SOCCER PLAYERS from Armenia

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Armenian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Armenian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Armenian Soccer Players.

1. Henrikh Mkhitaryan (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 54.09, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 65 different languages on wikipedia.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Armenian: Հենրիխ Մխիթարյան, [hɛnˈɾiχ məχitʰɑˈɾjɑn] ; born 21 January 1989) is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Inter Milan. Mkhitaryan won four Armenian Premier League titles with Pyunik, and joined Metalurh Donetsk in 2009; he moved to city rivals Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010 for €6.1 million. At Shakhtar, Mkhitaryan set the league goalscoring record in the 2012–13 season, and was named the league's Footballer of the Year. After also winning three domestic doubles, he signed for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of €27.5 million, making him the most expensive Armenian player of all time. There, he won a DFL-Supercup in 2014, and in the following campaign, registered the most assists in the Bundesliga, with 15, the second most in Europe. He then joined Manchester United for £30 million (€34.3 million), becoming the first Armenian to play in the Premier League. He won the FA Community Shield, and scored the winner to win the UEFA Europa League title. Mkhitaryan was then signed by Arsène Wenger for Arsenal in a swap-deal including Alexis Sánchez in 2018, and then to Serie A club Roma on an initial loan, where he signed permanently in 2020 before joining Internazionale in 2022. Mkhitaryan was a member of the senior side in his native country from 2007 until his international retirement in 2022. He is Armenia's all-time top goalscorer, scoring 32 goals in 95 matches, as well as registering their first hat-trick. He has been named Armenian Footballer of the Year eleven times, including seven years consecutively from 2011 to 2017. Mkhitaryan was also voted the CIS Footballer of the Year in 2012 and 2013, making him the first Armenian footballer to be named the best player from the post-Soviet countries.

2. Khoren Oganesian (b. 1955)

With an HPI of 47.71, Khoren Oganesian is the 2nd most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Khoren Oganesian (Armenian: Խորեն Հովհաննիսյան; born 10 January 1955), also known as Khoren Hovhannisyan, is a former Armenian and Soviet football player who played as a midfielder and currently a football manager and coach. He was awarded the Master of Sport of the USSR, International Class title in 1976. Oganesian was a member of the USSR national football team and mostly played at club level for Soviet Top League and Armenian Premier League club Ararat Yerevan. He is widely considered a legend of Ararat and Armenian football in general. In official games of the USSR championships, Oganesian had 295 matches and scored 93 goals for Ararat. His number of scored goals is a record of the USSR in Armenian football. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Armenia by the Football Federation of Armenia as the nation's most outstanding player of the past 50 years. In a survey taken in 2005 by the Football Federation of Armenia, Oganesian was chosen as the best player of Armenia in the 20th century. On 28 May 2010, on the occasion of the Armenian Republic Day, a number of prominent figures of different areas were honored. For his contribution to the Fatherland Order of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, the law on State Awards, the highest award of the country, were given to Oganesian, who was awarded the Khorenatsi medal.

3. Michel Der Zakarian (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 46.93, Michel Der Zakarian is the 3rd most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Michel Der Zakarian (Armenian: Միշել Տեր-Զաքարյան, born on 18 February 1963) is an Armenian football manager and former professional player who played as a defender. He is currently manager of Ligue 1 club Montpellier. Raised in France, he played for Nantes and Montpellier, and earned five caps for the Armenia national team in the mid-1990s. As a manager, he led Nantes, Montpellier (two spells each) and Brest in Ligue 1, and Clermont and Reims in Ligue 2.

4. Sargis Hovsepyan (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 42.52, Sargis Hovsepyan is the 4th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Sargis Hovsepyan (Armenian: Սարգիս Հովսեփյան; born on 2 November 1972) is an Armenian professional football coach and a former player who played as a right-back. Hovsepyan was the long-time captain of the Armenia national team. He participated in 133 international matches and scored two goals since his debut in the national team's first game in a home friendly match against Moldova on 14 October 1992. Hovsepyan ended his career on 14 November 2012 at the age of 39, just over a month before turning 40 years old. He was the last member of the first Armenia national team to retire. After his final match, he was awarded the Medal of the City Hall. A month after the completion of his playing career, he was appointed director of the Armenia national team.

5. Artur Petrosyan (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 38.70, Artur Petrosyan is the 5th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Artur Petrosyan (Armenian: Արթուր Պետրոսյան; born 17 December 1971) is an Armenian football coach and a former midfielder. He is the manager of Swiss club FC Thalwil.

6. Roman Berezovsky (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 38.23, Roman Berezovsky is the 6th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Roman Anatoliyevich Berezovsky (Armenian: Ռոման Բերեզովսկի; Russian: Рома́н Анато́льевич Березо́вский [rɐˈman ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʲɪrʲɪˈzofskʲɪj]; born 5 August 1974) is an Armenian professional football coach and a former goalkeeper. Berezovsky is the caretaker manager of the Armenia national football team. He previously played for Zenit Saint Petersburg, Khimki and Torpedo Moscow, among other clubs. He also holds a Russian passport.

7. Hamlet Mkhitaryan (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 38.22, Hamlet Mkhitaryan is the 7th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Hamlet Vladimiri Mkhitaryan (Armenian: Համլետ Վլադիմիրի Մխիթարյան;, born 24 November 1973) is a retired Armenian football player. He also played for the Armenia national team. In 2005, Mkhitaryan was on the verge of signing with Scottish club Hearts, but the contract has not been signed between the two parties due to work permit complications. In October 2006, he joined the Tehran club Pas in the Iran Pro League. In 2007, after Pas was officially dissolved, he signed with another Tehran club, Rah Ahan. After playing for 2 seasons, he joined Armenian Premier League club Banants Yerevan and returned home. He later went back to Iran, where he signed a contract with Damash Gilan. For one season he played on his third Tehran club, Parse Tehran. Mkhitaryan currently plays for Gahar Zagros. Mkhitaryan debuted for Armenia national team in away friendly match against United States on 15 May 1994. Hamlet participated in 56 international matches and scored 2 goals. He left the national team in 2008. Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season: 2001–02 Hamlet Mkhitaryan at National-Football-Teams.com Hamlet Mkhitaryan at FootballDatabase.eu Hamlet Mkhitaryan at Soccerway Hamlet Mkhitaryan at FootballFacts.ru (in Russian)

8. Arsen Avetisyan (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 36.67, Arsen Avetisyan is the 8th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Arsen Avetisyan (Armenian: Արսեն Ավետիսյան, born 8 October 1973) is a retired Armenian footballer who played as a forward.

9. Edgar Manucharyan (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 34.69, Edgar Manucharyan is the 9th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Edgar Manucharyan (Armenian: Էդգար Մանուչարյան, born 19 January 1987) is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

10. Gevorg Ghazaryan (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 32.97, Gevorg Ghazaryan is the 10th most famous Armenian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Gevorg Ghazaryan (Armenian: Գևորգ Ղազարյան; born 5 April 1988) is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Ghazaryan has participated in 73 international matches, scoring 14 goals since his debut on 14 January 2007. He previously played for Greek Super League clubs Olympiacos and Kerkyra, and earlier for Pyunik.