Edgar Manucharyan

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Edgar Manucharyan with supporter

Personal information
Edgar Manucharyan
Full name	Edgar Manucharyan
Date of birth	January 19, 1987 (1987-01-19) (age 21)
Place of birth	Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Forward, Left winger
Club information
Current club	Ajax
Number	21
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002 - 2005 2005 - present	FC Pyunik Ajax	53 (40) 9 (0)
National team²
2002 - 2005 2004 - present	Armenia U-21 Armenia	6 (1) 16 (2)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 19, 2007. ² National team caps and goals correct as of March 26, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Edgar Manucharyan (Armenian: Էդգար Մանուչարյան, born on January 19, 1987 in Yerevan Soviet Union) is an Armenian football striker, who currently plays for Ajax. He is considered one of the best talents in Armenian football.^[1]

Manucharyan started his career at FC Pyunik in his home country at the age of 15, making his professional debut in 2002. He represented the Armenian national U17 team already at the same age. With his team Pyunik he won three consecutive Armenian Premier League championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Armenian Cup was won in 2002 and 2004, while the Armenian Supercup was won in 2004. That year he was top goalscorer in the league with 21 goals in 22 appearances and he also became the Armenian Player of the Year. In this period he also made his debut in the national team.

Dutch side Ajax had been following Manucharyan's performances since he scored a goal in the European U17 Championship qualifier against the Netherlands. He joined them in December 2006 on a trial, but broke a bone in his foot during the trial, causing a delay in the transfer. Eventually on July 1, 2005 he signed his 3-year deal with the Amsterdam based club, after having scored 5 goals in just 4 appearances in the recently started Armenian Premier League campaign that season.

Manucharyan scored his first goal for Ajax in an 18-0 pre season win over a Dutch amateur side. He made his Eredivisie debut on September 18, 2005 in a 4-2 away defeat against AZ. He scored his first official goal for the club on November 2, 2005 in a European clash against FK Austria Wien. He was the player who assisted the first ever goal at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium during Dennis Bergkamp's Testimonial match held on the July 22, 2006 when he provided Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to open the score.

He also participated in the Amsterdam Tournament of 2006, in which he came on as a substitute against Inter Milan and the following day he was in the starting line-up against Manchester United, playing only the first half. After the match both Olympique Lyonnais and SL Benfica showed interest in the player.^[2]. However, on March 16, 2007 his running contract until 2008 was extended until June 30, 2011.^[3] With Ajax he won the KNVB Cup in 2006 and 2007.

1 International goals
2 Statistics
3 References
4 External links

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	June 4, 2005	Armenia	FYR Macedonia	1-2	Loss	2006 WCQ
2	March 26, 2008	Netherlands	Kazakhstan	1-0	Win	Friendly

[edit] Statistics

Season	Club	Competition	Apps	Goals
2002	FC Pyunik	Armenian Premier League	10	2
2003	FC Pyunik	Armenian Premier League	17	12
2004	FC Pyunik	Armenian Premier League	22	21
2005	FC Pyunik	Armenian Premier League	4	5
2005/06	Ajax	Eredivisie	4	0
2006/07	Ajax	Eredivisie	5	0
2007/08	Ajax	Eredivisie	0	0
Total			62	40