I stopped playing at the amateur level when I was 24 years old and immediately I studied the UEFA B and UEFA A (2001 and 2002) courses and I got my licenses. I started with academy teams, but in my third year of coaching, I was already coaching an amateur men's team.
In 2007, while I was studying for the UEFA Pro License, the Valencia CF Academy Director offered me a job in the Valencia CF International Department, and I spent 8 years there, although I've always wanted to coach abroad, especially at the professional level.
In 2015, I received an offer from Leiknir Reykjavík, an Icelandic team and I coached the U19 team, and we got promoted. Two months later, I received an offer from the Real Madrid CF Academy in China. I worked there as Methodology Director for 10 months, but I didn't fully enjoy it because I wasn't competing with any team, so I decided to leave.
I have worked in more than 15 countries, on 4 continents, and in almost every football role: Academy Director, Scouting, Coaching Methodology Director, Youth teams Coach, Men's first team Assistant Coach (professional), Men's first team Head Coach (professional).
I never thought about being a coach before I stopped playing football, but it's true that I've always been a leader and a captain on every team I've played for, and I enjoyed leading my teammates inside the pitch. When I stopped playing football at 24, my father tearfully told me that he would love for me to be a coach, and that awakened that dream in me, which has motivated me from that moment to this day.
In my opinion, yes, but obviously not only that. I believe it's really important to take care of yourself mentally to keep a mental and emotional balance, and to achieve that, from my point of view, it's very important to know how to plan your free time (even if it's limited) and use it to get a positive mindset, which you can after transfer to your players, especially in the worst and hardest moments.
I believe that to work hard and be committed, you have to have a clear mind, and to manage your free time properly is the key for recovering mentally and emotionally as a coach.
After having worked in many countries and in 4 different continents, and after I worked in Asia (Oman) and Africa (Tanzania) last season, coming to Armenia was a challenge for me, and I think I made the right decision coming here.
When I signed the contract, I immediately began analyzing the squad and each player individually. It's true that I realized the squad was unbalanced, and I've worked to achieve that positional balance to build our game model properly, and I think we've achieved that in a very short time.
We have a good combination of young and experienced players, and that benefits us, especially because the young players are working very hard so that the more experienced players never relax, and the more experienced players are always helping the younger ones, being a good example for all of them.
My first short-term goal as a coach is always to improve my players in every training session. There are many more goals than just winning every match and getting promoted to the Armenian Premier League — and in my opinion, short-term goals are the best motivation to reach the long-term ones.
To get promoted to the Armenian Premier League is not an easy challenge… it's a very difficult one, but the most important thing we achieved very quickly, three weeks after I arrived, is to have our own playing identity and, above all, a competitive attitude in every game, from beginning to end.
As for the country and lifestyle, I feel very comfortable both at the club and in the city where I live and work. Although the language barrier is a bit difficult to manage, I’m especially grateful to everyone at FC Andranik who is helping me adapt quickly to the Armenian football culture and mentality.
If I had to describe my relationship with NUI Sports Agency, and especially with Milan, my current agent, I would use these words: professionalism, honesty, trust, and closeness.
I speak with Milan every week, and so far, I feel very comfortable and identify with the way we handle all the issues that normally arise between an agent and a coach.
We work together with a mindset of working toward success in the present, but also with the goal of growing together toward new challenges in the medium- and long-term future.