,000 capacity stadium by 2022.[25]
Pyunik's supporter base is traditionally regarded as part ofYerevan's higher class, in contrast with the supposedly more lower-class base of cross-town arch rivalFC Urartu. Because of the club's history and recent success, the fanbase has grown not only in Yerevan, but in other provinces ofArmenia and within theArmenian Diaspora as well.
Pyunik is considered to be one of the most popular clubs inArmenia, and has one of the biggestUltras fanbases in Armenia, called Sector 18, named after the sector they occupy at theVazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium.[26]
Pyunik's rivalry withArarat originates with the creation of the club itself. Pyunik's founderKhoren Oganesian, is considered anArarat club idol, due to his achievements at the club during the Soviet period, winning the1975 Soviet Cup. Pyunik's success in recent history has led the club's image to surpass that ofArarat, which has led to arguments over which club has had a bigger impact onArmenian football.
The other rivalry, between Pyunik andUrartu is also known as the clash ofYerevan neighborhoods, since Pyunik is located in the wealthierKentron neighborhood, whereasUrartu is located in the lower-classMalatia-Sebastia neighborhood. The rivalry between both teams originates from Urartu's relocation fromAbovyan toYerevan 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.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Yegishe Melikyan |
| Assistant coach |  Roman Monarev |
| Goalkeepers Coach | Vladimir Vardanyan |
| Team Doctor | Vahagn Gevorgyan |
| Masseur | Hayk Mnatsakanyan and Robert Nersisyan |
| Team Administrator | Hovhannes Hayrapetyan |
| Team Manager | Hovhannes Hayrapetyan |
| Pyunik-2 Coach | Albert Sargsyan |
Arthur Soghomonyan is the current owner and President of Pyunik since 2017.
Thereserve is currently coached by Yuri Tarkhanov and competes in theArmenian First League. Theyouth academy is managed by Albert Sargsyan.[28]
Notable players from the youth academy includeHenrikh Mkhitaryan,Robert Arzumanyan,Karlen Mkrtchyan,Edgar Manucharyan,Varazdat Haroyan andGevorg Ghazaryan.
