– His first goal in the championship against Diósgyőr was dazzling, but this one on Wednesday wasn’t bad either…
“And what’s important is winning and advancing,” said Edgar Szevikjan, the 22-year-old Armenian winger of Ferencváros, who scored the winning goal in the 89th minute of Wednesday night’s cup semi-final against Nyíregyháza. The green and whites won 2-1 and they made it to the finals. – I received a great ball from Stjepan Loncar, I tried to push the ball inside towards my left foot and look for a shooting position. When I rolled the ball, I already saw it end up in the goal. It was an uplifting feeling to score the winning goal in the last moments.
– He joined the Nyíregyháza management team as a replacement, there wasn’t much time left. Did you trust the translation?
– I was extremely motivated, even if we were leading by three nil, I still wanted to score. I always look forward to playing. Wednesday night was a real cup match, and even if we played in a small stadium, the atmosphere was amazing. This time again, many of our fans accompanied us, it was an unforgettable feeling to celebrate with them after the match. We are also preparing for the final, we want to win another trophy. For the club, the fans and ourselves.
– He plays in the Armenian national team, but he was born in Moscow and grew up there.
– When my parents were in their twenties, they thought it would be better to move from Armenia to Russia. Both were still students then, they went to study in Moscow, but they had such a good time that they stuck there. For me, Moscow meant childhood.
– Did you start playing sports with football?
– I started playing football when I was five years old. But only because it was not possible to apply to the academy before. Before that, I played ice hockey for a year, my father liked hockey, and I liked it too. But when I turned five, the next day I was standing in front of Lokomotiv’s academy, we signed up for training.
– At the age of sixteen, he moved to Spain and became a player for Levante. How did that opportunity come about?
– We went to a tournament in Europe with the Russian youth national team, and shortly after we arrived home, they called my parents from Spain. They were Levante observers. I didn’t think much, since by that time my brother and mother had moved to Spain, my brother had entered the Valencia academy. I also wanted to go to Valencia at all costs, but something was wrong with my papers. In the end, I was like, I’ll see what awaits me at Levanté, and after seeing what excellent conditions I would be in, I made a quick decision.
“Was it a difficult time?”
“I was young, I didn’t speak Spanish.” I had difficult days, but looking back, I don’t regret at all that I embarked on the adventure, in fact! I gained a lot of experience, I feel that if I didn’t go to Spain then, I wouldn’t be a Ferencváros player now. I have become a much more mature and collected football player.
“Are your father and mother Armenian?”
“Mommy is half-Georgian.” But before they moved to Russia, they lived in Armenia.
“Did your father also play football?”
– Only with his friends, he really likes sports, especially football. My brother also started playing at a young age, he also trained at Lokomotiv’s academy. My mother and brother still live in Spain, and even my sister has moved there since then, but my father stayed back home in Moscow, his work is such that he cannot leave.
“Have they ever visited you in Budapest?”
– Yes, with a slight exaggeration, everyone has already visited. First, mom and dad were here, then my brother, and lastly my girlfriend came to me.
– Did you get used to it, did you fall in love with Budapest?
– Of course! Budapest is a beautiful city, sometimes I feel like I’m in Moscow. Then I go two street corners and it doesn’t look like the Russian capital at all. I feel great here, I couldn’t have been in a better place than Ferencváros, Budapest is a comfortable city, I like living here.
– His mother tongue is Russian, but he also speaks English well. Did you learn it at school?
– I studied in Moscow, yes, my parents thought it important that I at least learn English. Then, as soon as I got to Spain, I was even more forced to learn English, I had companions from all over the world. And I also learned some Spanish. Most of us in the team speak English to each other, but Cristian Ramírez used to play for years in Krasnodar, and we used to talk to him in Russian.
“The championship gold medal is already certain.” Now that you have scored Fradi in the Puskás Arena for the Hungarian Cup final, do you think you will win another gold against Paks?
“This season is already special for me.” I transferred to Ferencváros in the winter, and I will soon be able to receive my first championship gold medal. I won a few trophies in the youth team, we came first several times, but this is my first first place as a professional footballer, I’m really looking forward to hanging the gold medal around my neck. The cup final against Paks will probably be another memorable match. We agree with him, we want to win all the remaining matches of the season. I can’t even tell you how happy and proud I would be if we won the cup in addition to the championship gold.
