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Armenia set Poulsen's pulse racing
By Khachik Chakhoyan from Yerevan
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Armenia coach Jan B Poulsen (¿Khachik Chakhoyan)
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New Armenia coach Jan B Poulsen told uefa.com he was impressed
after taking a first look at his new charges at the recent international
tournament in Malta.
First look
The 61-year-old Dane shocked many in the former Soviet republic when he
admitted that he had "only seen two Armenia matches" before
accepting the job of replacing Ian Porterfield, who died of cancer towards
the end of the UEFA EURO 2008T qualifying campaign. However, wins against
Malta and Belarus - and a defeat by Iceland - have helped him size up
the task he has taken on.
'Main goal'
"This tournament was very important for me," said the former
Singapore coach after the 2-6 February event. "I got to know the
players and found out what they are capable of. It is one thing to see
them in training, but to see them in action is completely different. I'm
very glad we beat Malta and Belarus, but the main goal was to get to know
the players."
Winning mentality
Armenia finished seventh in their eight-team group in UEFA EURO 2008T
qualifying but earned some creditable results. They will play Spain, Turkey,
Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Estonia in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying,
and while Poulsen said fans needed "to be realistic" he countered:
"In every game we will be playing for a win. You're going nowhere
if you're thinking about losing."
Achilles heel
Thinking about losing has been one of Armenia's achilles heels in international
football, and it was something which Poulsen saw in action in Malta. While
the national team have always been fine once they have a lead in matches,
they have shown a disturbing tendency to slump once they go behind. Sure
enough, having won their opening games in Malta, they lost their final
one 2-0 against Iceland.
'A big job'
"I saw this situation very clearly in the match against Iceland,"
said the man who helped Denmark win the 1992 UEFA European Championship
as coach Richard Moller Nielsen's assistant. "We conceded a goal
in the last minute of the first half and mentally slumped. We have a big
job to do in this respect. Players need to be ready to fight from the
first minute until the final whistle."
Promising signs
Changing that mentality will be a long-term goal, but overall Poulsen
sees plenty of promise for the years to come. "I only had the chance
to test a few young players but all of them left a good impression,"
he said. "Everybody was playing at their maximum during all the matches
and fighting for every ball. The Armenian team has excellent prospects."
UEFA.com,
21 February 2008
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