Re: Armenian Soccer
Armenia national recruit Ozbiliz in strong performance v. Manchester United
by Emil Sanamyan
Published: Thursday February 23, 2012
Washington - Aras Ozbiliz, who signed on with Armenia's football team last October, became the hero of the match as his Ajax Amsterdam beat Manchester United in its home field of Old Trafford on February 23.
Despite this valiant away effort, MU moved into the next round of the tournament on balance of winning 2:0 in the first match in the Netherlands and the 1:2 loss in the UK.
Ozbiliz strike from outside the box put the teams level on 37th minute and his free-kick on 87th minute was concluded with a header, leaving Ajax just a goal shy of advancing at the expense of one of the world's most formidable football teams.
The Europa League contest was only the second match with Ajax's main roster for the 21-year-old Ozbiliz and featured only his second goal for the team, following an almost a year-long recovery from injury.
Born in Istanbul's Bakirkoy, Ozbiliz grew up in the Netherlands. Of Armenian descent, he reportedly declined offers to play for Turkey, choosing Armenia instead.
His Armenia debut is expected during upcoming back-to-back friendly matches with Serbia and Canada on February 29. Both matches will be played in Cyprus.
Also expected to join the Armenia side in Cyprus is 20-year-old Norair Mamedov, who plays for another club FC Zwolle and is also of Armenian descent; he was called up in recent weeks.
Armenia national recruit Ozbiliz in strong performance v. Manchester United
by Emil Sanamyan
Published: Thursday February 23, 2012
Washington - Aras Ozbiliz, who signed on with Armenia's football team last October, became the hero of the match as his Ajax Amsterdam beat Manchester United in its home field of Old Trafford on February 23.
Despite this valiant away effort, MU moved into the next round of the tournament on balance of winning 2:0 in the first match in the Netherlands and the 1:2 loss in the UK.
Ozbiliz strike from outside the box put the teams level on 37th minute and his free-kick on 87th minute was concluded with a header, leaving Ajax just a goal shy of advancing at the expense of one of the world's most formidable football teams.
The Europa League contest was only the second match with Ajax's main roster for the 21-year-old Ozbiliz and featured only his second goal for the team, following an almost a year-long recovery from injury.
Born in Istanbul's Bakirkoy, Ozbiliz grew up in the Netherlands. Of Armenian descent, he reportedly declined offers to play for Turkey, choosing Armenia instead.
His Armenia debut is expected during upcoming back-to-back friendly matches with Serbia and Canada on February 29. Both matches will be played in Cyprus.
Also expected to join the Armenia side in Cyprus is 20-year-old Norair Mamedov, who plays for another club FC Zwolle and is also of Armenian descent; he was called up in recent weeks.
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