Week of Armenian Footballers: Debuts in Germany, Zelarayán’s Goal and Čančarević’s Clean Sheet

We continue our weekly column on Sportaran.com, where we provide a detailed overview of how Armenian footballers performed during the week — from Tuesday to Tuesday — across different countries around the world. This edition covers events from February 3 to February 10.

The most notable moments were the debuts of Armenia national team players in the German 2. Bundesliga, as well as an incredible goal by Lucas Zelarayán in Argentina.

The highest SofaScore rating of the week was earned by Armenia national team goalkeeper and Serbian club IMT Novi Beograd player Ognjen Čančarević, who helped his team secure a clean-sheet victory.

Armenian Footballers During the Past Week (February 3–10)

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Inter, Serie A)
The former Armenia national team captain took part in two winning matches for his club in the Coppa Italia and Serie A.

• February 4 (Wednesday, Coppa Italia quarterfinal) — Inter vs Torino (2:1)
  Mkhitaryan started and played 56 minutes. SofaScore rating: 7.5.

• February 8 (Sunday, Serie A) — Sassuolo vs Inter (0:5)
  Started and played 59 minutes. SofaScore rating: 6.7.

Nair Tiknizyan (Crvena Zvezda, Serbia)
The Armenia national team left-back delivered a solid performance in the Serbian league and had two excellent scoring chances, one of which hit the crossbar. However, he has yet to score his first goal for Crvena Zvezda.

• February 7 (Saturday, SuperLiga) — Crvena Zvezda vs Novi Pazar (5:0)
  Started and played 81 minutes. SofaScore rating: 6.7.

Ognjen Čančarević (IMT Novi Beograd, Serbia)
In his second match for the new club, the Armenia national team goalkeeper made three saves and kept a clean sheet.

• February 8 (Sunday, SuperLiga) — IMT vs Napredak (2:0)
  Played the full match. SofaScore rating: 7.6.

Stepan Mkrtchyan (Nürnberg, Germany)
The Armenia national team defender made his debut for his new club.

• February 7 (Saturday, 2. Bundesliga) — Paderborn vs Nürnberg (2:1)
  Started and played the full match. SofaScore rating: 5.8 (reduced due to conceding a penalty).

Grant-Leon Ranos (Eintracht Braunschweig, Germany)
The Armenia national team striker also made his debut for his new team.

• February 8 (Sunday, 2. Bundesliga) — Arminia vs Eintracht Braunschweig (3:2)
  Came on in the 59th minute as a right winger. SofaScore rating: 6.3.

Lucas Zelarayán (Belgrano) & Tomás Adoryan (Banfield), Argentina
The two Armenia national team players faced each other in the Argentine league. The more experienced Celarayán secured the win with a superb long-range strike.

• February 8 (Sunday, Argentine League) — Belgrano vs Banfield (1:0)
  Celarayán scored and played 73 minutes (SofaScore 7.5).
  Adoryan came on in the 61st minute (SofaScore 6.7).

Norberto Briasco Balekian (Barracas Central, Argentina)
The 29-year-old forward made his first start for the new club and also played in the cup.

• February 6 (Friday, Argentine Cup) — Barracas vs Temperley (2:2, pens 4:3)
  Came on in the 64th minute and converted his penalty.

• February 9 (Monday, League) — Barracas vs Gimnasia y Esgrima (2:0)
  Started against his former club and played the first half. SofaScore: 6.1.

Vahan Bichakhchyan (Legia Warsaw, Poland)
Legia avoided defeat by scoring twice after the 90th minute, but Bichakhchyan was already substituted by then.

• February 7 (Saturday, Ekstraklasa) — Arka Gdynia vs Legia (2:2)
  Started and played 61 minutes. SofaScore rating: 6.2.

Georgiy Harutyunyan (Puskás Akadémia, Hungary)

• February 8 (Sunday, Hungarian League) — Puskás Akadémia vs ZTE (0:1)
  Started and played 87 minutes as a center-back. SofaScore rating: 6.9.

Narek Grigoryan (Farul Constanța, Romania)
Farul played two matches during the week, both ending in defeats.

• February 4 — Farul vs Dinamo Bucharest (2:3)
  Played the first half. SofaScore: 6.6.

• February 7 — Unirea vs Farul (2:1)
  Played the second half. SofaScore: 6.4.

Artur Miranyan (Bnei Sakhnin, Israel)

• February 7 — Bnei Sakhnin vs Hapoel Petah Tikva (1:2)
  Played 73 minutes. SofaScore: 6.3.

Tigran Barseghyan (Slovan Bratislava, Slovakia)
Slovan played their first official match of 2026 and secured a victory.

• February 7 — DAC 1904 vs Slovan (0:3)
  Came on in the 71st minute. SofaScore: 6.4.

Finn Geragusyan (Sunderland U21, England)
The 18-year-old Armenia U21 forward scored the winning goal.

• February 6 — Brighton U21 vs Sunderland U21 (0:2)
  Played the full match and scored.

Weimar Angulo (Malut United, Indonesia)

• February 6 — Persib vs Malut United (2:0)
  Played 67 minutes. SofaScore: 6.7.

Jordi Monroy Ararat (Deportivo Pereira, Colombia)

• February 9 — Jaguares vs Pereira (2:3)
  Played the first half. SofaScore: 6.2.

Artur Zakharyan (Stade Briochin, France)

• February 6 — Stade Briochin vs Sochaux (1:1)
  Played the full match. SofaScore: 7.3.

Milan Gharibyan (Clermont Foot U19, France)

• February 8 — Auxerre U19 vs Clermont U19 (0:1)
  Played the full match. Clermont U19 top the league standings.

Albert Mnatsakanyan (Luftëtari, Albania)

• February 8 — Besa vs Luftëtari (1:1)
  Played the full match.

Summary

The past week was an intense one for Armenian footballers abroad. The key highlights were the debuts of Stepan Mkrtchyan and Grant-Leon Ranos in the 2. Bundesliga, Ognen Chancharevich’s confident performance and clean sheet for IMT, and Lucas Celarayán’s spectacular winning goal in the Argentine league. Most Armenia national team players received consistent playing time, with some already taking on significant roles at their clubs — a positive sign ahead of upcoming international matches.