FC Ararat Yerevan

Infobox Football club
clubname = Ararat


fullname = Football Club Ararat Yerevan
nickname =
founded = 1935
ground = Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan
capacity = 55,000
chairman = flagicon|Switzerland Hratch Kaprielian
manager = flagicon|Armenia Varuzhan Sukiasyan
league = Armenian Premier League
season = 2007
position = Armenian Premier League, 4th
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pattern_la2=_bluelower|pattern_b2=_bluehorizontal|pattern_ra2=_bluelower
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=0000FF

FC Ararat Yerevan ( _hy. Ֆուտբոլային Ակումբ Արարատ Երեւան), is an Armenian football club, based in Yerevan. Currently, the club plays in the Armenian Premier League and is one of the most popular teams in Armenian football.

History

Ararat was founded in 1935. It was called "Spartak" from 1935 to 1937 and from 1954 to 1962, and "Dynamo" from 1938 to 1953. In 1963, the club was renamed "Ararat", the current name in use by the club.

Soviet championships

By 1945-1947, Ararat swept the Armenian SSR cup which propagated the club into the Soviet Top League by 1949. The team played in the top league in 1949-1950, 1960-1963, and 1965-1991. In 1971, Ararat won Silver Prize in the Championships of the USSR. In 1973 won the championship of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Cup (in a memorable final game against Dynamo Kyiv). This feat was repeated in the Soviet Cup again in 1975. In 1971 and 1976 Spring (there were two Soviet championships in 1976 -- Spring and Fall) they were the league runners-up. In 1974-75, after their title in the Soviet league, Ararat played in the European Cup, reaching the quarterfinals, losing to defending and future champion Bayern Munich with a 2-1 aggregate (0-2 in Munich and 1-0 in Yerevan). Since their debut in the European Cup tournaments in 1972, they have won 16 of their 36 matches with 4 draws.

Modern history

Since the 1991 independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union, Ararat has attained the Armenian Championship title twice (1993, 1995) and won three silver prizes (1997, 1999 and 2000) and one bronze prize (1994). In addition, the club has won the Armenian Cup five times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 2008) and were finalists in 2001 and 2007. They also were very close to taking the Armenian title in 2007, however the unexpected resignation of head coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan changed the atmosphere on the team and the club ended up in fourth place. In March 2008, former coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan returned to take charge of the team again. Ararat started the season sensationally well by winning the Armenian Cup, which earned them the right to play in the UEFA Cup.

Achievements

* Soviet Top League: 1( 1973 )

* Soviet First League: 1( 1965 )

* Soviet Cup: 2( 1973, 1975 )

* Armenian Premier League: 2( 1993, 1995 )

* Armenian Cup: 5( 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2008 )

Other notable achievements

*Soviet Top League runner-up: 1971, 1976
*Soviet Cup runner-up: 1954, 1976
*European Cup quarterfinalist: 1974-1975
*European Cup Winners' Cup 1/8 finalist: 1975-1976
*UEFA Cup 1/8 finalist: 1972-1973

Ararat in European cups

Managers

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.fcararat.am/eng Official website]
* [http://www.ararat73.com/ Ararat in the Soviet era] ru icon
* [http://www.ffa.am/en/teams/fcararat/ Ararat at FFA.AM]
* [http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/club=59318/domestic.html Ararat at UEFA.COM]
* [http://www.eufo.de/football/arm/ararevan.htm Ararat at EUFO.DE] de icon
* [http://www.weltfussball.de/teams/fc-ararat/ Ararat at Weltfussball.de] de icon
* [http://www.playerhistory.com/Default.aspx?page=club_details&clubID=10291 Ararat at Playerhistory.com]
* [http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/verein/11912/araraterewan/uebersicht/startseite.html Ararat at Transfermarkt.de] de icon
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/club.php?id=91 Ararat at National Football Teams.com]