Norair Aslanyan

Norair Aslanyan
Personal information
Full nameNorair Aslanyan
Date of birth25 March 1991
Place of birthQarahunj, Armenian SSR
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionWinger
Club information
Current team
Almere City (loan)
Number17
Youth career
2004–2009FC Groningen
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009–2011FC Groningen6(0)
2009–2010→ SC Veendam (loan)0(0)
2010→ SC Cambuur (loan)7(0)
2011–2013FC Zwolle24(5)
2012–2013→ FC Emmen (loan)27(6)
2013–Willem II22(2)
2014–→ Almere City (loan)22(5)
National team‡
2013–Armenia[1]5(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 April 2014.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2014

Norair Aslanyan (né Norair Mamedov, born 25 March 1991) is an Armenian international footballer who plays as a winger for Dutch club Almere City, on loan from Willem II.

He formerly played for FC Groningen, SC Veendam, SC Cambuur, FC Zwolle and FC Emmen.

Early life

Aslanyan was born on 25 March 1991 in the village of Qarahunj in the Armenian SSR, to Armenian parents. Prior to his birth, the family had adopted the Azerbaijani surname of "Mamedov" in order to move to Europe easily and get the status of Azeri refugees during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. The family later moved to the Netherlands. Aslanyan grew up speaking both Dutch and Armenian.[2]

Club career

Aslanyan started playing football in the Netherlands at the age of 13 with the youth team of FC Groningen. At 17, Aslanyan was part of the FC Groningen team that became the junior champions of the Netherlands; he also participated in a youth tournament held in the United States, where the team took 2nd place.[2]

While playing with the youth team, he was noticed by coaches from the first team.[2] In 2009, he was loaned to SC Veendam, scoring two goals in his debut game for their youth team.[3] In October 2010, Aslanyan was loaned to SC Cambuur. He played for the club's senior team in the Eerste Divisie, while also training with FC Groningen.[4] As part of Cambuur, he made his senior, professional debut on 15 October 2010 in a match against RKC Waalwijk; the match ended in a 1–1 draw.[5] Aslanyan made a total of 7 league appearances during his loan spell,[6] as well as one appearance in the KNVB Cup.[7]

Following the end of his loan, Aslanyan made his senior debut for Groningen on 3 March 2011 in the Eredivisie league, losing 1–4 at home to Heracles Almelo.[8] He made four further league appearances for the club.[6] Aslanyan was loaned to FC Zwolle later in the season.[9][10] At the end of the season, he moved to FC Emmen on a free transfer.[11]

He signed for Willem II in July 2013.[12]After one season, he was sent on loan to Almere City.[13]

International career

On 20 February 2012, Armenian national manager Vardan Minasyan called Aslanyan up to the senior national team squad for forthcoming friendly matches against Serbia and Canada.[14] However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to an injury he had picked up playing club football.[2] Aslanyan received a further call-up in May 2012.[15]

In January 2013, he received yet another call-up for the Armenian national team. He made his national team debut against Luxembourg national team on 5 February 2013.[16][17][18]

Style of play

Aslanyan plays as an attacker, and is known for his speed and acceleration.[2]

Personal life

Norair is married to Anna Aslanyan. They both met at an Armenian party in the Netherlands and began dating afterwards. He changed his surname to hers before he joined the Armenian national squad.[2][19] After changing his name to Norair Aslanyan, he briefly played under the name "Aslanyan-Mamedov" before a final decision on his documents was made.[20]

Aslanyan has a number of tattoos – a drawing of some roses are depicted, and the first letters are the names of his family, written in the Armenian language, on his hands.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Norair Aslanyan at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Նորայր Մամեդով. "Հավաքականից ստացած հրավերն ինձ նոր ուժ տվեց" (in Armenian). ArmFootball.com. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Mamedov naar Jong BV Veendam" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Drie Beloften beschikbaar voor Cambuur" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "SC Cambuur 1–1 RKC Waalwijk" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Profile" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "SC Cambuur 1–4 RKC Waalwijk" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "FC Groningen 1–4 Heracles Almelo" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "Mamedov vertrekt naar Zwolle" (in Dutch). FC Groningen. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  10. ↑ "FC Zwolle versterkt zich met Norair Mamedov" (in Dutch). PEC ZWOLLE. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "Norair Mamedov transferred to FC Emmen on a free transfer". Soccerfame. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Norair Aslanyan profile at Soccerway
  13. ↑ "Willem II verhuurt Mamedov aan Almere City". Voetbal.com. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Վարդան Մինասյանը հրապարակել է Հայաստանի հավաքականի կազմը (in Armenian). ArmFootball.com. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Նորայր Մամեդովը կգա մայիսին. Ռուբեն Հայրապետյան (in Armenian). news.am. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Նորայր Մամեդով-Ասլանյան. Ասլանյանը կնոջս ազգանունն է (in Armenian). sport.news.am. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Նորայր Ասլանյան. Միշտ երազել եմ խաղալ Հայաստանի ազգային հավաքականում (in Armenian). sport.news.am. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Profile". footballdatabase.eu.
  19. ↑ Հայաստանի հավաքականի ֆուտբոլիստների կանայք (ֆոտո) (in Armenian). sport.news.am. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  20. ↑ Նորայր Ասլանյան-Մամեդովը հրավիրվել է Հայաստանի հավաքական (in Armenian). ArmFootball.com. Retrieved 27 March 2013.