YEREVAN. - Russian diplomats in Armenia do not fall behind the world’s football fans and wholeheartedly support their national squad in Euro 2016, trying not to miss any important match.

The first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, Atsamaz Bichenov, who is also the Deputy Director of the Russian Center of Science and Culture, is supporting his country’s national squad at Russia vs. Slovakia match together with his colleagues in a venue symbolically named Sport Bar.  

“I wouldn’t say I am a great football fan. I know people who love football much more. I am an ordinary football fan; there are tens and millions of those like me in Russia. I also teach my son, although I don’t yet manage well, but I will do my best. We are football fans with our whole family,” Bichenov confessed.

Of course, in his childhood, he played football and was included in teams, but then he had to move to another team, but his love for Celtic football has remained.  

The First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Armenia has no favorite footballer.  “There can be no favorite footballers: there are prominent personalities, who have done much in football. From the modern footballers these are, of course, Messi, and from those who played in the 80s, Oleh Blokhin and Khoren Hovhannisyan. Unfortunately, there are few such prominent personalities in modern Russian football. Let’s hope that they will appear,” Bichenov noted.

“And what about the Armenian footballers?” I ask.

“You mean someone besides Mkhitaryan?” the diplomat answers laughing. “I also like Yura Movsisyan. Mkhitaryan is a European level player. Let’ hope that another 5-6 such players will come up. And the Armenian squad will also be eligible for taking part in such championships, and not only take part but also achieve certain results. We will sincerely be happy for this,” Bichenov concluded.  

Russia vs. Slovakia match ended 1-2.