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Alla Zakarian

11-09-2018 | 11:35 Football
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Reasons why Armenians want to replace their captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Armenia National team fans want to replace their captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Armenia National team started their journey in the UEFA Nations League with two games against Lichtenstein and FYR Macedonia. Lichtenstein have scored their first goal in the official games since 2016 but Armenians came up behind and took a victory (2-1). The first goal for Armenia National has scored half-Armenian half-Brazilian Marcos Pizzeli. Henrikh Mkhitaryan statistics against Lichtenstein
  • Rating: 7.81
  • Total Shots: 8
  • Possession: 4.9 %
  • Pass Success: 80%
  • Dibbles: 3
  • Aerial Won: 2
  • Tackles: 0
  • Corners: 1
  • Dispossessed: 1
  • Saved shots: 11
If they earned very important 3 points in the game against Lichtenstein than in their second game with FYR Macedonia they have lost not only the 3 points but also confidence, team spirit and a big part of the chance to be the winner of the group. Henrikh Mkhitaryan statistics against FYR Macedonia
  • Rating: 6.35
  • Total Shots: 1
  • Possession: 5.2%
  • Pass Success: 73%
  • Dibbles: 1
  • Aerial Won: 1
  • Tackles: 2
  • Corners: 1
  • Dispossessed: 2
  • Saved shots: 3
In that two games, Armenia national and Arsenal midfielder has not impressed by his game. If in the home game he created chances, missed shots on target and even missed a penalty, then in the away game the fans have not even noticed him playing. Following the Lichtenstein game, Mkhitaryan told reporters: “This was not the best day for me, but I think that only those who do nothing, can avoid mistakes.” But there were no words after the Macedonia game. And now, Armenia national team fans want to replace their captain and the best contender is Marcos Pizzeli. “Marcos is the most devoted and he deserves to be our captain. We don’t need the viewer or captain who’s afraid of injuries,” said in a statement of the petition that fans created in the social media. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been a member of Armenia National team since 2007 and now he’s Armenia’s all-time top goalscorer, scoring 25 goals in 73 international matches. The player has been named Armenian Footballer of the Year seven times.  He has many fans in Armenia, he’s the face of the Armenian football, but why everything goes wrong for him. Being a good player for the club or being the most known for the national team doesn’t mean that you can be the best one for your national team. Lionel Messi is one of the best players in the history of football. With scoring more than 600 goals breaking all-time records, setting records and then breaking his own records he will always be one of the best players, but not one of the best players for his national team. Playing for the Argentina National team Messi has played four games and scored only one goal. He missed a penalty against Iceland in their first game. After a disappointing World Cup for Argentina, Messi indicated he would not play in the upcoming friendlies against Guatemala and Colombia and is unlikely to play for his country again in 2018. Messi has retired from international duty before: he quit the team after the 2016 Copa America. However, after a campaign back home he returned for Argentina later that year. Cristiano Ronaldo is the main rival for Messi but if Ronaldo is trying to do everything for his national team nothing pays off for him, because football is a team game. However, Ronaldo has been involved in 4 World Cup games and has scored 4 goals, missed a penalty against Iran.  Ronaldo may be considered the best player in the world, but he doesn't believe he's fit enough for both club and international football. Now 33-years-old, it seems the Juventus man is looking to reduce his international game time to preserve what's left of his club career at the top level. And now, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan and whole Armenia National team lost 3 points to Macedonia the blame is on the captain. But why fans are angry? Following the game against Lichtenstein Mkhitaryan told reporters: “Everyone knows that we should win. As a captain, I talked with them during the break. But they are all motivated. They don’t need additional words from me. “If they need to wait when Heno must motivate him, I think that they don’t need to play. They all need to understand, everyone should motivate himself, find his game and lead the team. I always tell them we should play heads up till the end.” Maybe those words from Henrikh made fans to think he does not deserve to be captain, but maybe the problem is Goran Pandev. The 35-year-old Genoa player hasn’t done anything special for the team or the whole Macedonia have not impressed with the game but for the teams like Macedonia and Armenia result is the most important thing. Goran Pandev went down in the box after what looks like the faintest of touch and the referee gave the penalty. That was a penalty or not is not the main question. The problem is, fans need results and Macedonia gave it to their fans. Armenians, however, were left without points and even considering to lose the captain. The only chance for Henrikh Mkhitaryan is now the home games against Gibraltar and Macedonia. The Arsenal star needs to show that he deserves to play in the national team that he is the best Armenian player and he deserves to wear the captain’s armband. From the history In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, when Bryan Robson was injured and vice-captain Ray Wilkins received a two-game suspension for a red card, Peter Shilton became England's captain for the rest of the tournament. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Germany had three captains. Michael Ballack had captained the national team since 2004, including the successful qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, but he did not play in the latter tournament due to a last minute injury. Philipp Lahm was appointed captain in South Africa, but due to an illness that ruled him out of Germany's final fixture, Bastian Schweinsteiger captained the team for that game which was the third-place match. Lahm stated in an interview that he would not relinquish the captaincy when Ballack returned, causing some controversy, so team manager Oliver Bierhoff clarified the situation saying "Philipp Lahm is the World Cup captain and Michael Ballack is still the captain". Lahm ended up becoming the permanent captain of Germany until his retirement, as Ballack was never called up to the national team again. In the end, it doesn’t even matter you’re the captain or not, but the best thing for the fans is to see the fire in the player’s eyes.

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